Yes, I am from Boston and yes, I am a devastated Patriots fan. Anyone from New England, especially the Greater Boston area, knows that our professional teams are pretty dang good and we’re more than proud to be represented by them. We wear our gear with pride because we don’t just love our teams for their success and talent; we love them because they genuinely care about us and don’t want to let us down.

The New England Patriots are the pride and joy of American professional football in the Northeast. Tom Brady, leader of the Patriots… also the pride and joy of the Northeast. He’s the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) and he holds a special place in the hearts of many loving fans. Tom Brady is rarely one who lets fans down. He has led his team through 5 Super Bowl wins. This past Super Bowl LII was a tough one. I got all my Patriots gear ready and had my Super Bowl party all planned out. I was prepared for another Super Bowl win, without question. It was a loss that I nor any Patriots fan saw coming.

Over the past few weeks, Patriots fans have gone through the various stages of coping with this tough loss.

Shock

This is the first stage in the coping process. You’ve just watched the final few seconds of the game and you’re frozen. Your eyes are widened and bulging out of your head. Your jaw is literally dropping because you can’t believe what your eyes have just seen. WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?! You’re absolutely speechless.

Denial and Isolation

This is the next stage where you start to come back to the situation. You may begin pacing around the room while you replay the final seconds of the game in your head. You start saying things under your breath like “This isn’t happening, this can’t be happening” as you try to understand the outcome of events. For a few minutes, you are numb and can’t talk to anyone. You temporarily keep your thoughts internal.

Sadness

Here come the emotions. You might be holding back the tears or you might just have a sour look on your face. You thought this would be a moment of celebration and instead, it is a moment of devastation. Nothing can cheer you up during this time.

Anger

Here come more emotions. Now you’re just angry that the Philadelphia Eagles won. You start trash talking them and maybe raise your voice at the TV while they show the team celebrating their first Super Bowl win. You can’t even watch the playbacks because they make you even angrier. You wish so badly they would be showing playbacks of the Patriots but you are let down.

Acceptance

This stage may be reached the same day, a few days later, or even weeks after the Super Bowl has concluded. You have come to terms with the loss and understand that even the best team can’t always win. Tom Brady is only human and he makes mistakes too. You are proud to be a dedicated fan and look forward to the next Football season.