I was driving home from the Patriots’ victory over the Titans in the snow, sitting in traffic and thawing out. As I listened to the radio coverage, there were comments about Tom Brady’s record five touchdown passes in the second quarter, the Pats running up the score (59-0), and the crazy weather. Then an agitated caller said, “The fans at Patriots games are the worst. We have no home field advantage there. The old stadium was louder, and the fans were better. The new place is dead.’’
The noise - or lack thereof - at Gillette Stadium has long been an annoying topic. It goes back to 2005, when Richard Seymour, now a former Patriot, said after a lackluster 16-3 win over the Jets: “It is really disappointing. The loudest they ever got was when there was a Victoria’s Secret model on the scoreboard. They don’t know when to cheer. You look up and see half the stands empty.’’
First: That Victoria’s Secret model was Gisele Bundchen. As in the future Mrs. Tom Brady. As in one of the most attractive women in the world. So I would say that proves that Pats fans do know when to cheer. Second: I was at that game. It was boring. The weather was lousy. Both teams were lousy. Half the stands were empty because the fans were in the concourse trying to get warm. Not every game has the atmosphere of a playoff battle. It is what it is.
The radio host and caller agreed that Pats fans are spoiled by the team’s success and aren’t as into the game as they were at the old Schaefer/Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium. I’ve been a season ticker holder for 16 years and have been to nearly 200 games. Is it different at Gillette? Of course. But the fans are often more into the game. The other night two guys in front of me were talking about what defensive formation the Patriots should play while a few others were debating running back Laurence Maroney vs. any other back the Patriots could find. In other words, when not cheering, the fans were talking about the game.
There wasn’t too much of that in the old stadium. Lulls in the games usually meant fights in the stands. Or beer getting spilled on you. Or having things hurled at you from behind. Sure it was fun. The place was a pit, and sometimes I miss it. Like the old Boston Garden.
Everyone thinks of the old stadium and thinks of the “Snow Bowl’’ playoff game against the Raiders or the ’96 AFC title game. But for every one of those games there were 10 where the game was bad or boring, and the crowd was out in the lot grilling by the end of the third quarter. Things sure look a lot better through the golden haze of nostalgia.
Most of the criticism of Pats fans today can be summed up in one sentence: They don’t stand up and make lots of noise to disrupt the other team’s offense, and some people yell at you to sit down. The nerve of them. It seems some people want everyone to stand throughout the whole game. If there’s a home playoff game against the Pats’ archrival Indianapolis Colts this winter I can guarantee you fans will be standing from start to finish. Otherwise how about taking a seat every now and then? The gentleman who sits next to me has asked people in front of us to “sit down’’ once in a while. He is older and has trouble standing. The nerve of him.
Life as a fan at the old stadium was a study in discomfort. There were no seats and no seatbacks - just long aluminum benches. There were not enough bathrooms. Today everyone has their own seat - with a seatback and a cupholder. There are enough bathrooms and more than enough concessions. Maybe I’m just getting older, but I like getting a little comfort for the price of my ticket.
So that makes Gillette Stadium not as good a home-field advantage as the old place? The team’s record at Gillette: 56-12. So much for that.
That agitated caller would say that a regular season game like Pats-Titans would have been a lot louder in the old stadium. He would be right. During the first quarter when the Pats were struggling to get going and the Gillette crowd was frozen and not all that loud, the highly intoxicated crowd at the old stadium would have been much rowdier and noisier. They just wouldn’t have been paying too much attention to the game.
