Pats Pre-Season Game At Gilette Stadium

Last Thursday, Amy, Phu, Andrew and I scored free tickets to the Patriots pre-season game against the Jaguars. Amy and I both had to work on the later side.  However, this ended up working in our favor because we missed most of the pre-game traffic.  We scored a (paid) parking spot near the stadium and I was very impressed by the marked pedestrian paths the guide spectators to Gillette. The purple line led us from our parking lot directly to the stadium (around a ten minute walk).

We made it to our seats in the middle of the first quarter, not too shabby. The Pats were down 0-6 but it would be the last time they were down all night!

I'm not the world's biggest football fan but I was still thrilled with our seats in the end zone - the picture doesn't give you good perspective but I felt we were pretty close to the action on the field.

What the heck is this picture of? I was amused by Pat the Patriots ginormous mascot head, and the fact that his fake tricorn hat had just popped up next to a group of people dressed as patriots, wearing tricorn hats of their own.

Speaking of this group of patriots (there were actually two groups, one at each end zone), they provided the most entertainment for me.  You see, each time the Patriots (uppercase "P" denoting the football team) scored a touchdown or field goal, the muskets would go up:

A loud boom would commence - which would startle me every time, even when I knew it was coming:

The aftermath? Tons of smoke. Plus, this picture makes me laugh because of the fan's arm/hand gestures.

We enjoyed the perfect summer weather and a full moon

And good company. Although Phu would shush all of us when the cheerleaders hit the field.

It was a lot of fun and the Pats were up by a gazillion points by the end of the third quarter, so we left with most of the stadium. Full confession though, I think only free tickets would induce me to go out on a work night again, I was really tired on Friday morning. Lame, I know!

Good Times at Gillette

Thursday night, we rushed over to Foxboro directly after work. Andrew couldn't leave work early but was able to work out of his firm's Brockton office instead of the usual New Bedford office, which put him 30 minutes closer to Newton.



We hit the road at 6 pm, and made it to the stadium in 50 minutes. That was great timing, considering we were stuck in regular rush hour traffic and Pats game traffic. It also helped that our parking pass gave us access to the parking lot that is closest to the stadium and has it's own exit onto their nearest highway.


Here's Andrew and I outside the stadium:





Inside, we met some coworkers of mine in the Clubhouse. Our free tickets gave us access to this incredible room that spanned one side of the stadium. Not only was it heated with glass windows facing the field, it came equipped with incredible food stations and bars in every corner. I was expecting the typical hot dog and nacho fare. Instead, we saw carving stations, gourmet sandwiches, shrimp cocktail and even a dessert station with warm cookies. With so many choices for dinner, it was a tough decision but Andrew and I were both pleased with our choice in the end: Sirloin steak sandwiches on butter-toasted ciabatta bread, topped with onion strings and accompanied with a baked potato bar and baby carrots:






A calorie-fest, I admit it, but really good! And with each sandwich costing $20, it was nice to get this for free as well.
Our seats were right on the 50 yard line and the view was incredible.






The part I enjoyed most was seeing the minute men on the field, who would shoot after each Pats touchdown:







We left at the end of the third quarter, as it was already past 11 pm and we wanted to beat traffic home. The game was really sloppy and painful to watch up to this point, so we figured we wouldn't be missing anything. What we didn't realize is that the Pats would end up tying up the game and it went into overtime. I still have no regrets leaving early since the Pats did lose in the end and I was exhausted as it was on Friday at work.

Score!

Guess who's got two Club level Patriots tickets at the 50 yard line for the game tomorrow, as well as a parking pass for one of the lots next to the stadium?





The best things in life really are free and Andrew is one lucky guy to be dating me (I mean, there are many good reasons to be dating me but this wins for today!)