Robert Kraft on Patriots' critics: 'Haters still hate'

Patriots owner Robert Kraft is reveling in the team's fifth Super Bowl title.

"Think about the eight days I had. We had Elton John perform at a party. We have the Super bowl where from the depths of depression we go to the elation of a victory," Kraft told Andrea Kremer on Tuesday's edition of Real Sports on HBO. "We have this trophy and on a snowy day in Boston we have over a million people. Then the president invites you to dinner with the prime minister [of Japan]. It's a pretty cool week."

After Kraft said that, Kremer suggested that It's good to be Robert Kraft, to which Kraft responded: "Sometimes."

While that could mean anything, perhaps it was a bit of foreshadowing in Kraft's case. Aside from the highs, he was inevitably asked about the controversies the Patriots have encountered over the past decade. From losing a first-round pick and sustaining almost a million dollars in fines for illegally videotaping opposing teams' signals from the wrong location back in 2007 to watching quarterback Tom Brady be suspended for four games in 2016 for his role in role in Deflategate, it has not been the smoothest road for the Patriots owner.

"When anyone wins at anything too often then you start to bring out feelings that aren't maybe the most collegial in other people," Kraft said.

He added: "Envy and jealousy are incurable diseases. The haters still hate. And I understand it and we'll do our best to keep them in that position."

On Brady, Kraft said "He's just not the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL. He's an amazing human being and it's genuine. And as nice as everybody thinks he is, he's nicer. And to see anyone attack him as an individual or his integrity, that just was unfair."

Some other notable items from the interview:

» On drafting Tom Brady: "I'll always remember him coming down the stairs at the old stadium. He said to me 'Hi. I'm Tom Brady.' He looked me in the eye and said, 'And I'm the best decision this organization has ever made.'"

» On the key moment of New England's Super Bowl turnaround: "The transformative moment for me was [Julian] Edelman's catch. When he made that catch I felt really good. Once we tied the game I knew we were going to win."

It's easy to tell that this team has a special place in Kraft's heart, and not just for what had happened at the beginning of the season. It has bolstered an already insane appreciation for Brady, whose legend is growing by the minute in New England. It also has set the bar for Super Bowl comebacks, something we might not see again for decades.