38.) Gillette Stadium. I may have not seen many other stadiums, but I was lucky enough to receive an extensive tour of this one, and I must say, it is absolutely beautiful, inside and out.
37.) Rodney Harrison. What’s not to like about the mean safety? He doesn’t talk the talk, but he sure as hell walks to the walk. Some may call it dirty, I just call it tough. It is football for crying out loud.
36.) Super Bowl 36. Not only was it one of the best Super Bowls of all time, the fact that the Patriots won, made it so much more sweet.
35.) The Minutemen. I love the Minutemen and their muskets that stand at the sideline of each home game. They look so badass!
34.) Troy Brown. I fell in love with Troy Brown when he was Terry Glenn’s backup. Terry Glenn left countless games with pathetic injuries and Brown always played hard, tough and smart. He’s not a man that was born with a talent like that of a Randy Moss, but he is a player that has worked hard to become what he is today.
33.) The Flying Elvis. The Flying ElvisI remember when the team first changed their logo from the tried and true, Pat Patriot, to the Flying Elvis. Many worried that it could easily be changed to the “Spirit of Saint Louis” and that it was concrete proof that the team was moving. Well, we were wrong and the emblem has grown on everyone in town.
32.) This season’s rookies. Dan Koppen, Assante Samuel, Bethel Johnson and Eugene Wilson have all played a big part in getting the Patriots to the Super Bowl this year, but my award for ‘my favorite rookie’ goes to Dan Klecko. He has the heart and the drive to be a great player that everyone will one day remember.
31.) Super Bowl 31. Yeah, the Patriots did lose this one, but it was the first time they went in my tenure as a Patriots fan. To this day, my father is convinced that Bill Parcells allowed the Patriots to lose this one only to spite Robert Kraft.
30.) The uniform. I may be a football fan, but I’m still a woman that likes a nice style and I think the Patriots have one of the best looking uniforms in the league. The colors, the style and of course, those ever so tight pants.
29.) Former tight end, Ben Coates. For some reason, the tall and bulky Ben Coates was ALWAYS open in the end zone.
28.) Tedy Bruschi. Not only is his name fun to say, this guy has more heart than anyone on that damn field. His statistics should have earned him a spot in countless Pro Bowls but he is forever overlooked. I suppose it doesn’t matter much when he plays in the third Super Bowl of his career on February 1st.
27.) The Website. Patriots.com is, by far, the best website for an NFL team. It’s easy to navigate, eye-pleasing and contains more information about the team history than you can find anywhere.
26.) The True Fans. We sit through bitter cold, rain, snow and sleet to support our team. We are a passionate bunch here. I mean, come on now, have any of you ever seen what the old Foxboro Stadium looked like? One word: DUMP. And people actually paid big bucks to spend all their time there!
25.) Willie McGinest. He restructured his contract in 2002 and took a pay cut to stay with the Patriots. That’s the kind of guy I want playing for my team!
24.) Ty Law. He is, and always has been, my favorite player. I once dumped a guy for saying that Deion Sanders was a better cornerback than Ty Law. As if!
23.) The new and improved Patriots clothing for women. When I first started buying Patriots clothing, there wasn’t much made for women. I bought mostly men’s small sweatshirts. Now there’s panties, velour pants suits, baby doll tees, etc. A great improvement in my opinion.
22.) The “Yankees Suck” chant. Sure it’s an entirely different sport, but, in New England Yankee Hatred transcends baseball. Don’t be surprised if you hear this chant during a Patriots game.
21.) The “Bullshit” Chant. More common in Foxboro than the “Yankees Suck” chant. Sometimes I pity the officials when they must make the calls against the Patriots. This chant has not been heard at Foxboro this year.
20.) Super Bowl 20. Yeah, they didn’t win this one either, in fact they got blown out of the water here. But it was their first Super Bowl, my dad attended and he brought back lots of souvenirs for my sister and me, which, as a six year old, was the only thing I cared about.
19.) Walt Coleman. Don’t know who he is? Let me refresh your memory: he is the referee who made the famous/infamous “tuck rule” decision in the 2001 Divisional round of the playoffs.
18.) The New York Jets Rivalry. Onlookers might assume the Patriots top rival would be Miami, but Jets and Pats fans will tell you otherwise. My father tells me it dates all the way back to 1960, and climaxed when Bill Parcells went there in ’96. Curtis Martin’s betrayal was even worse. Pats fans got the last laugh in 2000 when Bill Belichick opted to leave the Jets and come back to New England.
17.) VP of Player Personnel, Scott Pioli. He is the architect of the Patriots. Look at the rookies, look at the free agents he has signed. This man has an eye for talent and must be credited for giving New England another Super Bowl.
16.) Patriots Defensive Coordinator, Romeo Crennel. Come on people! Give this man some credit! Sure Belichick is the defense genius, but Crennel is the key to this defense.
15.) Former Fullback Larry Garron. He played for the Patriots in the 1960s and I met him at the beginning of this season when he was dining at my restaurant. He was one of the nicest guys I have ever met! My dad is still mad at me for not asking for an autograph, but I just didn’t want to bother the poor guy any more than I already had.
14.) Former Patriots Quarterback, Steve Grogan. Watch some of this guy’s highlights and you’ll like him as much as I do. My dad taught me to say he was my favorite quarterback when I was three years old. To this day, he is still my dad’s favorite Patriots player of all time.
13.) The REAL Female Fans. There is nothing I like more than meeting women who are actual Patriots fans, not just Brady groupies. I find it easier to talk to them than most male fans because the male fans are always skeptical and try to test me to see if I know what I’m talking about. It drives me nuts.
12.) Tom Brady. Hello? Young, rich, handsome, single, starting quarterback for the Patriots, it’s hard NOT to like him.
11.) Former Patriots Quarterback, Drew Bledsoe. His poise and class after losing his job to Tom Brady was admirable. Personally, I think he was a big factor in Brady’s development as a quarterback also. Funny thing, even when the Patriots beat the Bills in the final game of the season, every single person I talked to about the game mentioned that they felt bad for Bledsoe. We still love him here.
10.) Richard Seymour. I like to refer to the Patriots’ defensive lineman as the “Gentle Giant.” He’s very soft-spoken but mean as hell on the field.
9.) Ted “Mount” Washington. As an opposing running back, how do you get by 6’5″,365 pounds of mean?
8.) Fourteen Fifteen Game Winning Streak. Game Seven of the ALCS broke millions of hearts. I mean, as that ball ricocheted off of Aaron Boone’s bat, you could almost hear the hearts crushing. The Patriots answered the call and gave Boston sports fans something to be happy about once again.
7.) Former Guard John Hannah. I was only a little kid when John Hannah played, but watching old film of his, there is no better spot for him than Canton, Ohio. The man cut through defensive lines like a hot knife through butter. Yes, butter.
6.) “Squish the Fish.” Probably the greatest football slogan of all time. Come on, it’s genius!
5.) The Underdog Mentality. Who cares if Vegas is picking the Patriots to win. They are the ultimate underdog.
4.) Adam Vinatieri. I don’t think I could have asked for a better way for the Patriots to win Super Bowl 36 than to have Vinatieri come out and kick a field goal in the last second. He’s tough on Special Teams and he’s made clutch kicks time and time again.
3.) Bill Belichick. I remember when he was the defensive coordinator for the Jets. He devised a defense to completely destroy anything Drew Bledsoe did. It was terrible! Thank goodness that coach is on my team now. This year, he not only won the AP’s award for NFL Coach of the Year, he is taking the Patriots to their second Super Bowl in three years. Pretty impressive.
2.) The 45 yard Field Goal. The 45 yard kick made in the 2001 Divisional Round against the Oakland Raiders. It’s been referred to as the greatest kick in NFL history and it is surely a moment I, as a Patriots fan, will never forget.
and the Number one Reason why I love the New England Patriots is…
1.) Patriots owner, Robert Kraft. I cannot stress this enough, Bob Kraft is responsible for everything the Patriots have done in the last 10 years. At the time he bought the team, ticket sales were very low, the team was losing consistently and there was talk of moving the team to St. Louis, Missouri. All that changed when he bought the team. He’s created a team that has now gone to the Super Bowl three times, he privately financed Gillette Stadium, which in its second season is STILL considered the best in the NFL. Robert Kraft is the perfect example of what happens to a professional sports team when their owner is a fan first.