Bash of the Titans

WEEK 6
Patriots 59, Oilers/Titans 0 (10/18/09): I thought I might title this post "Splash of the Titans" because the forecast all week was for heavy rain. Don't get me wrong. There was plenty of that. However, it soon turned from a rainy October day to a cold, snowy January day. I don't remember seeing any forecasts about snow in Eastern Mass. But as me, Bergs, Shep, Matt, Russell, and our friends bit into our second pulled pork sandwiches, the rain started to turn to snow. Heavy, wet snow. Throw in 40 mph wind gusts and it goes down as the coldest and wettest I've ever been at a game. Perfect conditions for Tom Brady and company to put up huge offensive numbers. Ya, right.

We tailgated in one of the "non-Patriot" parking lots just south of the stadium across the street. The reason? Although it's great to have pavement beneath your feet on wet days, it's not worth it to have to move all your stuff (tent, grills, tables, etc.) when the golf cart convoy comes by every 30 minutes to keep the rows in the "Ford Explorer" section of the lot clear. "There has to be eight feet of clearance for an ambulance in case of an emergency," announces "Mr. Make-Believe Authority" guy. OK buddy. If you think eight feet is going to make a difference if there's an emergency among the tailgating masses... well good luck with that.

So we took the party to the "grass" of one of the other lots. The grass soon turned to mud. Lots of mud. Just like all the lots were in the pre-Gillette days. But it was fitting because this was another "throwback" game to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the AFL. So the Pats wore their old "Pat Patriot" unis and the Titans wore the unis of the Houston Oilers with the powder blue helmets and the oil derricks. Just like the good old days. We traversed the muddy rivers out of the lot and made our way along Rte. 1. As we walked to the stadium I began to notice something I hadn't seen in quite a while. A lot of drunk people. Really drunk. There was the older man (probably pushing 60) wearing a Titans jersey circling menacingly around the middle of the parking lot shouting about the lack of manhood of Pats fans. There was the guy in a Welker jersey and jeans -- no coat, no boots -- walking backwards yelling at everyone around him to "get rowdy!" At one point he walked backwards right into a wall. And his very drunk friends couldn't get him up. The pregame entertainment hadn't been this fun in years. "It is a throwback game after all," Shep said.

I had set my gloves on fire before the game when I rested them on the grill to warm up. A little too long. So upon entering Gillette I headed right over to the souvenir stand to buy a new pair. The cost: $20. They could have charged me twice that. I needed gloves to hold my margaritas. I wasn't sitting down in our seats in Section 109 so I decided I would wander around and watch the game from different standing room spots. The seats were all covered with snow and ice so standing seemed a good way to go. I watched the first few minutes down in the McDonald's end zone but the snow got heavier and wetter and there's no cover there. I made my way up the ramp to stand behind the championship banners, passing a lot of staggering people along the way. I found a spot where I had a good view of the field. It was hard to see the scoreboard through the snow but it looked like the Pats were up 10-0. The fans were bracing themselves against the wind gusts that would blow the icy snow right in your face. They buried themselves in hoods, hats, parkas ... and booze. Everyone just kind of stood quietly in a frozen buzzed state. That is till "Thriller" came over the sound system during a break in the game. Then many of those frozen people burst into their best "Thriller" moves, including one rather large guy who had the crouch/slide/clap/ slide move down. I thought I was on the set of "Glee."

I left the "Thriller" crowd and made my way over to the lighthouse in the opposite end zone to watch the rest of the game. On the first play right after I found my spot along the rail, Brady dropped back and launched a bomb to Randy Moss. Moss had a step on the defenders but Brady hadn't hit this pass all year. What are the chances he's going to do it in a driving snowstorm? Pretty darn good it turns out. The ball hit Moss right in the hands as he crossed the goal line. Touchdown! And then another! And another! And another! And another! The Pats and Brady put together a second quarter the likes of which had not been seen in many a decade. Brady threw touchdown passes of 40, 28, 38, 30, and 5 yards to set the NFL record for most TD passes in a quarter. There should be an asterisk next to that record just in case Peyton Manning ties it in a dome some day.
*--Accomplished in impossible passing conditions.

The Patriots rolled up a team record 619 yards in offense. The long-awaited break out of the offense happened on the most unlikely of days. Granted, the defense of the Titans/Oilers was missing several starters and was ripe for the picking. And it's often said that the offense has the advantage in the snow because the receiver knows where he is going and the defender does not. Although it hardly ever works out that way. Usually both receiver and defender are sliding all over the place. But not this time. Moss, Welker, Edelman all looked like they were playing on a beautiful fall day.

The Pats took advantage of the weather as they have done often this decade. Their dominance in the cold has been a big part of their success. Just as it was for the Steelers in the '70s and the Bills in the '80s. It was good to see from the '09 Pats. With the loss of guys like Harrison, Bruschi, and Vrabel -- proven bad weather players -- there was a question of how the new players would perform. Especially on D. Some players just don't like to play in the cold and snow. Seems like the newest Pats don't have a problem with it. That bodes well for the December games ... and hopefully beyond.