Patriots Dynasty Special For This 47-Year Guy

This column appeared in the Sun Chronicle on Monday, January 28th, 2019.

Bill Gouveia: Witnessing the creation of a sports dynasty

• 14 hrs ago
 

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It was New Year’s Eve day — Dec. 31, 1978.

I was in my seat in the North end zone at Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro watching the New England Patriots play their first-ever home NFL playoff game. The opponent was the Houston Oilers, led by quarterback Dan Pastorini.

At 22, I was in my sixth year as a season ticket holder. And this was the playoffs! New Englanders only saw those on television back then. This was big, and the crowd in that bare bones, awful stadium though good times were just ahead.

The Pats lost that game 31-14. They would not play another home post-season contest until 1996, some 18 years later. Although they did reach the Super Bowl in 1985 and 1996 — they didn’t win.

But I stayed with them. I brought my wife and sons to games. My best friend Rick Carter joined us. Through seasons where the Patriots went 1-15 and 2-14, we hung in. Through the halftime shows featuring Jumpin’ Joe Gerlach leaping from a hot air balloon, through decades of being banned from Monday Night Football.

Then Robert Kraft purchased the team, and a couple guys named Belichick and Brady joined the organization. Things sort of changed.

In the last 18 years (excluding the one season Brady missed), the Patriots have played 25 home playoff games — winning 22 of them. They have won nine AFC Championships, and appeared in eight straight. They are about to go to their NFL record 11th Super Bowl.

Tom Brady has made the Super Bowl nine times in 18 years. The Patriots have made it four times in the past five years. And most importantly — this Sunday they can win their sixth Super Bowl, tying them for the most in NFL history.

I still sit in the North end zone. My seats literally cost 1,000% more than they did in 1978. Parking today for one single game costs more than my individual seat for the entire season in 1972. The price of just four stadium beers today would have covered my entire season ticket bill back then.

But boy, has it been worth it.

I’ve had a great seat and witnessed firsthand the longest professional sports dynasty in modern history. Spare me the Yankees, who dominated before free agency. Even my beloved Celtics won their 11 titles in 13 years back when teams owned superstars for their entire careers. Same with the Montreal Canadiens in their famous heyday.

We watch the games today in a great stadium that has become the biggest home-field advantage in sports. It is surrounded now by hotels, shops and fine restaurants.

When I started attending games, the area was surrounded by dirt parking lots and a dying horseracing track.

We are a spoiled lot, we Boston sports fans. But many of us have earned that privilege, paid our dues. And we appreciate this time for what it truly is.

We are still in the Golden Age of Boston sports. Thank you to the Patriots for being a central part of it.

Now go win the damn game. Beat LA. The Duck Boats are warming up…

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and a 47-year Patriots season ticket holder. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.

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Pats Win AFC Championship - We Get On The Field!

Getting On The Field And the Pats Win!

by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle

This column appeared on the front page of The Sun Chronicle on January 22, 2019

The Patriots have played in 15 AFC Championship games in their illustrious history. I have attended 13 of those in person — and Sunday’s game in Kansas City may have been the best ever.

Along with my oldest son Aaron, I flew out to St. Louis on Saturday (much cheaper airfare) and then drove four hours across Missouri on I-70 (America’s Most Boring Road) to KC to watch the Patriots. As a season ticket holder for 47 years, it was irresistible.

Our reward was being there for one of the best AFC Championships ever and, as an added bonus, being invited down on the field before the game by the Patriots. I can barely type that without smiling.

The on-field part was thanks to my son, a dad blogger of some repute with a large Twitter following.

When Aaron tweeted that we were in KC, the Patriots remembered him from earlier tweets about his son (my grandson Sammy) and the painting of his fingernails, which had drawn support from the Pats and his favorite player, Rob Gronkowski.

When they tweeted us an invite to come on the field before the game, the excited screaming could probably be heard all the way back in Foxboro.

Standing on the field with my son was an unforgettable thrill. Watching warmups, being next to the Patriots bench, being a few feet from the sideline — it was a true fan’s dream come true. By the way — those players are huge.

Then the game. It could have been anticlimactic after that — but it wasn’t. It was a roller coaster of emotion, one of the greatest Patriot games I have ever seen.

Arrowhead Stadium is loud — REALLY loud. The Chiefs fans are devoted, but unfailingly polite and friendly. To be honest, they treated us far better than they might have been treated by Patriot fans at Gillette.

We bonded with many of them, and there was good-natured teasing. But going into the overtime, we shook hands with all of them and agreed that no matter the outcome, we had borne witness to the NFL at its best.

But of course, the outcome mattered greatly. And it ended with the greatest QB in history adding yet another chapter to his world-class resume.

Our trip home involved leaving Monday morning at 4 a.m. for a drive back to St. Louis, a flight to LaGuardia, a canceled flight back to Boston, and the car rental to get back home.

But the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl again. And we saw perhaps the greatest AFC Championship game ever, and got on the field to boot.

I’d call that a pretty darned good trip.

Bill Gouveia is a Sun Chronicle columnist. He can be reached at billinsidelook@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @Billinsidelook.

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Foxboro Issues Not Unusual, But Need Better Handling

Foxboro Needs Better Cooperation, Communication

by Bill Gouveia

Problems in local government are inevitable. They occur in every community. And generally speaking, towns are judged more on how they handle and address those problems than on the problems themselves.

In Foxboro, officials are not instilling confidence amongst their constituents regarding “problems” in the town’s finance department. Just determining if there actually are problems has proven difficult — although the absence of employees and need for various replacements makes it hard to deny.

Finance Director Randy Scollins is currently on a paid leave of absence granted by Town Manager William Keegan. Longtime employee and Revenue Officer Lisa Sinkus retired in November following a two-month leave of absence. Privacy laws rightfully restrict town officials from freely discussing those situations or any other personnel matters with the public. Each office was filled on a very temporary basis by vote of selectmen a few weeks ago.

But the real problem in Foxboro (other than the Patriots ability to win on the road) seems to be a familiar one: The power struggle between a “strong” town manager and a board of selectmen where some members think they should be more involved in the day-to-day operation of the town.

Selectmen were divided on confirming the town manager’s choice of an interim finance director. It was a 3-2 vote, with selectmen James DeVellis and Leah Gibson opposed. DeVellis was upset the board had not had met with both candidates prior to the appointment. That is certainly a fair and reasonable point.

But then DeVellis wondered aloud if the board was filling the job with “someone who is just not qualified to do it.” He expressed his preference for another candidate and seemed to be criticizing the town manager’s approach to the entire situation.

In a deliberately vague manner, DeVellis referred to long-rumored problems in the finance department and claimed he had been denied documents concerning the issue. “The attorney general says I’m able to get those documents…and I’m going to be insistent that I am able to review those reports,” the veteran selectman claimed.

Eventually town manager Keegan said to the board, “You asked me to run the town on a day-to-day basis. I’m trying to give you the best operational recommendation.”

If there are problems in the finance department, the public has a right to know. If the matters require non-public investigation, that should be allowed to happen first. If selectmen aren’t allowed to discuss ongoing matters publicly, they should not discuss them.

But they can’t do what DeVellis did, and “sort of” talk about them. That is wrong, unfair, and unprofessional. It does not help the public or the employees, and contributes nothing towards a solution. It may send a message to and about the town manager, but that is not the way to do that.

Talk about involvement of the attorney general and alleged suppressed documents undermines the integrity of not the finance department, but the entirety of Foxboro’s government. The selectmen and the town manager need to communicate better and more efficiently, and avoid making it appear pettiness and power struggles are dominating Foxboro Town Hall.

In local government, problems are usually solved by better behavior.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@aol.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.

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