Robert Kraft opened Gillette Stadium in 2002.
His Patriots have by no means performed a house recreation at The Razor with followers in attendance after the group has been eradicated from the playoffs.
Never.
That run ends this season.
Of all of the adverse superlatives achieved by the present model of Belichick & Sons, this one is probably probably the most sobering.
It demonstrates the success this group (to not point out Tom Brady, whose streak continued in Tampa Bay) loved within the twenty first century. And it gives a blinding 500-megawatt beacon of actuality concerning the present squad emanating from the brand new lighthouse.
It took the Kraft Family practically 30 years of group possession, however their Patriots have lastly turned the Red Sox triple play:
Unwatchable.
(They are the one group within the NFL but to attain greater than 20 factors in a recreation.)
Unlikable.
(See DeVante “Fingertips” Parker and Mac “Nut Tap” Jones.)
Unable to win.
(The Patriots went 39 drives and not using a landing earlier than Sunday, a run that consumed 197:42 of recreation time.)
Their goodwill has gone searching.
In 2020, the ultimate two residence video games of the season got here after the Cam Newton-led Patriots have been mathematically eradicated from postseason rivalry.
Combined paid attendance: 0.
Thank you, COVID-19.
If Travis Kelce has his means, we’ll all be vaccinated towards the 73rd variant quickly. When it involves embarrassing late-season crowds and empty rows sprinkled all through Gillette Stadium, the Patriots gained’t be bailed out by a pandemic this time.
Just the age-old plague of apathy.
The 2023-24 Patriots are going to be horrible for all to see on NFL RedZone, if not in individual.
The Patriots could properly exhaust their mathematical postseason chance earlier than Week 15. On Monday, Dec. 18, New England is scheduled to play host to the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. It might be mercifully flexed to a innocent early Sunday afternoon time slot.
No one is coming to avoid wasting Kraft’s concession/swag backside line that week, not even the Swifties.
Taylor’s “cruel summer” had nothing on Foxboro in the course of December with the Patriots buried within the AFC East standings.
Perhaps Gillette will develop into one other Fenway South of types, full of followers of the visiting group, chanting, cheering and celebrating because the native gridders drift aimlessly into aggressive irrelevance.
Picture this. On a wickedly chilly on Jan. 7 or 8, a wisp of snow blows all through Eastern Massachusetts. The New York Jets roll into Gillette Stadium for a Week 18 AFC East conflict. The Jets are someway nonetheless alive within the wild card chase due to the wizardry of Zach Wilson.
Thousands of Jets followers, their ankle bracelets disabled for the weekend, flood Foxboro to zealously cheer on Gang Green. Maura Healey goes to want she had invested in jail cells.
Can we get Joe Namath to ring the bell?
How about Fireman Ed?
He can have the 300s all to himself.
The Patriots tremendous scoreboard, in the meantime, has been transformed into a large draft day clock.
That near-frozen determine standing by himself sporting a gray hoodie on the Patriots sideline?
The statue of Bill Belichick.
Erected to honor BB setting the report for probably the most losses by an NFL head coach the earlier week.
Ticket costs have flat-lined. The get-in value for that Week 18 recreation (day and time TBA) is $66 plus charges on TicketGrasp, or $71 with no charges on TickPick.
Prices haven’t flirted with these numbers for the reason that Pats performed at Schaefer/Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium.
The most unholy second of the NFL calendar happens on Christmas Eve at 8:15 p.m. Eastern in Denver. The Patriots go to the Broncos. The get-in value on TicketGrasp is $40, plus charges. The groups are a mixed 2-10 and will likely be in a full-throated battle for one of the best accessible draft decide.
The recreation is about to air on NFL Network, so George Bailey can (spoiler alert) nonetheless save Bedford Falls on NBC.
Mr. Potter couldn’t abdomen watching it. Never thoughts Hans Gruber.
We’ve been flooded with gossip about the way forward for Belichick and complicity between the coach/GM and Kraft within the group’s present woeful state. We first broached that subject right here final week. Time all the time delivers its verdict.
The Patriots robbed New England of an NFL season months earlier than the schedule performed itself out. We await the official time of demise.
Football followers from Stockbridge to Salisbury can thank the state legislature and former Gov. Baker for the Sports Wagering Act of 2022.
Since betting launched within the Bay State in early 2023, the general deal with on the eight cell and three retail betting websites has surpassed the $3 billion mark. Sports betting has already generated greater than $60 million in tax income for the Commonwealth in simply 204 days of measured cell betting and eight months plus in the future of retail betting.
Too unhealthy the Patriots can’t spend that cash on a quarterback.
Without authorized betting and fantasy soccer, NFL information right here can be shifted to the obituary web page.
Of course, it’s doable to win cash backing the Patriots after they lose. And there’s no must go wacky with four-leg, same-game parlays. If you backed the Patriots’ opponent towards the unfold and the below every week this season, you’d be 10-2 total. Those who’ve pale the Patriots are 5-1, as are these using the below.
Even authorized betting doesn’t fill the aperture left by the elimination of three-plus hours of significant soccer every week till January.
Patriots followers throughout New England face an infinite march of apple-picking, fall hikes and Sunday metropolis strolls. Don’t neglect your vital different’s household fall weekend in Maine.
Or the required family chores.
After all, these gutters aren’t going to wash themselves.
Bill Speros (@RealOBF & @BillSperos on X) might be reached at [email protected]. When he’s not writing for the Herald, he’s a Senior Betting Analyst for bookies.com. Gamble responsibly.
Source: www.bostonherald.com