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Stadium Review - Gillette Stadium 2nd Row!
A trip to New England is certainly not complete without partaking in the essentials … a bread bowl of clam chowder from the Boston Chowda Co in Quincy Market, a dozen raw oysters at the Union Oyster House (established 1826 and widely acknowledged as America’s oldest restaurant in continuous service) or a brew at Cheers on Beacon Street, the place “where everyone knows your name”.  But to true neophytes, the experience to be savored is to join the Patriot faithful in Foxboro, MA to watch the hometown New England Patriots administer another good ‘ol fashioned butt-whopping on national TV.  That’s what I like to do, watch Belichick, Brady, and Co devour another defenseless victim … as long as it’s not my Buffalo Bills (then it’s just cruel).

I drove to Boston for the weekend hoping to take in a nationally televised NFL football double-header - the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers in a vengeful bloodbath in Foxboro on Sunday night and the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins in a game of division rivals on Monday Night Football.  With no tickets for either game and a couple of hotel room reservations in Foxboro and New Jersey, I had my work cut out for myself and I figured to pay the price for my lack of preparedness.  I arrived at Gillette Stadium on gameday two and a half hours before kickoff and the parking lot was already full of rabid Patriots fans.  Throngs of tailgaters dressed in red, white, and blue started the day around eleven in the morning (for an 8:15 pm kickoff) and by the time I had arrived the party was in full swing.  Parking at Gillette Stadium is an outrageous $40 per car, but the warmth of the fans pregame preparations almost makes the price bearable – I said “almost,” it was still forty dollars I had to fork over!  Once the parking sections fill up, full sized grills, collapsible tents, picnic tables, and flat screen TV’s with the NFL package fill in the center aisles … once parked you’re not going anywhere.  It looks like a make-shift eastern market  with vendors preparing some of the finest tailgating delights known to NFL fandom.

My ticket was graciously provided to me by three Patriots die-hards who quickly assimilated me into their gameday celebration.  Clint, “Tawd”, and “Cah-mine” had an extra ticket at the thirty-yard line of Section 130, seat 4, row 2!  We sat right behind the San Diego Chargers bench in a section filled with perennial championship-caliber fans that were hungry for another.  Friendly and welcoming, these folks made my gameday experience one of the best.  On this day the hometown would not be denied as the Brady to Moss connection lit up the hapless San Diego Chargers for two touchdowns on route to an eerily easy victory.  This all on the heels of the Belicheck-Gate video scandal accusing the New  England Patriots of cheating and casting doubt throughout the nation on the validity of the three championship banners that hung in Gillette Stadium.  If the Patriots were looking for vilification, they made a statement to the rest of the league in overwhelming yet another unworthy opponent, all in the national spotlight. 

The Food
Unfortunately, short of having Sam Adams on tap and available throughout the stadium (which in itself is enough to keep this fan coming back to Foxboro), the concessions in Gillette Stadium are nothing special to write about.  They have the standard brats, dogs, and nachos. But in an area of the country where folks know how to eat, the standard fare is fairly disappointing.  When you have fans in the parking lot stewing up their own chowda, boiling lobsters, and shucking oysters I guess that’s tough enough to compete with so Gillette Stadium concedes.  When I asked for something unique, something local to the area, the folks behind the counter at the concessions stand could only shrug their shoulders.  A better effort is required here in my opinion.
 

2008 New England
Patriots
"Face Value"
Ticket Prices

$169.00 Lower Level Sideline Rows 1 - 38

$117.00 Lower Level Corner/End Zone Rows 1 - 38

$117.00 Mezzanine Level Corner/End Zone Rows 1 - 27

$89.00 Upper Level Sideline, Lower Ring Rows 1 - 7, Upper Ring Rows 8 - 26

$89.00 Upper Level Corner/End Zone Lower Ring Rows 1 -7

$65.00 Upper Level Corner/End Zone Upper Ring Rows 8 - 26

New England Patriots
2008 NFL Schedule

     1 Sun, Sept. 7, Kansas City 1:00 PM
     2 Sun, Sept. 14, at N.Y. Jets 4:15 PM
     3 Sun, Sept. 21, Miami 1:00 PM
     4 Sun, Sept. 28, BYE
     5 Sun, Oct. 5, at San Francisco 4:15 PM
     6 Sun, Oct. 12, at San Diego 8:15 PM
     7 Mon, Oct. 20, Denver 8:30 PM
     8 Sun, Oct. 26, St. Louis 1:00 PM
     9 Sun, Nov. 2, at Indianapolis 8:15 PM
    10 Sun, Nov. 9, Buffalo 1:00 PM
    11 Thurs, Nov. 13, N.Y. Jets 8:15 PM
    12 Sun, Nov. 23, at Miami 1:00 PM
    13 Sun, Nov. 30, Pittsburgh 4:15 PM
    14 Sun, Dec. 7, at Seattle 8:15 PM
    15 Sun, Dec. 14, at Oakland 4:15 PM
    16 Sun, Dec. 21, Arizona 1:00 PM
    17 Sun, Dec. 28, at Buffalo 1:00 PM 

NFL Football Stadiums
 

Gillette Stadium Tours - click here for info

According to the website above, public tours of Gillette Stadium are not currently available.  However, the website does mention a 30-minute tour of the facility that is offered during certain times of the year.  These tours of Gillette Stadium include visits to the NFL visiting team locker room and time on the sidelines of the field as well as several other areas not accessible to the general public.   When available, the tour sound like a worthwhile investment for any New England Patriots fan.

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