Patriot Games Media

For most people, a heavy snowstorm is a sign to stay indoors, brew up a cup of hot cocoa, and watch I Love Lucy re-runs until they fall asleep. Or is that just me? Anyway, Massachusetts football fans aren’t most people, and they weren’t going to cancel a game over a little flurry. Little did they know that what began as a friendly competition would become a tale of intrigue and accusations.The date in question was December 12, 1982, and the New England Patriots were matched up against the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots had started out with a 2-3 losing season, and knew a win was their only hope for remaining playoff contenders. However, circumstances combined to keep the game tied at 0-0 for three full quarters and most of the fourth. With less than five minutes left in the game, Patriots coach Ron Meyer called a time-out and put in Mark Smith, hoping that he would be able to manage a field goal. The sight of Smith trying to dig a clear-enough spot to kick from was a pitiful sightand one which gave Meyer an idea. (more…)

When the New England Patriots come out to play, they’re joined by a legendary figure who looks like he stepped right out of dinner with Thomas Jefferson. The gentleman’s name is Pat Patriot, and he’s the kind of man you want to have on your side. Pat wears a traditional three-cornered hat and a proudly American Continental Army uniform. Is he smirking, or just really excited for the game? We don’t know, but we admire his consistency. Pat was created by illustrator Phil Bissell, who was cartooning for the Boston Globe when he created the character in a rushed daily assignment. (more…)

Born in Tennessee and raised in Annapolis, Bill Belichick first lived in Massachusetts during a postgraduate year at Andover’s Phillips Academy in the early 1970s. Bill’s dad played for the Detroit Lions during the 1941 season and coached at the Annapolis Naval Academy, and Belichick played for Wesleyan University during his time there. After graduating, though, he stepped off the field as a player and was hired as an assistant to Colts coach Ted Marchibroda.It wouldn’t be until 1996 that Belichick would return to Massachusetts, when he served as an assistant head coach for the Pats with Bill Parcells. After a brief two-year period with the Parcells and the New York Jets, Belichick chose to leave the city and return to Boston, becoming head coach in 2000. He’s held that position ever sincethe longest any coach has stayed with the team. (more…)