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The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Gillette Stadium in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is located southwest of downtown Boston and northeast of downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium. An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of the two leagues. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971. The Patriots played their home games at Foxboro Stadium from 1971 to 2001. They relocated to Gillette Stadium at the start of 2002. The Patriots have appeared in the Super Bowl eight times in franchise history. The team advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in Super Bowl XX in 1986, losing to the Chicago Bears 46–10. The team also appeared in Super Bowl XXXI in 1997, losing to the Green Bay Packers 35–21. The Patriots won their first Super Bowl championship in 2002, defeating the St. Louis Rams 20–17 in Super Bowl XXXVI. Their next Super Bowl victory was in 2004, when they defeated the Carolina Panthers 32–29 in Super Bowl XXXVIII. In 2005, they repeated as Super Bowl champions, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24–21 in Super Bowl XXXIX. They also made Super Bowl appearances in 2008 - following a perfect regular season - and 2012, where they lost to the New York Giants both times. They defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–24 in Super Bowl XLIX to win their fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy in 14 seasons. Since the arrival of head coach Bill Belichick in 2000, the Patriots have become one of the most successful teams in NFL history. They are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys as the teams with the most Super Bowl appearances overall (eight each), and have the most appearances in the last 25 years (7). They have won twelve AFC East titles in 14 seasons since 2001, and have not had a losing season since 2000. Before Belichick arrived, the Patriots had only notched consecutive playoff appearances twice in their history. Between 2001 and 2010, the Patriots set a record for most wins in a decade (121, different from conventionally bounded decades, 2000–2009, 1990–1999, etc.; this record references any ten-year stretch; second is the 1984–1993 San Francisco 49ers, with 120 wins); they broke their own record in 2011 (2002–2011: 123 wins), and again in 2012 (2003–2012: 126 wins—nearly 13 regular season wins per season). Between 2001 and 2005, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history (after the Dallas Cowboys) to win three Super Bowls in four years (Super Bowl XXXVI, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and Super Bowl XXXIX), and the eighth to win consecutive Super Bowls. The Patriots, however, were defeated by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, after winning the first 18 games of their 2007 season. They were defeated again by the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. During Belichick's tenure with the team along with quarterback Tom Brady, the Patriots have also compiled the longest winning streak consisting of regular season and playoff games in NFL history, a 21-game streak from October 2003 to October 2004. The Patriots' rivalry with the New York Jets is considered one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL. ==Franchise history== On November 16, 1959, Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth and final franchise of the developing American Football League (AFL). The following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football team's official name. The most popular choice – and the one that Sullivan selected – was the "Boston Patriots". Immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell of ''The Boston Globe'' developed the "Pat Patriot" logo. The Patriots struggled for most of their years in the AFL, and they never had a regular home stadium. Nickerson Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, and Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. They did play in one AFL championship game, following the 1963 season. They lost to the San Diego Chargers 51–10 in that game. They did not appear again in an AFL or NFL post-season game for another 13 years.〔 When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference East (AFC East) division, where they still play today.〔 The following year, the Patriots moved to a new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which would serve as their home for the next 30 years. As a result of the move, they announced they would change their name from the Boston Patriots to the Bay State Patriots.〔 The name was rejected by the NFL and on March 22, 1971, the team officially announced they would change its geographic name to New England.〔 During the 1970s, the Patriots had some success, earning a berth to the playoffs in 1976—as a wild card team—and in 1978—as AFC East champions. They lost in the first round both times. In 1985, they returned to the playoffs, and made it all the way to Super Bowl XX, which they lost to the Chicago Bears 46–10. Following their Super Bowl loss, they returned to the playoffs in 1986, but lost in the first round. The team would not make the playoffs again for eight more years. During the 1990 season, the Patriots went 1–15. They changed ownership three times, being purchased from the Sullivan family first by Victor Kiam in 1988, who sold the team to James Orthwein in 1992. Orthwein intended to move the team to his native St. Louis, Missouri, but sold the team two years later to current owner Robert Kraft in 1994.〔 Though Orthwein's period as owner was short and controversial, he did oversee major changes to the team, first with the hiring of former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells in 1993. A change was also made that same year to the Patriots uniforms, changing their primary colors from their traditional red and white to blue and silver, and introducing a new logo. Parcells would bring the Patriots to two playoff appearances, including Super Bowl XXXI, which they lost to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 35–21. Pete Carroll, Parcells's successor, would also take the team to the playoffs twice in 1997 & 1998 before being dismissed as head coach after the 1999 season.〔 The Patriots' current coach, Bill Belichick, was hired in 2000, and a new home field, Gillette Stadium, was opened in 2002. Under Belichick, the team won three Super Bowls in four years (2001, 2003, and 2004), and finished the 2007 regular season with a perfect 16–0 record, becoming only the fourth team in league history to go undefeated in the regular season, and the only one since the league expanded its regular season schedule to 16 games.〔 After advancing to Super Bowl XLII, the team's fourth Super Bowl in seven years, the Patriots were defeated by the Giants to end their bid for a 19–0 season. With the loss, the Patriots ended the year at 18–1, becoming only one of three teams to go 18–1 along with the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the 1985 Chicago Bears. The Patriots' returned to the Super Bowl in 2012 but lost again to the New York Giants, 21–17. In 2015, they won Super Bowl XLIX, defeating the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 28–24. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New England Patriots」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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