Shaughnessy Responds To Barkley's Claims About Fan Base Not Appreciating Belichick/Brady Era
BOSTON (CBS) - Former NBA player and TV analyst Charles Barkley has never been one to shy away from controversy when it comes to his beliefs.
So when he appeared in the Patriots locker room after their 43-22 Divisional Round win over the Colts on Saturday, and told local reporters that the New England fan base doesn't appreciate what they have in this team, needless to say it drew some headlines.
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To be more specific, here's a transcript of what Sir Charles said:
"In 99 percent of the cities in every other sport, not just football, your team sucks. You got no chance of winning. The Patriots have a legitimate shot of winning every year. That's pretty cool. It bothers me, that y'all don't appreciate them having a chance to win every year. Y'all don't (appreciate Patriots), and unfortunately, because of the internet and [expletive] like that, you either win a championship or you don't. Well, first of all, I do understand that aspect of it. But every year in sports, in my profession -- I get paid to do what y'all do -- you don't have a chance to win. In New England, you have a chance to win every year. I was impressed with the Patriots organization. Because, like, they've lost so many people and y'all take the winning for granted. Y'all do. And let me tell y'all something when Bill Belichick leaves and Tom Brady leaves, y'all team's gonna [expletive] suck."
Well count Dan Shaughnessy as chief among them.
That is, the person who doesn't appreciate what Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have been able to do in their storied tenure - he admitted as much Tuesday morning on Gresh & Zo.
"I'm old enough to remember the bad days here, and they were really bad days. The Patriots were a laughingstock. This is the eighth AFC Championship just of the Brady/Belichick era, which is like the Russell/Auerbach era of basketball," said Shaughnessy.
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"I go back and look, and the Detroit Lions have won one playoff game in 57 years. We sit here and cherry pick, 'Well, is this one that good?' -- Or, 'If they lose is it going to be a failure?' and that kind of thing. I participate in that game as much as anybody else. I understand that. We definitely don't appreciate it. These are high times. Eight AFC Championship games with the same coach and quarterback? Sorry, that's pretty damn good."
"Absolutely [I don't appreciate it], it takes outsiders to come in and point that out. Go talk to the fans in Cleveland or Detroit - of course we don't appreciate it."
"You could say it's a down year, and that the conference isn't that great - we did that with the Red Sox all the way up until the duckboat parade. That could be what we're doing with this Patriots team," Shaughnessy concluded.
Listen below to the full discussion: