New England Patriots

[caption id="attachment_363" align="alignleft" width="100" caption="Click here to buy Patriots products"][/caption]

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating the team to Foxborough in 1971, although Foxborough is a suburb of Boston, 22 miles (35 km) away.

An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of those leagues. The team advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in Super Bowl XX in January 1986, losing to the Chicago Bears. The team also appeared in Super Bowl XXXI in January 1997, losing to the Green Bay Packers.

See what Dean’s Cards has to offer on their Patriots Team Page!

League/conference affiliations
American Football League (1960–69) Eastern Division (1960–69) National Football League (1970–present) American Football Conference (1970–present) AFC East (1970–present)
Current uniform
Team colors	Nautical Blue, New Century Silver, red, white
Mascot	Pat Patriot
Team history
Boston Patriots (1960–70) Bay State Patriots (February 1971–March 1971) New England Patriots (1971–present)
Team nicknames
"The Pats"
Championships
League championships (3) Super Bowl Championships (3) 2001 (XXXVI), 2003 (XXXVIII), 2004 (XXXIX)
Conference championships (6) AFC: 1985, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007
Division championships (11) AFL East: 1963 AFC East: 1978, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Playoff appearances (16)
AFL: 1963, NFL: 1976, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Home fields
Nickerson Field (1960–62) Fenway Park (1963–68) Alumni Stadium (1969) Harvard Stadium (1970) Foxboro Stadium (1971–2001) a.k.a. Schaefer Stadium (1971–82) a.k.a. Sullivan Stadium (1983–89) Gillette Stadium (2002–present)