Loyalty

The trivia question posed after the first quarter at Gillette Stadium today asked fans to name the Patriots' all-time leading scorer. The answer was Adam Vinatieri. When the answer was revealed on the video boards, a healthy contingent of fans lustily booed. (Side note: When else do we use the word "lustily" besides when describing booing? Is it one of those words like "impeccably," which only really refers to the way someone is dressed?)

Sure, maybe they were booing just to keep warm. But there are plenty of ways to keep warm on a day like this -- throwing snowballs at the field has been one popular way of keeping warm so far, as well as a popular way of celebrating special occasions like touchdowns, first downs or rushes for no gain. I'm still waiting for a snowball to hit one of the Minutemen behind the end zones and for that particular Minuteman to turn his musket on the crowd.

It brings up an idea discussed in today's Sox Beat column, an idea many have discussed during the Red Sox's drawn-out pursuit of slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira -- loyalty.

Namely, do the Red Sox owe any loyalty to players like Kevin Youkilis or Mike Lowell, players who carried them to a World Series title barely a year ago? Are sports just a business in which players are disposable parts like uniforms or ticket stubs? And if teams do show loyalty, can that pay off for them in future negotiations?

Vinatieri was, and remains, one of the most important players in the history of the New England Patriots. There's no disputing that fact. His three most dramatic kicks -- his Snow Bowl kick to beat Oakland and his Super Bowl-winning kicks to beat St. Louis and Carolina -- will never fade away from franchise lore.

Since he signed with the rival Indianapolis Colts, though, he's apparently persona non grata with the fans at Gillette Stadium. He left as a free agent; he was disloyal to the team with which he'd spend his entire career. The end result -- he's booed even when he's not in the stadium, when just his name appears on the Jumbotron.

That's fine. If you believe in sentiment, if you think Vinatieri should have turned down more money to stay with the team that drafted him, that's fine. A pretty good group of Patriots fans seemed to believe that. But that same fan base now seems awfully eager to get rid of Mike Lowell to make room for Mark Teixeira; they suddenly throw sentiment to the wind now that there's a chance to get a $200 million first baseman who might be one of the complete hitters in the major leagues.

Vinatieri did what was best for him; his $12 million contract (with a $3.5 million signing bonus) set up his family for a couple of generations. By signing the in-his-prime Teixeira and trading the aging Lowell, the Red Sox would be doing what's best for them, too. There's no question it would make them a better team.

You either believe in loyalty, or you don't. You either expect your team and your players to treat sports like a business, or you don't. You can't have it both ways.