Super Bowl 2026: Milton Williams admits he hated Patriots as young football fan, but he's changed allegiances

Milton Williams has a different view of the New England Patriots now that he plays for the team and is about to play in Super Bowl LX. 

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Williams admitted that he was not a Patriots fan as a young football watcher. 

"I always tell people, and y'all gonna kill me when I say this, but I did not like the Patriots," Williams said in front of his locker, via NBC10's Nicole Menner.

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Williams was just like so many NFL fans, tired of seeing the Patriots win the Super Bowl during the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. He wanted to see somebody different hold up the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.

Asked if that opinion has changed, considering which team he now plays for, Williams said, "Oh, for sure."

"I mean, I'm here now so I love the Patriots," he added with a smile.

Local reporters pushed a bit more, inquiring as to what motivated Williams' past dislike of the Patriots. Did he hate Tom Brady? 

"I wasn't a Tom Brady hater," he said. "You know when somebody always wins? It's like, let somebody else win. But when you really get in it, and you really understand what comes with it and the work you gotta put into it, to consistently be doing that over and over again, you really can't say nothing." 

Growing up in Crowley, Texas and playing college football at Louisiana Tech, Williams had no local reason to root for or admire the Patriots. (Though local ties don't always affect someone's rooting interests>) 

Drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021, he also didn't have to contend with New England being a playoff contender or potential Super Bowl opponent as his first four NFL seasons coincided with the Patriots' decline after Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.