by Robert Gillis
Published in The Foxboro Reporter 9/2004

The office phone rang the afternoon of September 9. Sue said we were going to the Patriots against the Colts opening game, and despite my initial automatic reply of “We don’t have the money,” and “How much for the tickets?” by 6:45 I was printing out two tickets on my printer, I didn’t mind too much as the seats were ROW 1 on the 50 YARD LINE. These were the most incredible seats I have ever had for ANYTHING, more than making up for the fact that the mortgage and utilizes don’t get paid this month.. I couldn’t believe how close we were! We felt like royalty in those seats, but sadly, no celebrities were in our section. Where was Jack Nicholson? Oh, sorry, wrong sport.

Our first Pats game was our first Pats game at Gillette and the first football game of my life (I didn’t get out much as a kid, ok?) Since this was my first time at a Pats game, I thought I’d share some observations about the game, the stadium, and my overall experience:

I should not admit this, but I really need to learn the rules of football. I cheered because everyone else did. I don’t have a clue about HOW the game is played beyond “Take the ball and run that way fast,” or that “touchdown” is a good thing when the Pats do it. Take me to Fenway and I’m fine, but here, I kept wondering, “Oh, is that good?”

Bob Kraft gave a nice, brief speech in front of an massive Superbowl trophy before unveiling the impressive new 2003 Superbowl banner with a fireworks display. Very cool. Very stylish presentation and unveiling of the banner and the crowd went wild!

And Mr. Kraft, the new stadium continues to impress me. It is truly state-of-the-art. Mr. Kraft and all who built it, be proud. It is awesome. Foxboro, be proud. It put us on the map (twice). And we do get revenue from it, remember.

I continue to be offended by being patted down by security. Not because I don’t believe it’s necessary (it is) but I’m dead serious: If those guys get any friendlier during the pat down I’m going to demand they buy me dinner first or at least call the next day. I am not joking about this – the pat down is downright creepy.Look at all the people! The game was a sell-out with 68,756 people. I was honored to be one of them.

Nice to see Elton John even for two songs, the man gets better every year. He is a musical genius. But Mary J. Blidge singing the National Anthem made me cry. Really. Sue too. God, I love this country. Thank you, Mary J.

Speaking of patriotism (no pun intended) seeing all those soldiers in uniform at halftime was awe-inspiring, and seeing all those kids in their white shirts march out to take the oath as they entered the National Guard was very memorable, filling me with pride but also bittersweet. Of course I am so proud of them, but they are all so young. I pray they don’t see combat and are kept safe. God bless them for taking this brave step to serve our country. And love the president or not, I wish the crowd hadn’t booed when the general administering the oath to the new cadets mentioned the requirement of loyalty to the president. The cadet’s oath is to the constitution, and the office of the president and the not any one man, and I felt that it must have given some of the kids pause. But these are all smart kids – I’m sure they understand what they’re doing. God bless those newest members of the armed forces!

The game itself was a nail-biter to the end. Glad the Pats won, but enough mistakes were made that they probably shouldn’t have, and damn, was it close for a few minutes there! Keep that deliberator handy! My heart stopped a few times.

Souvenir program: $10.00. Two sausage subs with everything, a coke and a water, $21.00. Being at this game: priceless. Sharing this first game with Sue: Beyond priceless. Perfect.

Speaking of money, every available second of non-play was filled with advertisements for EVERYTHING. I cannot believe the amount of continuous corporate sponsorship. It is a non-stop blitzkrieg, a machine-gunning of advertising. Forget what you see on TV – when you’re there the ads are non-stop. “And that’s a touchdown! These four seconds have been brought to you by Home Depot! Refs are reviewing the play, and it’s good! And what else is good? McDonalds! Brady has the ball, he’s running. but not for health care! Tufts Health Plan is there for you! And it’s first down! Now let’s welcome Bill Jones and Joe Smith, who will kick the ball as part of Blue Cross…” Arg! Just let me watch the game in peace!

The Patriots mascot, Pat Patriot, bears a frightening resemblance to my parrot Jasmine when she is angry. I got to shake his hand, anyway!

Those football players are big guys. Huge. I had no idea. And they work VERY hard. This is NOT an easy sport. They earn their money, not like some baseball players I could mention. Pats, you’re worth your millions!

My wife is in love with Tom Brady.

That’s OK though because I was leering at the cheerleaders. I have never seen such toned bodies, flat stomachs… And the uniforms are… um… very nice too. Yes. Very… pretty.

Sorry, what was I talking about?

The rain started as soon as the game began, but we didn’t care. “It’s only rain,” the guy next to me shouted. I shouted too, reminding him about the last “blizzard game” at the old Foxboro Stadium. “Yeah!” he agreed! This isn’t snow! Play!”

Men dressed in Minutemen uniforms fired muskets every time the Pats won. Glad the muskets are not allowed in the stands because some fans get too excited and rowdy. Pats fan are a little TOO frenzied and will turn on a dime against the Pats whenever a mistake is made – many are unforgiving and I’ve never seen so many armchair coaches.

Was it really necessary for the clown three rows behind me to throw his beer bottle onto to the field to express his displeasure at a referee ruling? He’s lucky the cop happened to be looking the other way or he might have got a personal tour of the new police holding tank at the stadium.

I can’t believe how much running around the media has to do – you don’t see this on TV but the huge camera rig is constantly pushed and driven back and forth along side the field to where the action is, with roadies scrambling to keep miles of cable from being tangled. The guys from WBCN radio were hustling all night long with what I assumed were parabolic microphones. And the “robot” cam on wires that constantly hovers over the field is both high-tech cool and a little creepy in a sci-fi sort of way.

I was grateful for the presence of the local police and security staff that seemed to have a handle on safety. Good job as always, guys.

You cannot experience this excitement in your living room. You HAVE to go to a game.

Walking two miles home is still faster than outgoing traffic or getting to most parking lots. And by the way, to all the people in the parking lots, just keep beeping your horns; that will definitely make traffic flow faster.

The Patriots continue to impress me. Guys, thanks for a great opening game. Thanks for making my first game so memorable. Win or lose you make us proud