Well, it's game day. The hype is over, thank goodness, and now all that's left is getting to Gillette Stadium.
That, in and of itself, can be an adventure. Route 1 is the only road with access to the New England Patriots' home, and the traffic backups here are legendary. About 2 1/2 miles from the stadium, you start seeing signs for parking - at $60 a vehicle. And those are the cheap lots.
I had to use one of those parking lots one year when I was covering a playoff game and didn't have a parking pass. It was a night game against the Tennessee Titans in 2003, and my walk from the car to the stadium in the 6-degree temperatures is the coldest I've ever been in my life. The good news is, I had just about the best hot chocolate I can remember when I got to Gillette. I hope, for the sake of the 68,000-plus fans who will be there today, that the hot chocolate and coffee flow freely this afternoon, while I'm in the climate-controlled press box.
Brent Jones
