Last week was the biennial Ryder Cup golf tournament between the PGA of America and the European Tour. The Europeans won the event and continued their dominance that has spanned since the turn of the century. Europe is 9-3 since 2001.

The story, though, was the behavior of the US fans at Bethpage State Park in New York through the event.

Let’s just say the fans were … unruly.

Whether it was heckling the Europeans, cursing at them, even throwing beer at their families that were in attendance, it was pretty abysmal behavior in what is one of the bigger golfing events in the world. Team Europe players like Rory McIlroy were vocal, and rightfully so, about how poorly behaved the American fans were both during and after the event while American golfers apologized on behalf of their own. Between the shenanigans, the actual loss on the course, it was just a tough weekend for American golf.

I will say up front, I wish that golf would abandon some of its rigid ways and allow for more personality, more fan interaction. Golf is similar to baseball in that some of the practices and customs are archaic and hold them back from appealing to younger generations. 

That said, there is a fine line between having fun interactions and golfers being harassed. We see it becoming more common in the NBA with fans sitting courtside. Sure, some of the banter is fun, but when players are being cursed out, having items thrown their way, among other things, it just becomes a headache for all involved.

What we love about Happy Gilmore is that it gives us a glimpse into what golf would be like if we allowed fans to run wild at these old-fashioned golf tournaments. Happy is a wild man and his followers follow suit. That’s why we love watching those movies.

This is not a movie, though, and we can’t allow these fictional characters to become reality. All sports, and in this case golf, deserve to be respected. What happened last week was such a poor reflection of American golf fans.

Again, and I can’t stress this enough, I am for rowdy fans, even in a sport like golf. Fans are what make sports entertaining, and if you remember the 2020 NFL season when fans were not in attendance due to Covid, it was just weird. You felt the absence and it made you realize how dull things would be if that was the norm. We need more personality, more noise, more flash, but it can’t cross the line and into disrespect.

On a more positive note, the New England Patriots got back on track with a 42-13 shellacking of the Carolina Panthers. This came a week after the Pats blew an opportunity to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers by turning the ball over five times.

We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves given that the Pats are only 2-2, rebuilding, and beat up on a Panthers team that is perhaps the worst in the league. We can’t do cartwheels, but we can be optimistic after what we saw on Sunday.

Quarterback Drake Maye was once again sharp, the offense did not turn the ball over once, the defense was sturdy, and the special teams unit came up with some big plays including Marcus Jones’ punt return touchdown. It was the definition of complimentary football.

Up this week is the 4-0 Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football. I do not want to count the Pats out, but my focus is more toward what comes after this week considering I am expecting a loss. The Bills are Super Bowl contenders. To expect a Patriot win would be irresponsible.

But, after this week, the Pats will take on New Orleans, Tennessee, Cleveland and Atlanta. That should be an easy three, maybe even four wins right there.

Then they have Tampa Bay, who is on the verge of stepping into Super Bowl contention, in Tampa. Tough draw.

But then after that, they have the winless Jets twice, the Joe Burrow-less Bengals, the Giants, Dolphins. Heck, even the Ravens are struggling to the tune of a 1-3 record and will be on the schedule in December. As of right now, that matchup does not look as scary as it once did. 

My overall point being, I do believe the Pats have a serious shot at making the playoffs beyond just “anything can happen.”

Last week showed what this team is capable of if it does not beat itself. There are a lot of young players on this roster that should only improve with experience, there are a bunch of free agent additions that should also start to settle in, and most importantly, the Pats are taking on a bunch of bottom feeders. A 10-7 finish should be enough to reach the postseason and all of a sudden, 10 wins seems doable.