Patriots Games Are Better Watched at Home
I can't believe I'm officially at a place in life where I'd actually prefer to watch a Patriots game from the comfort of home.
I'm almost afraid to admit it because I know 20-something-year old Michael Rock would want to punch me in the throat, but I would rather watch the Patriots play on TV than in Foxboro.
I clearly remember a day when I would have killed to grab tickets to a Patriots playoff game. I would have gladly driven the one-hour ride (with ridiculous traffic on Route 1). I would have paid the $40 to park with a smile on my face. I would have brought an extra pair of gloves to cut back on the numbing of my fingers. I'd welcome the drunk guy spilling beer down my back, only to have it freeze into a Budweiser slush on the sweatshirt under my jacket. The roar of the crowd each time the Patriots stadium announcer, John Rooke, declared a Patriots FIRST DOWN was enough to warm my blood. The breathtaking Tom Brady drives, seeing the greatest football player to every live play the game—in person—there was nothing like it.
But for my money, for BIG games like the playoffs, there's nothing like stretching out on your own couch, blanket, wings, drinks, friends, family. That's the way to watch a Patriots game. It's the best TV show going now. You can see the plays so much better than you can at the stadium.
I remember my father and grandfather saying these blasphemous things about the Red Sox and Fenway Park back in the day. I couldn't get over it. Now, I'm one of "those guys."
Admittedly, I still bring my boy to an early season game every year. While the parking and traffic are still atrocious, the weather is bearable. And it's not the playoffs. There's too much on the line when the Patriots are in the playoffs. Each of these games could conceivably be Brady's last. I'm not going to miss plays because the guy in front of me insists on standing up for the entire four quarters.
So, here I am. I'm officially THAT guy.
And I don't even care.