Patriots' association with Donald Trump doesn't concern most New England fans

When it comes to the New England Patriots, fandom trumps Trump.

In a recent survey conducted by B2B and Yahoo Sports, Patriots fans indicated that the close relationship between President Donald Trump and several prominent members of the New England organization—owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick, and quarterback Tom Brady—has little impact on their feelings about the Patriots. Only 22 percent of respondents indicated that Trump’s close association with the Patriots negatively impacted their feelings about the team, while one-third indicated the president made Patriots fans feel even better about the Patriots, which doesn’t seem possible. The stick-to-sports crowd showed up too, with 42 percent saying Trump’s connections with New England don’t impact their feelings about the team at all.

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Brady has danced around the extent of his connection to Trump, but as regards Brady’s popularity among fans, how you felt about him before is probably how you feel about him now. Only 13 percent of people with a favorable view of Brady said the Trump connection changed their mind. For those who already couldn’t stand Brady, only 19 percent said the connection with the president made them see the quarterback in a more favorable light.

It’s worth noting that Massachusetts was one of the stronger performers for Hillary Clinton in the recent presidential election. Clinton defeated Trump by a margin of 60 percent to 32.8 percent, a difference of more than 900,000 votes. But when it comes to the Patriots, Massachusetts fans clearly bleed blue.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.