Dear Mr. Kraft: Bangor a perfect celebration site

To: Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots.

From: an unofficial, but sincere representative of New England Patriots fans in Maine.

Dear Bob:

Congratulations on your Patriots’ Super Bowl victory over the St. Louis Rams. The victory has energized our region. The long cold winter is suddenly shorter and a bit warmer. A spark has been ignited for those needing an extra boost of confidence when facing an uphill battle. Everyday worries and concerns, while not forgotten, take a temporary leave when images and memories of Super Bowl Sunday are rekindled.

Bob, without sounding too presumptuous and while breaking the cardinal rule of journalism of never making an assumption, it’s safe to say that the city of Bangor would love to host a victory celebration for your Patriots. Consider this an open invitation.

It was certainly uplifting to watch your team’s victory celebration in Boston on Tuesday and equally refreshing to read in the Boston Globe of your commitment to hold other victory celebrations in the five New England states:

“This is a championship for the entire New England region, all six states. We plan to visit all the states with the trophy. This is for the people of the whole region.”

Bangor is a great city and the ideal place for such a celebration. Sure, you may be thinking of coming to Portland, which is another great Maine city that also has lots of devout Patriots fans.

Bangor, however, would be closer to two fine other local teams on the high school and college levels. Its high school team, the Bangor Rams, just won their first state title in 20 years and did it in true Patriots fashion.

Bangor featured many fine players, but no superstars, just a cohesive unit. They were the underdog, played on the other team’s home field and overcame adversity to win the title just a few days after five of their players were suspended.

Over in Orono, just up the road from Bangor, is perhaps the finest football team the University of Maine has ever produced. Again, the team is like yours: lots of skilled, talented players, but no big stars with big egos.

The UMaine Black Bears, like your Patriots, gave this region a boost when they went down to Louisiana and knocked off a favored team in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. It was Maine’s first playoff victory.

If you’re practical and also want to make this a bit of a business trip, too, then you can take a look at one of UMaine’s seniors, All-American tight end Chad Hayes, who might be a fine addition to an NFL team like yours.

Need more convincing?

Bangor is great gathering point and representative of many Maine small towns. People from all parts of the state such as Madawaska, Calais and Greenville, travel to Bangor for different events and functions. Thousands of Mainers have also traveled hundreds of miles over the years to watch the Patriots at Foxboro Stadium.

Each February, lots of these same Mainers will flock to Bangor to watch the girls and boys high school basketball tournament. They fill the rafters of the Bangor Auditorium, a grand old historic building that is past its prime and only has a couple years left before being replaced by something bigger and better.

Sounds a little like your old Foxboro Stadium doesn’t it?

What better way to grace the old building than to have fans filling its seats and cheering on the Super Bowl champions?

Bob, thanks for taking some of your time to consider this invitation. If you’re still not convinced, then just keep one thing in mind for you and some of your 300-pound linemen.

Lobster.

NEWS sports editor Joe McLaughlin can be reached at 207-990-8229 or via e-mail at jmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net