Behind the scene in pursuit of Patriots

Two seemingly unrelated news events – one involving a promise from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the other concerning a challenge from Gov. Angus King – have combined to light a fire under boosters of regional pride here in The Real Maine.

If the flame likewise ignites the passions of others in high places it could result in an impressive public relations coup for Bangor. If instead it sets in motion a spectacular flame-out, perhaps to the benefit of The Other Maine, well – nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The promise: Shortly after the Patriots won the Super Bowl championship and its Lombardi Trophy signifying dominance in professional football a couple of weeks ago, Kraft vowed that a delegation of Patriots would visit each New England state, trophy in tow, to thank fans for their loyalty.

The challenge: Addressing business leaders at a Husson College breakfast last week, Gov. King said local communities would be a damn sight better off relying more on local initiative and less on state handouts in taking control of their economic destiny. “Don’t tell me that geography determines your fate,” he said. “Good things don’t fall out of the sky. You have to grab them…” Now, get out there and win one for the Gipper.

Enter Skip Chappelle, former University of Maine men’s basketball coach. Chappelle, an Old Town native, knows a thing or two about how geography can determine one’s fate, having fought the end-of-the-line syndrome in years of trying to sweet-talk Division One-caliber basketball players from away into pursuing their college playing careers at Orono. When the retired coach read about Kraft’s promise and then King’s challenge, it was as though one of those cartoon-strip lightbulbs labeled “Great Idea No. 1” had switched on above his head.

Why not invite the Patriots to make their Maine appearance at the venerable Bangor Auditorium, despite the common assumption on the street that Portland, wanna-be capital of The Other Maine, will automatically land the gig? As BDN sports editor Joe McLaughlin stated in an open letter to Kraft last week, Bangor would be an ideal location for the victory rally, in part because of two area champion football teams with similarities to the underdog Pats. The Bangor High School Rams and the University of Maine Black Bears fielded “teams like yours, with lots of talented players, but no big stars with big egos,” McLaughlin wrote. The Rams won the state Class A championship, playing on the opponent’s home field and without five suspended players. The underestimated Black Bears won a share of their conference championship and advanced to the second round of the national playoffs for the Division 1-AA title.

In his “Patriots-do-Bangor” project, Chappelle, a former promotions director for this newspaper, had found the perfect antidote for the mid-winter blahs. He eagerly set about getting back in harness and pushing the right buttons to make it happen. I’ll spare you the details, but his full-court press for the past couple of weeks has heavily involved former Patriots head coach Dick MacPherson, an Old Town native now living in Florida who offered to lobby Kraft in behalf of the Bangor Plan. Nick Carparelli Jr., has been Bangor’s connection of sorts in the Patriots front office. Carparelli is the son of former John Bapst High School basketball star Nick Carparelli Sr. Community business leaders have promised support, assorted politicians are on board, and live wires who know how to unleash a celebration of memorable proportions are standing by. The ball is in the Patriots’ court. (Despite rumors that Bangor has landed the deal, a Patriot spokesman insisted Thursday that no decision has been made).

If the Patriots decide to take their road show to some downstate site, one might reasonably argue with Gov. King’s contention that the advantages of self-reliance will always trump the disadvantages of geographic location. Good things may not fall out of the sky – you may, indeed, have to reach out and grab them, as the governor suggests. But if Bangor is rebuffed, Chappelle’s group can legitimately claim it pulled out all the stops, worked their butts off, reached out and grabbed until they were blue in the face, and still didn’t succeed. Perhaps geography (and politics) did have something todo with it, after all.

On the other hand, if the Patriots do come to town as a result of the local burst of self-reliance Chappelle will have to concede that yes, governor, hard work and creative use of resources can overcome geographic location. Not that anyone will be able to hear his mea culpa over the din of the cheering and the fireworks.

NEWS columnist Kent Ward lives in Winterport. His e-mail address is olddawg@bangordailynews.net.