A Story To Cheer Up Patriot Nation

[NoCal Patriot]

Let me preface my remarks by letting You all know that I attended my first Patriots Game in 1970 at Harvard Stadium on the day that Bob Gladieux was called out of the crowd to The Patriots Locker Room and 10 minutes later made the tackle on the opening kickoff.Prior to that the only connection I had to the Patriots was that Babe Parillli's Dad was my barber.He gave Me team photos and autographs from everyone including Ron Burton,Gino Cappaletti,Tom Yewcic,so it's fair to say with the exception of a few on this board my relationship with The Patriots goes back as far as anyones.
There has been much written in the past few days that Sunday's was the toughest loss ever.Respectfully,I must disagree.We have won Three Super Bowls recently and that lifts a great burden off of Our shoulders.To Me Our worst loss was The 1976 Playoff loss against Oakland.The Football World in New England was far different back then.There weren't anywhere near as many Patriots Fans back then.Playoff berths were also tougher to secure.
The 1976 Patriots under Chuck Fairbanks were really our first chance to compete on the highest level of the NFL.Remember,We only joined The NFL six year previous.The joy that "The Patriots and their 40000 core base fans celebrated when the Patriots secured their first NFL Playoff Berth was a day no one who was there will ever forget.Remember those days at Foxboro were more like the "Old West" than the sanitized Gillette Stadium is now.The crowd was College Students,Truckers,Roofers,Painters,in other words, a crowd with a real edge to it.As bad as some Patriots Teams have been ,the early 1970's were a real low.Chuck Fairbanks gave Us the first signs of hope that led Us to the 1976 Playoffs.We had a young,good,exciting team.They had rolled The Raiders at Foxboro in Week 2.We knew We were better and The Raiders knew We were better.When The corrupt Ben Dreith STOLE that Playoff game from Us it ended Our first "Great Ride"with The Patriots.It was a bitter pill that was very hard to swallow.
I carried this loss with Me for several years and it wasn't until 1995 that I finally let it go.My friend and fellow Patriots Fan,Tom and I found ourselves in the Hometown of none other than Ben Dreith,which happens to be St.George,Utah.We drove over to his Home and We pissed on his front lawn.
He ran out screaming,"What the Hell are You guys doing?"I responded,"Giving You the business!"which happened to be the words He used to describe what Ray Hamilton did to Ken Stabler..He shook his head ,swore and said' "Damn Patriots Fans!" The coward never came any closer than 20 feet from Us.He clearly got the message.
Tom and I left St.George,Utah and drove to Colorado wher we stopped and drank well into the evening toasting The 1976 Patriots.It took 19 years but I finally let it go.It made the 3 Super Bowl victories much sweeter.As bad as it feels tonight,there is closure out there if You know where to find it!

 

[psychoPat]

What a FABULOUS story, NoCal !

I believe it, too.

 

[patriotspride]

Let me preface my remarks by letting You all know that I attended my first Patriots Game in 1970 at Harvard Stadium on the day that Bob Gladieux was called out of the crowd to The Patriots Locker Room and 10 minutes later made the tackle on the opening kickoff.Prior to that the only connection I had to the Patriots was that Babe Parillli's Dad was my barber.He gave Me team photos and autographs from everyone including Ron Burton,Gino Cappaletti,Tom Yewcic,so it's fair to say with the exception of a few on this board my relationship with The Patriots goes back as far as anyones.
There has been much written in the past few days that Sunday's was the toughest loss ever.Respectfully,I must disagree.We have won Three Super Bowls recently and that lifts a great burden off of Our shoulders.To Me Our worst loss was The 1976 Playoff loss against Oakland.The Football World in New England was far different back then.There weren't anywhere near as many Patriots Fans back then.Playoff berths were also tougher to secure.
The 1976 Patriots under Chuck Fairbanks were really our first chance to compete on the highest level of the NFL.Remember,We only joined The NFL six year previous.The joy that "The Patriots and their 40000 core base fans celebrated when the Patriots secured their first NFL Playoff Berth was a day no one who was there will ever forget.Remember those days at Foxboro were more like the "Old West" than the sanitized Gillette Stadium is now.The crowd was College Students,Truckers,Roofers,Painters,in other words, a crowd with a real edge to it.As bad as some Patriots Teams have been ,the early 1970's were a real low.Chuck Fairbanks gave Us the first signs of hope that led Us to the 1976 Playoffs.We had a young,good,exciting team.They had rolled The Raiders at Foxboro in Week 2.We knew We were better and The Raiders knew We were better.When The corrupt Ben Dreith STOLE that Playoff game from Us it ended Our first "Great Ride"with The Patriots.It was a bitter pill that was very hard to swallow.
I carried this loss with Me for several years and it wasn't until 1995 that I finally let it go.My friend and fellow Patriots Fan,Tom and I found ourselves in the Hometown of none other than Ben Dreith,which happens to be St.George,Utah.We drove over to his Home and We pissed on his front lawn.
He ran out screaming,"What the Hell are You guys doing?"I responded,"Giving You the business!"which happened to be the words He used to describe what Ray Hamilton did to Ken Stabler..He shook his head ,swore and said' "Damn Patriots Fans!" The coward never came any closer than 20 feet from Us.He clearly got the message.
Tom and I left St.George,Utah and drove to Colorado wher we stopped and drank well into the evening toasting The 1976 Patriots.It took 19 years but I finally let it go.It made the 3 Super Bowl victories much sweeter.As bad as it feels tonight,there is closure out there if You know where to find it!

that is just to funny .i wish i could have done that .the pats not only rolled the raiders that year but if memory serves didnt they beat the steelers cowboys and the oilers that year ?

 

[Ghost of Ben Dreith]

Great story....did you have on any Pats gear? If not.....I wonder how many times it, or something similar was done before since he identified the source of his torment.
Maybe he was happy it was only liquids you left on his lawn

All the playoff losses hurt....some more than others...I got over this one much better and sooner than I would have thought during the game.

God, Life, and the Patriots.....its all good.

 

[NoCal Patriot]

Nem,It definitely was Harvard Stadium .It was the first year that I had Season Tickets and My friend Joe and I wanted to get good seats at The then "New Stadium " so We signed up a year early for Season Tickets.That season We got to see the biggest fraud in the History of The Patriots,Joe Kapp,BS his way through a completely forgetable season.The highlight of the year was the final game against The Minnesota Vikings when it snowed the night before the game and No one shoveled out Harvard Stadium.It led to one of the biggest snow ball fights in the History of The NFL.The Vikings were getting pummmeled by 15000 people throwing snow balls at their bench.The Public Address Announcer asked the stadium to refrain but all that announcement did was quadruple the velocity of Snow Balls!That is how our first year in The NFL ended! By the way that first season for Me ,season Tickets cost $ 60.00 .

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I sort-of got over that loss in 2001 (at least the Ref made the correct call even if the rule is wimpy), it's gotten better each year since, and that includes this season. It was a great season that proved to me the dynasty is on a rock solid, healthy foundation. Go Pats!

 

[NoCal Patriot]

Thanks for the link,NEM.Those early AFL days were really wild .I remember Chuck Shonta and Ron Burton doing a clinic when I was a kid and I thought that they were the biggest men I had ever seen.The early days at Foxboro were simply a circus.Wild times and great memories.Remember ,Schaffer is the one beer to have when You're having more than one!In those days We all had many more than one!

 

[patsfan55]

Let me preface my remarks by letting You all know that I attended my first Patriots Game in 1970 at Harvard Stadium on the day that Bob Gladieux was called out of the crowd to The Patriots Locker Room and 10 minutes later made the tackle on the opening kickoff.Prior to that the only connection I had to the Patriots was that Babe Parillli's Dad was my barber.He gave Me team photos and autographs from everyone including Ron Burton,Gino Cappaletti,Tom Yewcic,so it's fair to say with the exception of a few on this board my relationship with The Patriots goes back as far as anyones.
There has been much written in the past few days that Sunday's was the toughest loss ever.Respectfully,I must disagree.We have won Three Super Bowls recently and that lifts a great burden off of Our shoulders.To Me Our worst loss was The 1976 Playoff loss against Oakland.The Football World in New England was far different back then.There weren't anywhere near as many Patriots Fans back then.Playoff berths were also tougher to secure.
The 1976 Patriots under Chuck Fairbanks were really our first chance to compete on the highest level of the NFL.Remember,We only joined The NFL six year previous.The joy that "The Patriots and their 40000 core base fans celebrated when the Patriots secured their first NFL Playoff Berth was a day no one who was there will ever forget.Remember those days at Foxboro were more like the "Old West" than the sanitized Gillette Stadium is now.The crowd was College Students,Truckers,Roofers,Painters,in other words, a crowd with a real edge to it.As bad as some Patriots Teams have been ,the early 1970's were a real low.Chuck Fairbanks gave Us the first signs of hope that led Us to the 1976 Playoffs.We had a young,good,exciting team.They had rolled The Raiders at Foxboro in Week 2.We knew We were better and The Raiders knew We were better.When The corrupt Ben Dreith STOLE that Playoff game from Us it ended Our first "Great Ride"with The Patriots.It was a bitter pill that was very hard to swallow.
I carried this loss with Me for several years and it wasn't until 1995 that I finally let it go.My friend and fellow Patriots Fan,Tom and I found ourselves in the Hometown of none other than Ben Dreith,which happens to be St.George,Utah.We drove over to his Home and We pissed on his front lawn.
He ran out screaming,"What the Hell are You guys doing?"I responded,"Giving You the business!"which happened to be the words He used to describe what Ray Hamilton did to Ken Stabler..He shook his head ,swore and said' "Damn Patriots Fans!" The coward never came any closer than 20 feet from Us.He clearly got the message.
Tom and I left St.George,Utah and drove to Colorado wher we stopped and drank well into the evening toasting The 1976 Patriots.It took 19 years but I finally let it go.It made the 3 Super Bowl victories much sweeter.As bad as it feels tonight,there is closure out there if You know where to find it!

so, should i go piss on brett favre (still a lil pissed bout sb 31) and peyton mannings lawns???

 

[NoCal Patriot]

If it works for You, why not !

 

[Tunescribe]

so, should i go piss on brett favre (still a lil pissed bout sb 31) and peyton mannings lawns???

I'd like to know where Polian's lawn is located.

 

[D-cleater]

Dunno, but next time any of us are in vegas.....

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...367675&sspn=1.02037,1.851196&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=9

 

[PonyExpress]

I wonder who downgraded the thread rating from 5 stars to 3? Someone must have given it only 1 star, which is a disgrace. This is the best Patriot fan related story I've read all year! A definite 5 star post!:rocker:

 

[smg93]

Great story Nocal. That was a really good read.

 

[Keegs]

so, should i go piss on brett favre (still a lil pissed bout sb 31) and peyton mannings lawns???

You mean Desmond Howard's lawn?

Favre sucks in big games, without howard they would have lost.

 

[pats60]

Thanks for the link,NEM.Those early AFL days were really wild .I remember Chuck Shonta and Ron Burton doing a clinic when I was a kid and I thought that they were the biggest men I had ever seen.The early days at Foxboro were simply a circus.Wild times and great memories.Remember ,Schaffer is the one beer to have when You're having more than one!In those days We all had many more than one!

Chuck Shonta outside of Quarter backs the most booed patriot
player that i remember .Worst than Starks

 

[hoosier_patriot]

Great story, thanks for sharing.
I have a couple of friends (maybe I should find a new group) that are Raider fans.
All I ever here from them is about the "Tuck Rule Game" and how they got screwed.
I might have to ask them to look deeper in the history books, and say WE'RE EVEN!

Then again, they will get the first pick this year, and you know what that means! HA HA

 

[godef]

that is just to funny .i wish i could have done that .the pats not only rolled the raiders that year but if memory serves didnt they beat the steelers cowboys and the oilers that year ?

Nope, just the Steelers just prior to the game in which we pounded the Raiders. The Steelers missed a 30 yeard field goal in the final seconds which would have tied the game.

It would be years before we ever beat the Cowboys, not until 1999.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

It took 19 years but I finally let it go.It made the 3 Super Bowl victories much sweeter.As bad as it feels tonight,there is closure out there if You know where to find it!

Great story and thanks for sharing it. Could you describe your feelings, 26 years later, When Walt Coleman gave Raiders' fans a taste of what it felt like for all those years?

 

[NoCal Patriot]

Great Question. I was in the Bay Area when The play happened and I was asked by several Raider fans what I thought.Many of them had forgotten the phantom "Roughing The Passer" call on Ray Hamilton so I reminded them.I viewed it as evening the scales. Ironically,Ken Stabler was interviewed on KNBR in San Francisco during the week after "The Tuck Rule Incident" and He was asked specifically about The Ray Hamilton Hit. He responded very matter of factly,"I was never roughed by Ray Hamilton,it was a bad call".

 

[Fanfrom1960]

I always disliked Ben Dreith, even before that game. Dreith had a habit of calling "roughing the Passer" in almost every game I ever saw him work. I mentioned it time after time after time.... it made me wonder if he was a quarterback somewhere, when he was younger, that always used to get sacked by defenses and in his mind, he was making up for it as a referee.

But, over the course of his career in the AFL, and the NFL, he was one of the officials that I knew would call roughing the passer in , literally, every game he officiated.

It came as no surprise to me when he called it on Hamilton.

I'd like to see that one again, but, as I recall, Sugar Bear came in with his hands high and at least contacted Stabler's helmet with his hands? I know Stabler didn't get hit hard at all, but when I think about it, the PI call on Hobbs in the AFC title game was actually a worse call than Dreith's. Oh well, shoulda, coulda, woulda...