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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