Tag: The New England Patriots

Thanks For The Memories, Bill

Thanks For The Memories, Bill

by MichelleMcHatton

In honor of Coach Bill Belichick’s departure from The New England Patriots, here are some of my favorite memes and Bill quotes from the past many years:

And a lot of partying we did!
Deflategate special. Such fun times!
Bill made a lot of opposing teams mad with his kind of coaching. The why-didn’t-we-think-of-that moments.
Yes, if I recall, it didn’t really matter that Brady was suspended, right?
Bill with his excited face.
He’s even excited at Christmas

Although Bill was famous for coining the phrase (or was he?) “We’re on to….(place opposing city name here) and the motto “Do Your Job”, he was also known for never giving anything away in his press conferences. Bill’s speeches were often a mystery. And sometimes what he said was downright hilarious:

“I don’t Twitter, I don’t MyFace, I don’t Yearbook.” – that goes for a lot of us

“The only thing I can cheer for in Philadelphia is the national anthem.” – I agree. Not even the Liberty Bell is something to cheer for. But they have a great zoo.

“Don’t out-dumb yourself now.” – can probably be said about a lot of people in the NFL

“Knowing you have a good backup long snapper allows you to sleep good at night.” – it also helps knowing you have a top-notch QB

Looking forward, I’m excited/anxious/curious to see how Mayo does as a coach, where he takes the team, etc. He has some huge shoes to fill and I have every confidence he will “do his job”, as only Bill would tell him to.

All the best, Bill, in everything you do in the future.

Gone….But Never Forgotten

Gone….But Never Forgotten

by MichelleMcHatton

There’s a lot I could say about Tom Brady departing The New England Patriots football team after twenty years.

I have so many emotions right now I cannot process it.  I feel angry.  I feel sad.  I feel betrayed.  I don’t feel happy.  Maybe I will eventually.  I don’t know.  I guess  if Tom is happy, then we should all be happy, right?  But do we know if Tom is really happy? At this point do we really care?

Losing Tom is like having a family member die.  Or, maybe to not be so extreme, having a child grow up and leave home.

An analogy I thought of today:  having a twenty year old car and knowing it’s time to get a new car.  The car you had was great.  You loved it.  It was your baby.  It wasn’t a racehorse.  It wasn’t a Porsche.  It was just a very good car.  It got you where you needed to go.  And it had a very good “driver”.  And usually a very good team of “mechanics” that took great care of that car.  We drove that car for twenty years.  But now it’s kind of lost its luster.  It’s breaking down more often, not giving you what you used to get out of it.  And, as odd as it sounds, the car knows it.  And now that old jalopy is headed to the junkyard.  Wherever that may be.

I think as the years progressed there is one thing Tom forgot.  Especially last season.  He plays for a TEAM.  Not for himself.  That’s what always made him and the people around him so great.  It’s what separates The Patriots from the rest of the teams in the NFL.  Because, until last year, nobody ever thought of just themselves on the field.  Tom, of all people, should know that it takes a TEAM to win.

There is no denying that Tom Brady will always be the GOAT.  Like most Patriots fans I am grateful for what Tom Brady gave us.  They were twenty fantastic, often heart-stopping years.  The memories will be cherished forever.  We watched Tom grow up.  We watched him evolve from a twenty-four-year old nobody into greatness.

No matter what the future brings for Tom Brady, New England will never forget what he brought to us.

Best of luck, Tom.

Forever Grateful For Gronk

Forever Grateful For Gronk

by MichelleMcHatton

I know all good things must come to an end.  Today was one of those days.  Today was the day Rob Gronkowski announced that after nine years in the NFL he was retiring.

Before Gronk came into the league I understand the tight end position was a position created for a player to stand at the end of the offensive line.  He could be a pass catcher.  He could be a run blocker.  He was smaller than an offensive lineman but bigger than a receiver.  The tight end would be the in between.  He’d be more a blocker for the running game.  When Gronk came in he did both exceptionally well.  He was a phenomenal run blocker and could catch a pass and run—because he was faster than most tight ends and had better hands than those that came before him.

The Patriots, being the Patriots, used him in both ways.  The question for other team defenses became how do you stop Gronk?  You can’t cover him with a linebacker; he’s too fast.  If you try having one of your defensive backs cover him he’s too big and he’ll run them over.  Gronk was the ultimate tight end who could do everything.  He changed the tight end position as we know it.  That’s what made him so special.  We’ve never seen anyone like this. And it will be a long time before we see it again.  If ever.

Throw in the fact he was a fan favorite, a good presence in the locker room, a fun-loving overall good guy and you have the perfect prototypical tight end and player.

I can’t blame Gronk for his decision of retiring.  He is going out on top, having just won his third Super Bowl.  He is undoubtedly a first-round Hall of Famer.  What else was there to achieve?

As a fan I will miss Gronk as a player and a personality.  Some of my favorite football moments were because of Gronk.  The football spikes.  The goofiness on the sidelines.  The goofiness off the field. The Gronk Nation Youth Foundation. His numerous product endorsements. The Gronk Party Bus.  He’s. Just. Gronk.

Knowing how Gronk is I’m sure we will see plenty of him in the future one way or another.  Whatever he chooses to do with the rest of his life, I’m sure he’ll do it in the same way he played football:  with greatness.

Here’s to you, Gronk!

gronkspike

 

It’s That Time Again

It’s That Time Again

by MichelleMcHatton

Super Bowl Sunday.  Or as it’s become known around these parts:  The New England Patriots Annual Invitational.

The other day I thought back to where I was during each of the Super Bowl games that The Patriots have been in since Tom Brady took over.

Feb 3, 2002 – The only Super Bowl we thought that would ever matter.  We said that if we never won another Super Bowl, we would always remember this one.

Tom Brady took over as QB early in the season after Drew Bledsoe became hurt.  I didn’t even know what Tom Brady looked like.  My husband referred to him as “nothing special”.  He’s been eating his words ever since.

Where was I when Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal?  Standing in my living room, about ten feet from the TV, clutching my husband’s hands as we both held our breath, watching as the ball sailed through the upright.

Then we exhaled.  And screamed.

 

February 1, 2004 – Just when we thought we’d never make it to another Super Bowl, The Patriots proved us wrong.  I know we won the game versus Carolina.

I know where I was on Super Bowl Sunday.  I was driving back to Massachusetts from Canada.  I know I made it home in time to watch the game.  But I cannot recall exactly where I was when we won the game.  Probably still trying to warm up from the cold ride home.

 

February 6, 2005 – Three things stand out with this game.  First, we pissed off the entire state of Pennsylvania because we had beat Pittsburgh in the AFC game.  Then we beat Philly in the Super Bowl.

Second, it was my birthday.

Third, I was about three months pregnant.

I know it happened thirteen years ago.  Which really scares me because that means my daughter is going to be a teen later this year.  But I cannot recall where I was when we won.  In my defense I was probably suffering from “baby brain”, more than likely snoozing on the couch.

 

February 3, 2008 and February 5, 2012 – I’ll briefly pass over our two losses to the Giants.  I know I was snoozing during those games.

 

February 1, 2015 – I remember this season well.  The Patriots were dead to rights after losing to Kansas City in week four.  Yeah, right.

The simultaneous looks on Richard Sherman and Tom Brady’s faces as Malcolm Butler intercepted the ball are still etched in my mind.  Sherman’s was of disbelief.  Brady’s was of elation.

I was in the shower when my husband burst in to tell me we had just scored a touchdown, going up four on Seattle.  But there were two minutes left.  Seattle was getting the ball back.  Knowing how close a game it was, I began praying to God, Vince Lombardi, the Football Gods and Myra Kraft.

So where was I exactly when Malcolm Butler intercepted that football?  I was busy making the bed in my spare bedroom, still praying to whoever was listening.  The only sound coming from the living room was the blaring of the TV.  Then I heard my husband yell “INTERCEPTED!” and I practically killed myself running out of that room into the living room.  Until that moment I had never heard of Malcolm Butler.  I thanked Myra and the others profusely.

 

February 5, 2017 – There was no way The Patriots would get to the Playoffs, not much the Super Bowl.  After all, Tom Brady was serving a four-game suspension and two back-up QB’s (one a rookie) could not possibly win a game in his place.  Yeah, right.

So we got to the Big Game.  And it was not looking very pretty.  I took myself out of the painful watching shortly after we scored our first three points and Atlanta went up by 25.

I don’t know exactly what time I woke up in the fourth.  Somewhere near the end.  I thought we still only had three points.  My husband informed me the score was 20-28 and we were getting the ball back.  I remember saying, “Well, if there’s any team who can come back and win, it’s this team”.  I stood there for what seemed like an hour (for which was only about 20 minutes of playing time) and watched as The Patriots scored a touchdown, then a two-point conversion to tie the score.  If there was ever going to be a team to go into overtime during the Super Bowl, The Patriots would be one of those teams.  And they were.  If there was ever going to be a team to win the Super Bowl in overtime, it would be The Patriots.  And they were.

In thirty minutes The New England Patriots’ franchise will be playing in their tenth Super Bowl, more than any other team in the NFL.  Eight of those have been with Tom Brady at the helm.

Where will I be if we win?  Who knows.  Maybe doing back flips in the front yard.  But I know if we lose, tomorrow I will still be a New England Patriots fan.  Because that’s how true New England Patriots fans are.