As we march on towards opening Sunday, Shutdown Corner touches on all 32 teams, outlining reasons to love and/or hate them. Today, the New England Patriots.

Love the Patriots:

If you like watching phenomenal talent, you don't really have a choice, do you? Maybe it's just me and the people that I know, but I don't of a whole lot of people who aren't Patriots fans who could or would ever say that the love the Patriots. And that's fine; you're allowed to hate them for cheating, or for being good, or whatever you'd like. But the fact of the matter is that 30 years from now, when you're talking about the best players you've ever seen, you're going to be talking about Randy Moss and Tom Brady. That's just the way it is. The season they had last year was legendary, and it could only happen with two legendary talents. Greatness is greatness, no matter what jersey it wears.

Hate the Patriots:

No one says you have to let Spygate go. I think we were all relieved when Spygate finally left the headlines, but that doesn't mean Spygate has to leave our consciousness entirely. Investigations and speculation are no fun. Poking the stick at Patriots fans with no provocation ... well, that might be. The stamp of the cheater, for better or worse, lasts forever. It'll be that way with Tonya Harding, Barry Bonds, the Chinese Olympic gymnasts, every cyclist ever, and the New England Patriots. 

Nick Kaczur is probably not one for the kiddies to look up to. It's almost a shame that Nick Kaczur isn't a higher-profile player, because I feel like this is one of the most intriguing and overlooked stories out there. Kaczur allegedly got caught illegally buying Oxycodone, and when busted, turned snitch and wore a wire to bring down his dealer. When asked, Kaczur said he had no idea what anyone was talking about, and to my knowledge, has not spoken about it or admitting anything to this day. Maybe there's a lesson in there about how to make a story go away.

Related: Love/Hate