10 Things To Do in Foxboro, MA
Who do you like in the game tonight, pal? The greatest quarterback of all-time, or Tom Brady?
An obnoxious Kansas City Chiefs fan
- Go to a New England Patriots football game.
Let’s be honest…it’s the ONLY thing worth doing in Foxboro.
- Go to a REALLY GOOD New England Patriots football game.
The undefeated Kansas City Chiefs were in town, an uber-talented squad led by 23-year old quarterback Patrick Mahomes, arguably the most exciting player in the NFL, on a Sunday night Game of the Week. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Unless, of course, you’re a rabid Boston Red Sox baseball fan and also have tickets to the ALCS playoff game against the Houston Astros that same evening at Fenway Park. Since the turn of the century, Bostonians consider Beantown to be the epicenter of the sports universe. They’re right, of course, but that doesn’t change the fact that I find their pompous attitude arrogant, obnoxious and completely inappropriate. Not that I’m bitter or anything.
For those who missed the thrilling game, Mahomes played as advertised, Brady rushed four yards for a touchdown (his career long, I’m told), and the Pats kicked a last second field goal to win 43-40. What. A. Game.
- Go to a REALLY GOOD New England Patriots football game with your son.
Ross Geiger, now 27 years old and off the payroll since he graduated from Brown, generously promised as a birthday present to one day take me to a Patriots game. Seeing that neither of us had ever been to Gillette Stadium, or had ever seen 40-year old Tom Brady play in person, the offer was too good to pass up. Then again, spotting Gisele Bündchen wandering around the parking lot in a pair of tight jeans would have also sufficed.
Beside getting tickets for both his football-savvy parents, Ross also took his wife, father-in-law and brother-in-law to their very first regular season NFL game. First, as in FIRST TIME EVER. Not to mention he forked over a small fortune for six tickets. Only time will tell if the family he married into drinks the NFL Kool-Aid.
- Eat a cupcake
We managed to park in a $30 lot run by volunteers from the Rotary Club (a $50 lot was a hundred-yards closer to the stadium). After parking our rig, we were each offered a cupcake for the hike to the stadium. As far as I was concerned, the parking was free, and the cupcakes were a delicious tax write-off.
- Take a hike
Parking lot to stadium entrance was a twenty-minute trek. Other than witnessing a few well-oiled Patriot tailgaters getting their game faces on, nothing of significant interest catches the eye for the first half of the journey. But after cresting a hill we saw Gillette Stadium rise from the plains of Foxboro like a Star Wars Death Star. Even from a healthy distance away, you could tell this football edifice that is home to five Super Bowl trophies was MASSIVE. The rest of the journey took us through Patriot Place, a cheesy shopping mall with an even cheesier name. Which begs the obvious question: What do these stores and restaurants do the other 355 days a year?
- Climb a mountain
To recreate the father/son experience from the now-departed Candlestick Park, Ross bought tickets in the nosebleed section of Gillette Stadium, just rows from the tippy-top. To say the stairs were steep is like saying a real bowl of Boston clam chowdah should be walked across as well as eaten.
- High-Five a stranger
Patriot fans are very friendly. Then again, it’s easy to be nice and cuddly when you know your team has a 50% chance of making it to the Super Bowl every year. Memo to all Patriot fans; the 49ers won four Super Bowls in the 80’s and 90’s. It’s been a dust bowl ever since. Trust me, your 3-14 seasons are coming.
- Become an announcer
Whenever the Patriots make a first down, the stadium announcer says, “And that play gives the Patriots another…”, and then he shuts up while the entire stadium yells “First Down!” It wouldn’t be so obnoxious if it didn’t happen every two minutes when they have the ball.
- Have a beer
The 12-ounce Fuggles IPA from the Shipyard Brewing Company is almost worth the $18. Really.
- Make a memory
Ross and I have been attending NFL games since he was 7 years old. Our first game together was September 6, 1998, a battle royale pitching our hometown San Francisco 49ers against the visiting New York Jets. The nail-biting game, which included a touchdown pass from future Hall of Famers Steve Young to Jerry Rice, went into overtime, and on the first series San Francisco’s Garrison Hearst sprinted 96 yards for the winning touchdown. I can’t remember what I had for lunch today, but I’ll never forget that day.
Fast forward to January 14, 2012. Using the cool cash we’d won from winning our fantasy football league, Ross, who was home from college, and I scalp two tickets to the 49s/New Orleans Saints Divisional Round playoff game. In a back and forth contest as thrilling as we’d ever seen, the 49ers Vernon Davis catches a pass from Alex Smith with nine seconds left in the game to win 36-32 and advance to the NFC Championship game. For two reasons, I’ll never forget the all-out sprint we made after that catch to get to our car so we could beat the traffic. One, we made it across the Bay Bridge before the post-game shows even started And two, it was the first time I had seen Ross, who ultimately battled through six surgeries on his left foot due to injuries he suffered running track and cross country in high school, run in almost three years.
In between those two dates were plenty of highs for wins and lows for losses, but in the end, I can’t remember a single score. But like a stuffed box in the attic, I have the memories of hot dogs, hamburgers, hand slaps, fist pumps and full-throated cheers, and they’re always fresh in my mind.
Which brings me to October 14, 2018. There was Ross, briskly walking with a bright smile on his face and a spring in his step, savoring the sights and sounds and smells of an NFL game experience. Outside of his wedding to his lovely and remarkable wife Caroline, I hadn’t seen that excited look in his eyes in many years. Ross grew up a sports nut, but over the years his focus has been more on The Wall Street Journal than SportsCenter. But he took it upon himself to create this special memory, which will forever include the woman he loves, and her family he thinks the world of. I am grateful to be included.
I just hope he doesn’t become another obnoxious Patriot’s fan. I don’t know if I can take it.