Subject: RE: Super Bowl Mea Culpa no apology necessary. It was taken in the intended spirit, even tho you obviously don't know the sports culture of the region. It is Sox first, Patriots second. That's just the way it is. And there are plenty of bandwagon Sox fans who bail at the first sign of trouble and want back on when the ship rights itself. Whatever, there's plenty of room. But to set the record straight, the Patriots did not move out of Boston when they needed a new stadium. Gillette Stadium is built exactly where the old Foxboro stadium stood for years. The Patriots were the Boston Patriots in 1959 and played at Boston University and other college fields and Fenway Park for more than 10 years until the Sullivan family moved them to Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro, where they have been ever since. In 1971 they were named the New England Patriots, and in '82 Schaefer was renamed Sullivan Stadium after the owners. These were lean years my friend, tough times to be a Pats fan. The Sullivan family was not interested in fielding a winning team, only interested in it as a business venture (much like Jeremy Jacobs of the Bruins these days ). Victor Kiam bought the team in '88, and it was his CEO who hired Parcells. Kiam lasted 4 years and was quite a spectacle himself. Bob Kraft took over in '94 and built the new stadium entirely with private funds, unlike what is going on in TX with the new stadium in Arlington. People here were in such an uproar over a publicly funded privately owned business, that Kraft threatened to move the team to CT. There was actually a deal inked for the move that Kraft backed out of and the rest, as they say, is history. So the New England Patriots have played at Gillette since 2002, and I'm not positive, but I don't think they've lost a home game since the stadium opened. Anything else you'd like to know? Don't be afraid to ask, I'd love to set the record straight |