New England faithful are primed for battle
HOUSTON -- The distinctive dropped R's mixed with the cheery Texas twang. On Main Street downtown, heads bobbed with caps sporting the New England Patriots logo of a man with a chiseled jaw. Baggage claim areas at Bush Intercontinental Airport suddenly became seas of dark blue Tom Brady jerseys.
Houston, the Hub has landed.
"This is unbelievable. What an experience," said Dan Guertin, 48, of Brewster, as he surveyed the satellite trucks and giant Super Bowl XXXVIII banners in front of the National Football League's headquarters at Houston's downtown convention center.
"It's the chance of a lifetime, 30-14 Patriots!" Guertin yelled at four burly Carolina Panthers fans passing by.
New England can only hope. With the clock ticking down to Sunday's kickoff in Super Bowl XXXVIII, both Patriots and Panthers fans arrived by the hundreds yesterday in the nation's fourth-most populous city, primed for battle. Houston has anticipated this weekend for more than four years, and a sense of excitement grew as fans clogged bars, formed lines at souvenir shops, and whipped out camcorders.
Brothers Jim and Bob Ricciardi sipped beers at Slainte Irish Pub in downtown Houston yesterday morning, explaining that they planned to explore as many bars on Main Street as possible. It was hard work, finding the right meeting place for friends. Really, it was. They predicted a 27-to-6 Patriots's victory.
"This is a team that's not going to let us down," said Bob Ricciardi, 46, of Dracut.
At least 100,000 tourists were expected to flood Houston yesterday and today, with city leaders anticipating airport crowds to rival those on the Thanksgiving holidays.
Retired banker Alan Schoen of Westwood was the first of 175 Patriots fans who stepped off a chartered American Airlines jet yesterday as part of a tour package coordinated by Boston-based Target Sport Adventures and WEEI-AM. The weekend's agenda consists of restaurant-hopping downtown, strolls through the giant Galleria shopping mall, pregame parties, and of course, the game itself.
Schoen grinned as he outlined where he will be Super Bowl Sunday, on the 35-yard-line, section 105, row 2, seat 21 of Reliant Stadium. Schoen, 54, planned to meet his brother-in-law, a Panthers fan.
"I'm here to collect money from him and all of his friends," Schoen said.
Rick Wetterberg, 42, a nursing home administrator from Weymouth, traveled with his friend from his high school days, Craig Tarantino of Pembroke. Asked why they decided to come, Tarantino said deadpan, "It was a mandatory decision."
"We talked our wives into letting us go, forked over the big money, and here we are," said Tarantino, 41, a physical therapist.
Nearby, Lori Tinsley of Oxford gathered her luggage, surprisingly alert despite having awoken at 4:15 a.m. for her flight. She hoped to spot some celebrities at the game.
"I'm on vacation," said Tinsley, 39, a nurse. "It's my birthday present to myself. We're going to win. It feels great."
Many Patriots fans in town for the weekend do not have tickets to the game. With brokers charging from $1,650 to $4,500 for seats, Patriots faithful say they will hunt for tickets on game day in hopes that prices drop. But a lucky few hold tickets in hand and much more.
Read no further unless you want to seethe with jealousy.
Rich Reid of Harwich obtained a five-day, all-expenses-paid Super Bowl package donated by Fox television for a fund-raising raffle by the Albany, N.Y.-based Center for the Disabled. Reid's mother-in-law won the tickets, but she gave them to Reid and his friend, Guertin. Along with four other winners, they are staying at a downtown hotel, attending the game, hobnobbing with celebrities, and strolling into party after party, thanks to their VIP passes.
Many Patriots fans are attending their third or fourth Super Bowl with the team. But perhaps because oddsmakers and the pundits favor the Patriots, fans sounded cocky, almost dismissive of the Panthers. Unlike the 2002 Super Bowl, when the Patriots were the underdogs, there seemed to be fewer reasons to bite one's nails and more reasons to party.
"Being at all of the games, I almost feel like a part of the team," said Lindsay Silver, 26, a graduate student at Brandeis University who was traveling with five family members. "We owe it to the team to bring some of Gillette Stadium down there. You have to be there to support them. I can't imagine it any other way."
