Foxboro’s
Another view of the bar
The New England Patriots are a perennial winner, with Bill Belicheck and Tom Brady (coach and quarterback) teaming up for 5 championships in the first 18 years of the 21st century. Some people are tiring of their winning ways, making them a Team That Some Love To Hate. So when, a few days ago, the Patriots had their first playoff game, against the San Diego Chargers, I wanted to get out and watch the game in the company of some true believers.
Patriots Burger
My first plan was to go down to our home from last season, Paradise Pointe RV Resort in Naples (now The Waves, don’t ask me why) and watch with the friends that I watched the games with last year. But that plan was thwarted by newly-installed security gates. I didn’t have the phone number of any people there and didn’t want to deal with the hassle (and who knows if I would have been welcome anyway), so I switched to Plan B: Foxboro’s Sports Tavern, just a few miles north on US 41. This is southwest Florida’s preeminent Patriots sports bar. It was wall-to-wall Patriots fans. I was in a friendly crowd for sure.
The game? It was competetive early, being tied 7-7 through most of the first quarter, but the Patriots scored before the end of the quarter to go up 14-7, then scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to turn it into a rout, 35-7 at halftime. The Chargers came back a bit to make the final score 41-28, but the game was never really in doubt in the second half.
Anyway, it was a successful game viewed in a friendly environment. It is nice to know that there is at least one bar where Patriots fans can gather and not be annoyed by The Haters. The Patriots Burger – 1/3 pound of beef on a brioche bun with bacon, tomato, pickles and onions – was very tasty, too.
Next Sunday: the Patriots’ 8th straight conference championship game.