New England Patriots Tickets For Sale
| New England Patriots Billy Sullivan brought the Patriots to Boston after the business tycoon was given the reins to his own AFL franchise in the late 1950s. The team was a dedicated and talent bunch, but suffered mightily from having to use a number of different locations as their home stadium. After a decade of existence as the Boston Patriots, the franchise was part of the NFL and UFL merger, soon moving to the welcoming confines of Foxborough, Massachusetts. Though the city was only 20 miles to the south of Boston, it had an unassuming vibe and a population far below the capacity of Gillette Stadium, which was completed in 1971 and at the time known as Foxborough Stadium. Sullivan soon tried to change the team’s name to the Bay State Patriots, but the league nixed the idea and they soon became the New England Patriots. It would take six years before the Patriots were able to gain entry into an NFL postseason on the powerful arm of scrappy quarterback Steve Grogan, who marched the team into the playoffs three times in his nine year tenure as shot caller. Grogan gave way to Tony Eason in 1984, who led the young and energetic team to an 11-5 record in 1985 and ’86. The Bill Parcells era began in 1993 and the season proved to be a disappointment, as the renowned coach put the fate of the franchise on the young shoulders of rookie quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Parcells turned out to be correct about the ability of Bledsoe in the long-term, and the former Washington State standout went on to lead the Patriots to the playoffs four times and the Super Bowl once, making them a perennial force to be reckoned with in the late 1990s. A gruff, no-nonsense man by the name of Bill Belichick was hired to coach the blossoming team in the spring of 2000. Belichick soon phased out the wildly popular Bledsoe in favor of a young, pretty-boy named Tom Brady, which turned out to be the single greatest decision the coach made in what is currently a 12-year tenure. After an 11-5 finish in 2001, the Patriots made their way through the playoffs, creating a need for a ‘tuck rule’ along the way, and ended up shocking the world with a 20-17 Super Bowl victory over the highly-favored St. Louis Rams. So began an era of dominance for the franchise that is still very much alive. Tom Brady soon morphed from a passive passer to an alpha male determined to make every member of the team aware of his leadership position and abilities. The result has been a streak of seasons that resulted in double-digit wins, beginning in 2003 and currently running for eight straight years. The team summated the sport’s mountaintop again in 2003 and 2004, beating the Carolina Panthers and then the Philadelphia Eagles each by a field goal in two highly competitive Super Bowls. In 2007, the Patriots posted the league’s first ever 16-0 regular season, mowing through the competition in the playoffs before being beaten by the underdog New York Giants in a game that was eerily similar to the Patriots initial Super Bowl victory following the 2001 season. In 2010, the Patriots finished with a 14-2 record, tops in the entire NFL. |