Watched it in a Bay Area bar. This was a regular site of Pats meetups, so we all knew each other. 100 people decked out in Pats gear. Some of them who swear they know someone who knows TFB or JE personally
Had some close friends of mine (non-Football fans) come to support me and were honorary Pats fans for the night.
At the start of the 4th quarter, this ex-con looking dude shows up from nowhere and grabs a seat alone right by the entrance. No sports gear, just a t-shirt and jeans, with a bald head and biker beard. He's in a great mood cause Hawks are up 10. He makes it a point to yell and cheer for every Hawks play. He simmers down a little after the Amendola touchdown, and goes completely mute at the Edelman TD. Then, the Kearse catch happens. There's stunned silence in the whole bar, and this idiot is literally bouncing off the walls SCREAMING "Hahaha he caught it!", and pumping his chest egging any Pats fan to confront him. As if on cue, NBC starts replaying the Tyree and Mannigham catches, as I explain to my friends that history in a quivering voice to their agape mouths reactions.
20 seconds left, second and goal, I'm slumped in my chair, my friends feeling bad for me (never seen me this passionate before in the last 14 years we've known each other). Bald ex-con is at the table right next to me, and I wish I just could rip his beard off. And then, THE interception! It takes me and the whole bar a good half-second to register what just happened. All I remember is seeing Lockette falling back with empty arms, and a white Jersey (didn't know who at the time) lunging forward with the ball already tucked in a baby grip...that's when it clicked, and the whole bar ERUPTED! I was leaped off my seat with a growl that scared the crap out of the stunned ex-con, couple seconds later I fell to the floor with my head in my arms with a feeling of monumental relief and gratitude. Then came the hugs! From my pals who too were elated and cheering, to pretty much every other fan in the bar! At some point right after the int, I saw the ex-con with what I could swear were teary eyes slinking out the exit. Then came 150 hugs and the drinks and shots and the singing and the dancing! I made a new family of 100 strangers that day
Btw, one of my friends from the night had played her office pool, bet on the Pats, and won $250!