If you grew up in these parts, like I did, there is one thing we know to be true, yet it never ceases to amaze me. We, Bostonians, are true "townies". What I mean by "townie" is that deep down inside we are true to the place we grew up, the culture and the local traditions. And in this town it's all about sports.
Rooting for the hometown team is so much more than a past time around here-it's a passion but what really amazes me is that it knows no boundaries nor age bracket. Take for example our beloved New England Patriots. Saturday was the first game for the home town team in the NFL playoffs which was at home at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. The streets, shops, malls and restaurants everywhere were a sea of red white and blue Pats logos. Everybody was talking about it, preparing for it and anxiously waiting for it, like a little kid on Christmas Eve. The Patriots playoff game was a huge event for everyone in New England.
The funny thing is people who never follow football instantly become armchair experts, glued to a televised game that they never would have watched previously. Brady, Edelman, Amendola and Gronkowski become like family and even old ladies can tell you that My Tommy threw for over 300 yards, AGAIN, in Saturday's game. The short pass from Brady to Edelman who launched a 51 yard bomb to Amendola to tie the game? A complete game changer and people are still talking about that one in the grocery store checkout line and at the post office. It just never gets old. Even little kids are talking about the legalities of the Patriots ineligible plays. No one in this town is safe from Patriots fever.
And I guess that's the way it should be. Shouldn't it? Something special uniting people of all kinds and bringing them together, if only for a short time? Whatever the reason may be; the fever, the passion for a game that is uniquely American and a team that is distinctly ours, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I doubt I could ignore it.
It's a way of life for us townies.
All of us.
