What Made Me Become a Patriots Fan?

Arguably one of my most asked questions for the past like, 5 years, is "why the Patriots?" "What made you become a Patriots fan?" There's always a series of questions and guesses that people go through before they let me answer: are you from Boston, is your whole family Patriots fans and you were "born into it", etc. And of course, everyone usually thinks it at least has something to do with Tom Brady's looks. When I became a Patriots fan and really started following the NFL, I was 10. At that point, I didn't know much about football, and still to this day I cannot tell you what exactly made me like the Patriots so much that it became this full-blown obsession (in the best possible way). 

While many people think that every female Patriots fan is a 'fan' simply because of Brady's looks, that's not always true. And it's definitely not the case here. For me, it all began with a little short guy by the name of Wes Welker. I watched his last game as a Dolphin with Gramps and knew I was watching something (or someone, rather) special, I just didn't know what exactly. Fast forward to the next Sunday, and boom, there he was in Patriots uniform. Something about him just inspired me. Always did, always will. He was "too short", so he went undrafted out of Texas Tech. He was cut by San Diego, picked up by the Dolphins, where he was just okay. Belichick obviously saw something that no one else did. After joining the Patriots, he quickly emerged as one of the best receivers in the game. Welker soon became a vital piece to the Patriots offense, and one of Brady's best friends on and off the field. 

One of the most inspiring things about Welker to me, was his rehab, recovery, and determination after tearing his ACL. I know that these knee injuries are unfortunately common in the NFL, and most of the time players are able to come back from them. It's pretty normal. But Welker's situation was a little different. 
January 2010: Pats regular season finale vs the Texans. I remember watching him go down on the field like it was last week. I've seen many ACL injuries over the years while watching games, but this one was brutal. They say it usually takes around a year to fully recover from an ACL injury. I think most people were pretty shocked to see him cutting and juking and running routes at minicamp in June, just four months after surgery. Fast forward to the regular season, where he played in 15 of 16 games, and caught 86 passes. Not bad for someone returning from such a nasty injury. But it was really his second season back that he exploded and surged to a different level. That year, he led the league with 122 catches and over 1,000 yards receiving. Everyone said he wouldn't come back the same player. They were right. He came back even better. 

So to answer the question, what made me become a Patriots fan: I give most credit to Welker. Bruschi also has a lot to do with it. Still my favorite #54 ever. In any sport. 

As always, 
Go Patriots.