Many may still consider the Dallas Cowboys “America’s Team,” but for a nearly twenty year period, a strong argument was made that the New England Patriots took over that mantle, thanks to the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick dynasty. As a result, many people outside of the New England bubble became fans of the team. This includes AEW star and current Ring of Honor Women’s Pure Champion Deonna Purrazzo, though as it turns out, winning was only part of the reason the New Jersey native rooted for the team.
Appearing on the February 9 episode of “Busted Open Radio” alongside former TNA co-worker Tasha Steelz, Purrazzo revealed her Patriots fandom. She also admitted that it came about not for the right reasons, citing cheerleader, the Patriots winning, and them being the favorite team of future WWE Hall of Famer John Cena, who Purrazzo had a massive crush on at the time.
“If you want to call me a fraud, by all means, because I was a cheerleader in the early 2000s being forced to learn about football, so I could call the proper cheers,” Purrazzo said. “And they [the New England Patriots] just happened to be the dynasty and keep winning. And I was like ‘Wait a second, John Cena likes that team. They win. And one day, I’m going to marry John Cena. And if I like that team, then we’ll have something in common, so he’ll like me too.’ And then I liked them.”
Ultimately, Purrazzo’s love for Cena subsided, even if her Patriots fandom did not. In the end, it seems to have still worked out just fine for Purrazzo, as she married fellow wrestler, TNA star Steve Maclin, back in November 2022.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
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