BOSTON - As Seattle Seahawks fans look to win their second-ever Lombardi trophy in Sunday's Super Bowl showdown, New England Patriots fans are aiming to win their seventh. And just as importantly to many, they're hoping to "finally" end what they call their "long" and "agonizing" six years of losing.
"Don't worry, we'll be on top again soon enough," said Aidan Lafferty, 24, with the swagger of a 20-something who grew up with the Patriots winning, and winning again.
"It's the starting of a dynasty, again!," gushed 24-year-old George Zabalou, nursing a beer a few tables away at the Game On! sports bar where walls are covered with banners, photos and jerseys all attesting to the city's embarrassment of sports riches. Starting in 2001, Boston's four major sports teams delivered 12 championships in 18 seasons, including the Patriots' six Super Bowl wins.
Those lucky enough to grow up during those years when Boston called itself "Title Town" never went more than two years before getting to skip school again for another championship celebration.
"It was like parades on parades on parades," said Jenna Freni, 24. "It was awesome."
Frenzi's friend Angel Galiotzakis, 23, nodded. "Growing up, I didn't know that going to the Super Bowl wasn't a normal occurrence."
So, it was quite the shock to many when star quarterback Tom Brady left, the Pats parades paused, and fans found themselves suffering through a painful Patriots drought, -- for those of six long years.
"Dude, I was in a dark place," said Lafferty. "I was like, 'Is it always going to be like this? Are we not going to win for … ever?'"
Another Pats fan Joe Reynolds says it was a rough time for him, too. "It was like, 'What's going on?" he said from his home in Cambridge. "This is like a huge drop off from what I've come to expect."
"There is a clear connection between the Patriots losing and your use of antidepressants," added his wife, Emily Borges.
But listening to Pat's fans complain about their suffering is what's insufferable to NFL fans from, well, basically everywhere else.
"Oh! Get over yourselves! It has not been that hard," scoffed Noah Seligson, a fan of the New York Jets with a much, much longer history of suffering. "The Jets haven't made the Super Bowl since 1969! Boston fans should grow up and feel fortunate for what they have."
Andrew Lawrenson, who lives in New England but roots for the Miami Dolphins, said Pats fans don't know what real suffering is. The Dolphins' last won a Super Bowl in January 1974.
"Patriots fans drive me crazy," Lawrenson said. "They're all obnoxious and like to run their mouth off. The Patriots deserve to suffer a little more. They've had 20 years of greatness, they can have at least 10 years of misery."
Zac Vug, who hosts the online sports talk show Take Back With Zac, calls New England the "most spoiled franchise in the universe."
"Oh my god, their attitude is horribly disgusting," he said.
Even some Patriots faithful – of a certain age -- will admit that an attitude adjustment might be in order.
New England superfan Keith Birchall, 58, has been around long enough to remember decades of the Pats losing and when the team was mocked as the Patsies. That's kept him more grounded than the "entitled" young fans today, he said.
He still seethes at the young fans who couldn't bother going to this year's Wild Card game, taking it for granted the Pats would win and they'd have a chance this season at an even bigger game.
"That's just cockiness and entitlement," Birchall said. "They don't get it. They have no idea how bad we once were."
As for the hate coming from rival fans, New England diehards brush it off as just jealousy. As Pats fans love to say, "They hate us cuz they ain't us."
And they're not entirely wrong.
"I do! I hate 'em cuz I ain't 'em," concedes Vug, whose LA Chargers have won a total of zero Super Bowls. "I'm a man of Christ. I have to admit my shortcomings. I am a jealous human. I envy what the Patriots have. I envy the ease of their life. It's just a perfect sports relationship. And all I have is pain and suffering."
You'll hear no such confession, however, from Seattle Seahawks fan Jason Hibbs.
"We don't want to be them," he snapped. "They're obnoxious!"
But a moment later, Hibbs offers a caveat: it wouldn't be all bad to be hated.
"It means you're winning," he said. "In a few years, maybe everybody hates us because we've won two or three times. I want to be hated for once. That would be a fantastic feeling."
Yup. Just ask any Pats fan and they'll tell you, winning is totally worth it.
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