Justin's Journey

I was talking to Mark from my Yoga class about going to a Patriots game. I haven’t never been to one. The coverage on TV is really good these days: the replay, the slow motion, and the high definition image. However, I still want to at least go to one game and experience the game myself in the stadium.

Mark made it happen! He talked his friends, and found me a ticket to purchase! The timing was good, too. If the game is deep into the season, it will be way to cold for me to go. I am not as hardcore as some Patriots fans that they will go to the game in a snow storm. Mark also made sure that I didn’t just go to the game. He brought me to join in his friends for the tailgating before the game. What I didn’t expected is, the game time was 1pm and the tailgating started at 9am!

I woke up before 6am so I could stop by Mark’s place at 7am. Then we went to pick up his friend John at 7:30am, following by going to another friend Greg’s place at 8am. We went together in John’s truck to meet another group of people at 8:30am. We then followed them to arrive at the parking lot of the tailgating near the stadium around 9am. Can you tell it’s almost like a military operation?

When I arrived in the parking lot, there were lots of people in the lot already. I can’t believe people were cooking and drinking at 9am already. There was a sense of festivity. Those guys have been doing tailgating for a long time. They know what to do and they do it right. The main van is decorated with Patriots theme inside and out, including TV screens inside and outside of the van. The grill was smoking with food cooked non-stop. The crowd just got bigger and bigger as the game time approached. The people at the tailgating were very friendly. I got an offer to smoke a cigar and I did! I also got another offer to keep a cigar before the game so it can be the victory cigar. My friend Matt texted me with a funny line: You better butch it up! 🙂 I had a fun time walking around and watched what people were doing in the tailgating. You can smell the food, watch people playing game, and drinking of course.

Since this specific group of people have been tailgating, they also got some special presentations. A group of state troopers on horses paid a visit exactly in front of the van. The van was playing Rawhide theme music when they stopped by – they always did. The crowd had a fun time taking pictures. I could see the troopers also had fun being the center of attention! About 40 minutes before the game time, one guy “reverend” would make a “prayer” following by shots of drink by the crowd to cheer for the Patriots. The speech was very funny and fitting the theme of the game. What a good way to kick off the game!

I can tell some people had a lot to drink already. Mark and I walked to the Gillette stadium from the parking lot with a huge crowd for the game. We got in just in time for the start of the game. The weather earlier was a bit wet and cloudy. Before the game time, the sky cleared up and it turned out to be a perfect weather for watching the game: sunny, blue sky, and cooler temperature. I had a great time watching the game, watching the stadium, and watching people. I also got my first Patriots t-shirt during the half time and enjoyed some sausages with Mark. Some folks were really into the game. When it mixed with plenty of alcohol, some people started to get loud and extremely friendly: high-fiving, cheering, yelling, etc. It’s all part of the game. After the game, to avoid the line of traffic out of stadium, the tailgating crowd stayed for an hour or two – more cooking and drinking. Why not, right? What a crazy and fun day.

Oh, and Patriots won! 🙂