One Fine Day in Boston
Pulling into Gillette stadium at 9am for a 1pm game. You are with your “tailgate” buddies eating burgers and wings at 10am when other people are feasting on French toast and omelets. You trade stories of your past week while imbibing on a few tasty micro-brewed beverages.
Arriving at An Tua Nua on Beacon Street prior to a Sox game. You get to enjoy some pre game grub at an affordable price I might add. A few beers later then you make your way to the hallow halls of Fenway Park. Your nose is assaulted by the smells of the ballpark. Italian Sausages. Popcorn. Beer and the fear of the opposing team’s fans. Hitting the Boston Beer Works on Canal Street before a Bruins or Celts game. Downing some pitchers of Boston Red and then maybe a quick Corona at Hurricane O’Reilly’s. You are dressed in Black and Gold or Green depending on who is handing out the pain at TD Bank North Garden.
I always look back to these times as great times in my sports life. Even when Boston didn’t enjoy the success it’s enjoyed these past few years, fans were devoutly loyal to their teams, and times were great. This game I’m about to write about marks a critical point in my Boston sports life.
As a young 21 year old, I had the opportunity to buy season tickets for about $300 a year. No brainer. Drinking beers with your friends and watching football? Where do I sign? My seats were about 18 rows off the field on the goal line at the trash can that was Foxboro Stadium. There were no restaurants or shops. Going to the bathroom was an adventure every time. Sometimes the toilets worked and sometimes they overflowed. The seats were made of the hulls of old B-17′s. Getting out of the parking lot was an utter nightmare. If you didn’t leave by halftime you may have gotten home by 8PM after a 1PM game. Oh the memories!
I didn’t care. The experience of a Pats game was magical, even if they were bad. During this game in particular, the 3-6 Pats went up against a better Vikings team, led by Warren Moon. The Vikings quickly jumped out to a huge lead, and things looked like they were over before halftime. Many fans even left the game.
We decided to sit through the rest of the game since the experience itself was always fun, and the Pats somehow got things together and made a game out of it all.
Somehow, the team closed on that 17 point deficit and forced an overtime on the Vikings. All of us were expecting the team to blow its chance, but Bledsoe was relentless. With an overtime touchdown pass that ended the game, the stadium erupted.
This marked the beginning of a turnaround that ended up seeing the Pats in a Super Bowl, and a few years later, winning a ring. When I think about the “new” Patriots, it all begins with this game.
