Do Pats fans deserve their team's success?
I'm not sure.
Something happened in 2007. And it wasn't just the Pats and their players making history. Pats fans became complacent. (Of course, there are exceptions to every rule).
Living in "New England", I first noticed this towards the end of the season as many Pats fans seemed to yawn at the potential of going 16-0. Granted it's (somewhat) meaningless if the Pats don't win the Super Bowl, but this was the first time it has ever happened. Lots of people I know weren't using their December Pats season tickets because they preferred to be "out of the cold".
While listening to Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio this morning on my way to work, they mentioned Packers/Giants tickets were $500+ on Razor Gator (disclosure: I'm a Razor Gator affiliate) and $180+ for Pats/Chargers tickets.
I just checked Stubhub.com (disclosure: I'm a StubHub affiliate) and the 2 cheapest tickets at 10:30 p.m. tonight for Packers/Giants were $549.99 each for 2. The cheapest non-SRO seats for the Pats/Chargers game were $249 each for 2.
If you're in this area (90 minutes from Boston - 90 minutes from NYC), you know tickets for football games tend to be expensive. At the start of the year, tickets to the week 2 Pats home opener vs the Chargers (the same team they play Sunday) cost more than what the AFC Championship tickets cost in the secondary market.
The way I look at it is people vote with their money. And MA has the 3rd highest per capita income in the country ($43,501 in 2006) not-to-mention it borders other wealthy states like CT (1st on the list). WI, on the other hand, is 22nd at $34,701. So it's not like the rich folks of WI are artificially driving up the prices and the poor folks in the Northeast just can't keep up with the Joneses. The people in MA, CT and NH are the ones that can most easily afford to overspend to be at the game. But they're not. If you adjust for income levels, fans are paying 3 x's as much to be at Lambeau than Gillette.
Packers fans would give anything to see their team win a title. I can't say the same about the spoiled Pats fans. Considering how the Pats coaches/players overlook nobody, I find it ironic that their fans have come to take their team's success for granted.