Devizier said:inevitable, unless the Patriots stop winning. That's the nature of sports; there's nothing special about the Patriots, per se.
I disagree. The Spurs have been by far the most successful NBA team of the last 15 years, and don't face nearly the same level of resentment from opposing teams or fans. A certain level of animosity will always come with winning, but that doesn't mean successful teams are incapable of shaping their public image in any way. The Patriots and BB in particular like to operate as though popularity is irrelevant and results are all that matter, but when severe unpopularity is translating directly into on-field consequences I'm not sure how well that holds up. I don't think the Patriots are ever going to be well-liked, but I do think that going forward the battle for public perception has a good chance of effecting not only legacies and endorsement opportunities but also on-field performance via the severity of penalties handed down to them. In Roger Goodell, they luckily face one of the few antagonists in football arguably even more hated than Belichick. That said, I still think that it would be counterproductive for the Pats to double-down on the mentality of "fuck everybody". Play to win as many games as possible, obviously, but beyond that I don't see any point to directing ire at other players that by all rights should be directed at RG and the league office.