Did You Know
The '''New England Patriots''', commonly called the "'''Pats'''" by sports writers and fans,[ An example of the "Pats" nickname being used within sports reports. Accessed January 26, 2006.] are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The owners changed the name from the original '''Boston Patriots''' after relocating the team to Foxborough in 1971, although Foxborough is a suburb of Boston, away. They are currently the defending American Football Conference Champions, after winning the 2007 AFC Championship Game.
An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of those leagues. The team advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in Super Bowl XX in January 1986, losing to the Chicago Bears. The team also appeared in Super Bowl XXXI in January 1997, losing to the Green Bay Packers.
Between 2001 and 2005, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history (after the Dallas Cowboys) to win three Super Bowls in four years (Super Bowl XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX), and the eighth to win consecutive Super Bowls. The Patriots, however, were defeated by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, after winning the first 18 games of their 2007 season. Under quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots have also compiled the two longest winning streaks in NFL history, an 18-game streak in 2003-2004, and a 21-game streak in 2006-2008 (the NFL excludes playoff games from their records).
|
