Maine 2015 – 2016 Football Season Preview

The farthest point for New Englanders doesn’t have a great deal of football stature, but they still manage to show their support for teams like the Maine Black Bears at the collegiate level and the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the pros. Within the past five years, Maine has twice competed in the NCAA I-AA playoffs, splitting their two contests in 2011 and dropping a decision to New Hampshire two years later. The school itself is located in Orono and plays its games at 10,000-seat Alfond Stadium.

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Maine Black Bears 2015 Football Season Preview

Playing in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) with teams like Villanova, Delaware and Richmond can be tough going for the Black Bears, which is one reason why they finished 5-6 in 2014. For the 2015 football season, they return 21 starters, a group that actually includes their two quarterbacks that both see plenty of time: Drew Belcher and Dan Collins. The team’s leading rusher, Nigel Beckford, will also return, while all three individuals will benefit from the return of the entire starting offensive line, led by center Bruce Johnson.

It’s on defense where most of the talent resides for Maine, with Trevor Bates the key man on the line at defensive end. Bates was seemingly everywhere in 2014 and will be expected to do much of the same for the 2015 campaign. Linebacker Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga won All-Conference accolades in 2014, leading Maine in tackles for the second consecutive year, with eight of his 95 coming behind the line of scrimmage. Preseason prognosticators have the Black Bears pegged for the middle of the 12-team CAA, the problem being that the competition is just too tough to imagine them going higher.

2015 NFL Teams Supported by Maine Football Fans

It’s only natural that a state in the New England region would adopt the New England Patriots as their team, but that’s been the case since the team first arrived in 1960. Patriot fans within the state can show their loyalty by purchasing specially made license plates. The concept was begun in 2011 and continues mostly to the continued success of the franchise. All of the profits from the sale go to Patriots charities.

Given the near perennial playoff appearances of the team since the arrival of Bill Belichick as head coach, the game days and especially playoff clashes have resulted in sports bars all over the state being jammed with fans who cheer on the team. One indication of exactly how emotional Patriots fans can be in Maine can be seen in the aftermath of the Deflategate decision by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that kept the five-game suspension for New England quarterback Tom Brady.

The vigorous denunciations of Goodell’s actions were heated enough that the league contacted police in Scarborough, Maine where Goodell has a vacation home. The call was a request that the police keep an eye on the home, with the phone call itself coming before the actual decision was announced. While nothing ended up happening, the passion of the fan base within Maine is clearly evident. One Facebook study found that based on the specific interests of users, people in Portland are most open about their support.