Guest Post from Cody LaChance
(Mike D. note – Cody was lucky enough to be voted winner of one of my ticket giveaways last week, thanks to NRG. Here’s his report from a rocking Gillette Stadium…)
Boston Barstool’s Jerry Thornton has coined the Gillette Stadium crowd as “The Real Housewives of Foxboro”. They only get loud after big plays, and they seem to go quiet too often. They aren’t a feared crowd like the CenturyLink and Arrowhead groups, but
Sunday may have changed that.
Gillette Stadium was rocking. From the time of the first kickoff through the end of the game, the crowd was on its feet and making lots of noise. Did the crowd set a record for stadium noise? No. But did their energy and enthusiasm translate into a great showing by the Patriots? You better believe.
I was lucky enough to be part of the crowd after winning a pair of tickets from PatsPropaganda and NRG and it was an experience I’ll never forget.
Andy Dalton and the Bengals offense never really got into a rhythm. They had a few drive killing penalties that seemed to be in part of the loud stadium making communication hard for Cincinnati. The defense was thriving off the energy from the stands as they did not allow a 3rd as the Bengals boasted a great offense coming into this play that had not given up a sack yet and has explosive weapons like A.J. Green, Giovanni Bernard, and Mohammed Sanu.
The offense was feeding off the noise as well. Brady rushing for first downs on the first drive got the place going and there was no looking back. Gronk only fueled the masses as he made big play after big play, headlined by his 16-yard touchdown pass late into the 3rd quarter that put the game out of reach for the Bengals. It is a great sign moving forward seeing #87 playing mean out there and getting back to his trademark “Smashing and dashing” ways.
What a way to quiet the critics. The Patriot reign is not yet over. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots still are a team that will contend for the Super Bowl. The fans at Gillette Stadium and the team were backed into a corner and they both showed up Sunday night.
Going forward, these crowds need to continue to be loud and on their feet from start to finish. If the fans and team can show up like that each and every home game, this team will be tough to beat in Foxboro.