Patriots fan fulfills lifelong dream NEWS clerk experiences highs, lows of NFL game at Foxboro Stadium

FOXBORO, Mass. – My lifelong dream finally came true last Sunday – attending a New England Patriots football game.

The Patriots were hosting quarterback Doug Flutie and the San Diego Chargers, on a typical New England October day: Misty, rainy, and cool. I’m 16 and have been a Pats fan my whole life. My seats were in section 323, which is on the 5-yard line, and in the third level. Pretty good.

I went down to the game with co-worker Andrew Neff, and his friends, Charlie and Jen Vail. We pulled out of Brewer at around 6:30 a.m. and arrived in Foxboro at roughly 11:30 a.m. However, I didn’t step outside until nearly noon, because traffic is so congested.

There was just one big unpaved lot, and it was just a pain in the neck to park there.

New England managed to pull out a 29-26 victory in overtime. Tom Brady had his best game, completing 33 of 54 passes for 364 yards and his first two career touchdown passes. Terry Glenn had a great game after returning from his suspension, catching seven balls for 110 yards and a score. Jermaine Wiggins caught the equalizing score with 38 seconds left in regulation. I was one of about 60,000 fans packed into Foxboro.

The one downer about the whole experience was nearly getting beer spilled all over me. However, it could have been worse had it not been for a friend, Rhysa Washburn, who had been to Foxboro about eight times, ranging from Pats games to an NSYNC concert.

Rhysa is freshman in one of my classes, and a member of the varsity soccer team at Brewer High. She knows everything you need to know about Foxboro. All week long, she told me the “do’s and don’ts” of the stadium.

I basically followed all her directions, except for one. One of my few bathroom visits was during halftime – called “rush hour” at Foxboro. I was stuck in line for about half an hour!

Rhysa also told me the hot dogs were great, and I was glad I listened to her on that one. They were the best I’ve had, and that was one of the few good features of the stadium.

As most of you Patriots fans might know, this is the Pats’ final season at Foxboro Stadium. Yes, they’re FINALLY getting out of that old scrap heap they call a stadium and moving into a state-of-the-art, 66,000-seat stadium next season.

At long last, football fanatics in New England will have a nice facility to watch our beloved Pats. I’ve been lucky, too, as now I’ve been able to see three of Boston’s professional teams – the Pats, the Celtics at the FleetCenter and the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The FleetCenter is OK, but you seem too far away from the game. Fenway Park reminds me of Foxboro, but has chairback seats. Fenway is small and you feel crammed in there just like Foxboro. They also both have lousy concessions and moldy restrooms, but at least the lines to Fenway’s restrooms are short.

After a visit to Foxboro, it’s easy to see why the Patriots are finally getting a new stadium. About 53,000 of the 60,000 seats are bench seats and are uncomfortable. There’s also only one concourse, the parking is horrible and battling Route 1 traffic is nerve-wracking.

However, I just had the urge to get down there and see my team. Even though the stadium is rotten, I love the Patriots a lot. Plus, I’m a big Doug Flutie fan, and this might be his last season. Seeing Flutie play was definitely a big highlight.

I attend a lot of games watching Brewer High School teams and the atmosphere is really different at Foxboro. There, you have no room, and ex-jock types are always getting two or three beers in them and just yelling anything they want. There were even some fights. A few jerks in my area got the boot for fighting.

Watching a Brewer High football game at Doyle Field is much more relaxing, there is plenty of room to stand, and best of all, you can hang out and talk with your friends without 60,000 other people screaming and hollering.

You are not allowed to smoke or drink at Doyle, and that should be the case at all major sports venues, and college arenas as well. Beer should be washed out, because can you just imagine being on the same highway with guys who have just been getting drunk for the last two or three hours. That’s scary!

Doyle is much better than Foxboro as far as comfort and there are no encounters with rowdy maniac fans.

The actual game at Foxboro, however, was a great experience. That’s why I and other people will always keep going. Hopefully, I’ll get to some more games.

Ryan McLaughlin is a clerk on the NEWS sports desk.