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Hate them or not, Patriots fans want the glory back in Super Bowl LX
Patriots superfan Keith Birchall (right) celebrated with a friend in Denver for the AFC Championship game and was thrilled to see the Pats punch their ticket to this year’s Super Bowl. He’s old enough to remember the Pats’ losing years, and is appalled by the “cockiness and entitlement” in many spoiled young Pats fans today.
Elizabeth Johnson
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Elizabeth Johnson
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.”
Jenna Freni, 24, (left) and Angel Galiotzakis, 23, spent their childhood celebrating Patriots Superbowl championships. Sharing drinks at the Game On! sports bar in Boston, they’re hoping this is the year New England starts winning again. “We’ve suffered enough,” Galiotzakis smiles.
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Tovia Smith/NPR
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.”
George Zabalou, a security guard at the Game On! sports bar in Boston, says he loved “the bragging rights” that came from being a New England Patriots fan during their winning years. Now after six “horrible” seasons, he’s hoping for a Pats win, and what he believes will be another dynasty run.
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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.
Seattle Seahawks fan Jason Hibbs is one of many around the nation who find it infuriating to hear Patriots fans grousing about the “long-suffering” years since they last won a championship. Hibbs is hoping the Seahawks beat the Pats and “shut up” their “obnoxious” fans.
Suzanah Schoen
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Suzanah Schoen
“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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Reigning champion Argentina escapes with remarkable World Cup victory over Egypt
Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during their World Cup match against Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday.
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They looked beaten. And out. Argentina, the defending World Cup champion and No. 1-ranked team, was down 2-0 late against Egypt.

Then, in a span of 13 remarkable minutes, Argentina scored not once, not twice, but three times, capping a comeback for the ages and leaving Egypt stunned and shellshocked.
For much of the game in Atlanta, Egypt was in control, hobbling Argentina early. The Egyptian attack began almost immediately with a stunning header goal delivered by Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute. After that, Egypt’s defense closed ranks, making it practically impossible for Argentina to equalize.
It was downhill from there for the Argentines: team captain Lionel Messi failed to convert a penalty kick, and in the 67th minute, Egypt got a second goal from Mostafa Ziko (after an earlier Egyptian goal had been disallowed after a video review). It looked like Argentina was finished. On the brink of elimination.
But no one told the Argentine players that.
In the 79th minute, Lionel Messi began doing his thing. He fired a cross near the Egyptian goal, and Cristian Romero headed it in. Messi was not done. Four minutes later, he powered a shot past the Egyptian keeper. It was his eighth goal of this tournament, the most of any player. The score was 2-2.
Then, in stoppage time, yet another Argentina header and another goal, this time from Enzo Fernandez.
“This is the World Cup for you,” said Messi after the game. “It wasn’t easy to come back from two goals down. But as I always say, this group never gives up. We always try to fight until the end.”
French referee François Letexier speaks with Egypt forward Mohamed Salah during the World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta.
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Afterward, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan complained about the French referee and the officiating. “I am not convinced. I am not convinced with this outcome. I’m not convinced with the way things unfolded during this match,” said Hassan in a post-match news conference. “We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice.”
“We would have deserved to earn this win, but we are leaving with honor, with pride, regardless of this defeat,” said Hossan.
African soccer teams have been the stars of this World Cup. Morocco has yet to lose a game. Cape Verde qualified for the first time in its history and stymied Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Argentina barely beat them in a nail-biter of a match.
For Egypt, getting this far in the tournament is historic in itself: it’s the first time the team has made it this far. For Argentina, it was a terrifying yet relieving victory: several players, including Messi himself, cried after the game.
Next, they move to the quarterfinals and will play the winner of today’s Switzerland-Colombia match.
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Top Senate Democrats push Trump-affiliated companies for answers about IRS settlement
Top Senate Democrats are pushing for answers on whether a provision in a controversial settlement agreement between President Trump and his own administration applies to companies co-founded by or affiliated with the Trump family.
As part of a deal struck in May by the Justice Department to resolve a lawsuit brought by Mr. Trump, the Internal Revenue Service is permanently barred from pursuing claims against Mr. Trump, his oldest sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization based on prior tax returns.
In a one-page document signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and dated May 19, the Justice Department said the defendants in the president’s lawsuit — the IRS and the Treasury Department — are “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED” from “prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims” arising from tax returns filed before the settlement took effect. Blanche also wrote that the settlement applies to “parties including trusts, parent, sister, or related companies, affiliates, and subsidiaries.”
Now, Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden of Oregon are pushing 11 businesses and organizations with ties to the Trump family to get answers for the “significant questions” the settlement raises relating to the tax audit provision, and whether the companies are included in the deal.
“Under the guise of a so-called legal settlement, the Trump administration has attempted to decree that the President, his family, and their entire business empire — potentially including entities with even the vaguest ‘affiliation’ to the family — are to face zero consequences if they have committed a range of financial crimes or misdeeds — regardless of the severity of the violation,” the senators wrote in letters transmitted to the companies Monday night.
The letters were sent to mining company Kaz Resources, defense firm Powerus, cryptocurrency companies World Liberty Financial and American Bitcoin, robotics startup Foundation Future Industries, investment firm 1789 Capital, private aviation company Tag Air, and prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi.
All of the companies either were founded by Mr. Trump and his two adult sons, or list members of the Trump family as advisers, board members, or partial owners. Donald Trump Jr. sits on Polymarket’s advisory board and 1789 Capital, where he’s a partner, has invested in Polymarket. Days before Mr. Trump took office for his second term, Kalshi also announced Trump Jr. would be a strategic adviser.
The Democrats, who are in the minority, lack subpoena power, so Mr. Trump, his children and his companies can’t be forced to answer the questions posed by the senators.
According to recent financial disclosures, the president earned more than a billion dollars from cryptocurrency ventures alone last year, including from his meme coin business and World Liberty Financial, his family’s cryptocurrency firm.
Separately, the senators also asked the Trump Organization in a separate letter if it believes it has “immunity from all audits, civil penalties or federal prosecution” for any crimes that could have occurred before the settlement.
Trump Media and Technology Group, which is majority owned by a trust that lists Mr. Trump as the sole beneficiary and operates the Truth Social platform he uses daily, also received a letter from the Democratic senators.
“The public deserves transparency about the scope of this get-out-of-jail free card for Trump-aligned businesses, and about whether you intend to rely on this settlement as a free pass for any possible violations of the law,” the senators continued in their letter, which also seeks any communications that executives at the companies have had with the Justice Department and White House leading up to or after the settlement was signed.
The settlement was announced months after Mr. Trump and two of his sons and the Trump Organization accused the IRS and Treasury Department of unlawfully allowing a government contractor to leak tax returns to media outlets in 2020.
In a statement, a Justice Department spokesperson said “the IRS routinely provides releases as part of resolving taxpayer reviews and audits. This settlement follows that same standard practice.”
The spokesperson did not provide specific information about which companies are covered by the audit provision, or whether the Trump Organization and Trump family are the only entities covered by that addendum.
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The U.S. men’s run at the World Cup ends with a 4-1 Round of 16 loss to Belgium
Charles De Ketelaere #17 of Belgium celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the World Cup Round of 16 match against the United States on Monday in Seattle.
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SEATTLE — This time was supposed to be different.
The U.S. men’s national team came into this FIFA World Cup with a lineup full of players with key roles in Europe’s top leagues. They had the name-brand coach — Mauricio Pochettino, of Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea fame. And they had homefield advantage, with every game on U.S. soil for the first time in three decades.

For weeks, the hype seemed like it might be real: The team’s three wins over Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were the most ever by a U.S. men’s squad in a World Cup. A new generation of American fans filled stadiums by the tens of thousands and tuned in on TV by the tens of millions.
But in the end, the Americans’ exit was the same as it ever was: Eliminated yet again in the Round of 16 at the hands of a European team — this time, Belgium, by a score of 4-1.
From the moment they stepped onto the Seattle field, the U.S. was outclassed by their opponent, No. 9-ranked Belgium. Countless turnovers and defensive lapses were seized on by the Belgians, who needed only nine minutes to take a 1-0 lead.

Then, once the Americans equalized on a free kick by midfielder Malik Tillman, Belgium scored yet again in barely a minute of play. Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere scored both his team’s first-half goals.
After halftime, came an embarrassing nail in the coffin that silenced the Seattle sellout crowd for good — a 57th minute roll-in by Hans Vanaken after a slip-up by goalkeeper Matt Freese outside of the penalty area left the goal unguarded. Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku added a stoppage-time goal to seal the final score at 4-1.
Malik Tillman #17 of the United States celebrates scoring his team’s only goal during their World Cup match against Belgium. In what was one of the few bright spots of the game, the U.S. pulled even with Belgium at 1-1. The tie lasted less than two minutes before Belgium scored again.
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“It stinks,” said U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams. “Tonight was not a good performance overall. It’s not what we look to achieve. There [were] a lot of things that we could have done better.”
The U.S. had entered Monday’s game under a cloud of controversy around their striker Folarin Balogun, who was shown a red card in last week’s Round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. An automatic one-game suspension was set to sideline Balogun, the Americans’ leading scorer at the World Cup, for Monday’s game.
Then, the day before the game, a FIFA disciplinary panel took the highly unusual step of delaying Balogun’s suspension by a year to allow him to participate. Then, news broke that President Trump had personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to encourage him to review the red card.
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it would protest Balogun’s inclusion in the lineup. But even at full strength, the U.S. were never real contenders in Monday’s game.
U.S. defender and team captain Tim Ream said the controversy swirling around the team had no impact. “We were fully focused on us as a group and as a team and fully focused on the game and not really worrying about what was being said or debated in the outside world.”
Belgium will advance to the quarterfinals for the third time in the past four World Cups, where it will face Spain on Friday in Los Angeles.
Mauricio Pochettino, Head Coach of the United States, walks down the touchline during the Round of 16 World Cup match between the USA and Belgium in Seattle on Monday.
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