Without
a doubt, the National Football League is one of the most successful
professional sports operations in the world generating billions of dollars
annually through merchandising, ticketing, and Super Bowl advertising. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a
dynasty team – one that consistently dominates the league with Super Bowl
Championships – to keep the fans entertained.
Since the turn of the Millennium, the New England Patriots has been that
dynasty, and its star quarterback, Tom Brady, the NFL’s franchise
player.
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| The Hall at Patriot Place - The New England Patriots Hall of Fame |
As a
fan of the Buffalo Bills and a casual viewer of the NFL, I have heard nothing
but animosity spewed out towards Brady and the Patriots for the better part of
a decade now. Perhaps it’s just jealousy
or perhaps some of the fans around the league have justified reasons to
question the Patriots continued success.
All I know is that it wasn’t always the case here in Boston where they
continually produced a winning team. And
after visiting the Hall at Patriot Place – aka the New England Patriots Hall of
Fame – my views on the team has certainly changed since.
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| The Hall at Patriot Place - The New England Patriots Hall of Fame |
Located
at the Northeast corner of Gillette Stadium, the Hall at Patriot Place is
comprised of three levels. It’s highly
recommended that you start your tour of the museum on the third floor and then
work your way down to have much richer, fuller experience and appreciation. After paying my $10 admission, I went to the
top floor as suggested. Because it was a
Monday when I visited, the Hall was expected to close at 5pm EST. This meant I only had about 90 minutes to
visit. In retrospect, I could have
easily spent two hours here due to my limited knowledge of the New England
Patriots and the history of American football.
I love learning about sports history as we know from my past trips to
Chicago and Indianapolis, but 90 minutes is more than enough time for most
visitors. Regardless, here is what I
managed to see on my visit.
Third Floor
The
Third Floor primarily focuses on the history of American football, especially
since the game originated here during the 19th Century. It also touches upon the origins of
professional football in Boston, as well as the humble beginnings of the New
England Patriots. Plan to budget about
an hour up here if you have limited knowledge about the Patriots, as well as
the history of football like I do.
Otherwise, 30 minutes is more than enough time if you just care to learn
more about the history of the New England Patriots.
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| Model-sized version of Gillette Stadium - Home of the New England Patriots |
New England Football
This
section of the museum provides a short film on the history of American Football
and its origins in New England. It
showcases some of the significant teams and builders of the game in the 19th Century. It also briefly highlights the
history of professional football in Boston, particularly during the first half
of the 20th Century. The film
itself is roughly about 10 – 12 minutes in length.
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| Customized "Super Bowl Chopper" built for Adam Vinatieri |
By The Numbers
This
exhibit compliments the film that you just watched at the New England Football
pavilion. The major difference here is
that it just goes into more statistical details about the history of the
game. Some of the highlights here
include a customized motorcycle for Adam Vinatieri, the allegedly “oldest known
football” that was used in the second match between Yale and Harvard on
November 18, 1876, Doug Flutie’s “Sports Illustrated” cover when he was still a
quarterback at Boston College, and memorabilia from the earlier professional
NFL teams from New England before the Patriots were founded in 1960.
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| One of the oldest known footballs used in a Harvard vs. Yale game in 1876 |
What I
liked about this section of the Hall is that it goes into greater detail about
the history of American football. Modern
football originated on May 14, 1874 when Harvard accepted a two-game series to
play McGill University in Canada.
Although I knew about this game, I didn’t realize that this was the
first time two college teams used the “Boston Game” rules (a combination of
soccer and rugby) nor that several New England colleges played some form of informal
version of American football as early as the 1820s. Formalized rules didn’t take effect until the
Massasoit Convention of 1876 when representatives from Harvard, Columbia,
Princeton, and Yale met at the Massasoit House in Springfield, Massachusetts to
decide on these universal rules.
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| Doug Flutie's Sports Illustrated cover (December 1984) |
This
section of the Hall also goes into greater detail about some of the ground breakers
of the sport who helped continue its popularity growth across college campuses
in the late 19th/early 20th Centuries. This list includes the likes of Frank Hinkey,
Pudge Heffelfinger, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Fritz Pollard, William H. Lewis, and the
“Father of Football” himself, Walter Camp.
Camp is the man responsible for instituting many of the rules that we
see today in American football, such as:
·
Having 11
players on a side
·
The point
scoring system
·
The naming of
specific positions on the field for both the offensive & defensive teams
·
The
introduction of the four downs per play system before teams are required to
switch possession of the ball if the offensive team doesn’t get enough yardage
for a first down.
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| Exhibit on New England's previous Professional Football teams |
While
New England colleges had tremendous success as seen in the signage discussing
“Ivy League Dominance,” New England’s history with the NFL was futile at best. Between 1925 through 1948, New England was
home to five NFL teams: Providence Steam
Roller (1925 - 1931), Hartford Blues (1926), Boston Bulldogs (1929), Boston
Braves/Redskins (1932 – 1936), and Boston Yanks (1944 – 1948). Among the issues that these teams had to
deal with included poor facilities, low attendance, and the Second World
War. Boston did not get another NFL
franchise again until 1970 when the New England Patriots (known as the Boston
Patriots at the time) and the rest of the American Football League merged with
the NFL.
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| A young Robert Kraft - current owner of the New England Patriots |
Finally,
there was a “Guess Who” game at this section of the museum that Patriots in
particular would really enjoy. The top
flap would show a childhood photo of a famous New England Patriot including
their date and place of birth to give you additional hints. The second flap revealed their identity,
including their role on the team and the years they were part of the
organization. And the final flap would
list career highlights and an obscure “Did You Know” fact about that person.
Raytheon Theater
This
section of the museum is also the main highlight of the third level because it
plays a short film specifically on the history of the New England Patriots called
“Patriots Way.” It starts off briefly
highlighting Boston’s previous NFL teams before the Boston Patriots came into
fruition in 1960 as part of the American Football League. The AFL and NFL eventually merged in 1970 and
the Patriots moved to Foxborough in 1971 where they have played ever since
under the New England moniker.
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| The Hall at Patriot Place - The New England Patriots Hall of Fame |
It
goes on to talk about the Patriots’ decades of futility until Robert Kraft
bought the team in 1994 with the sole purpose of rebuilding them into a winning
franchise. Although the remainder of the
film is one big pat on the back for Kraft, I couldn’t help but be in awe in the
dynasty the New England Patriots have become today. It’s hard not to be empathetic towards Patriots
fans after hearing about the struggles Boston went through in establishing a
successful professional football team throughout most of the 20th Century. Damn you, Hall of
Patriots! I think you got to me a
little.
The Birth of Pat Patriot
There is
one section of the museum dedicated to a changing exhibit gallery. Past exhibits have included: The AFL Turns 50, For the Record, Pro
Football and the American Spirit, and a traveling exhibit from the Pro Football
Hall of Fame. Fortunately, when I was
here, The Hall was displaying an exhibit called “The Birth of Pat
Patriot.” Pat Patriot is the official
mascot for the New England Patriots if you haven’t guessed that by now.
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| Super Patriot - one of New England's short-lived Mascots |
As
mentioned earlier, Boston had seen its fair share of professional football teams
come and go in first half of the 20th Century. When local businessman, William “Billy”
Sullivan approached the National Football League to bring in yet another Boston
franchise team into the league, he was denied the opportunity. Around the same time, the American Football
League – a rival league to the NFL – was beginning to take shape. Sullivan was successfully granted the eight
and final franchise spot for the upstart league on November 16, 1959.
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| 1979 NFL Season - "Opening Day" Game Program |
Shortly
after joining the AFL, Boston adopted the “Patriots” moniker to represent the
area’s history with the American Revolution.
Boston Globe’s sports cartoonist, Phil Bissell, created a character
within 45 minutes of accepting an assignment to help promote the new team. Bissell kept the character design very simple
by drawing a football player in a Colonial Army uniform. To depict New England’s resiliency and
character, Bissell drew his character as a stout, determined, gritty individual
in a three-point stance. Pat Patriot
made his official debut on February 17, 1960.
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| The Birth of Pat Patriot |
Due to
the overwhelming positive response by the fans, Billy Sullivan was granted
permission by Bissell to officially adopt Pat as the Boston Patriots’ mascot
two months later. However, Sullivan
decided for their inaugural season that the Boston Patriots would wear red,
white, and blue uniforms with helmets donning Pat’s Hat – a tri-corner hat logo
representative of what the Patriots wore during the American Revolution. Pat Patriot didn’t become an official part of
the Boston Patriots’ logo until 1961 – a relationship that lasted for more than
30 years.
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| Early 1960s Boston Patriots memorabilia |
By
1993, the New England Patriots retired Pat Patriot in favour of the Flying
Elvis logo as part of a rebranding campaign to keep the team looking fresh and
modern. However, when Robert Kraft took
over as team owner in 1994, he gave Pat Patriot a “rebirth” of some sorts by
incorporating a more modern looking Pat that shows up on select Patriots
merchandise.
Building Blocks
Visitors
can walk through Patriots history era-by-era in this exhibit. Within each artifact case, you can see the
different uniforms worn by former players through the years. There are touch screen kiosks that provide
additional details as to when these specific uniforms were used, as well as
video highlights of key moments in Patriots’ history.
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| Commemorative football celebrating Bill Belichick's 200th career win as a Coach |
Expect
to budget around 15 – 20 minutes here if you want a more thorough experience of
this exhibit without feeling rushed.
Some of the highlights here a commemorative football celebrating Bill
Belichik’s 200th career win as Head Coach, as well as some replica
Super Bowl trophies that the Patriots have won.
Honestly, I was actually surprised to see these replicas.
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| Building Blocks - an exhibit focused on New England's rebuilding years |
The
entire third floor of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame focuses mainly on
the history of the team's rebuilding years pre-2001 when Tom Brady took over as starting
quarterback. Very little is mentioned here
about their more recent successes on the field with Brady at the helm. But it’s hard not to feel more empathy and
respect for the New England Patriots now that you have learned about the
ongoing struggles Boston went through for most of the 20th Century
to put together a successful professional football team.
Second Floor
This
section of the Hall of Patriots is by far the most interactive and immersive of
the museum as it primarily focuses on the franchise’s Hall of Famers and Super
Bowl winning teams. There are five main
exhibits here: Once a Patriot, Hall of
Fame, In The Moment, Inside the Game, and the Super Bowl Experience. Thirty minutes is probably more than enough
time to budget here for the average visitor.
Add on an additional 15 minutes to that if you really care to learn in
more detail about the Patriots’ Super Bowl winning teams.
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| Lego version of a New England Patriots helmet with "Flying Elvis" logo |
Once a Patriot
This
section is designed like a Man Cave – or a recreational living room. I didn’t spend a lot of time here as the Hall
of Patriots was going to be closing soon, but this exhibit allows visitors to
relax in leather chairs as they listen to Patriots legends share their memorable
stories from both their on-field and off-the-field experiences. There are also personal artifacts and photos
donated by former Patriots spread throughout this section for your viewing
pleasure.
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| The Hall at Patriot Place - The New England Patriots Hall of Fame |
Hall of Fame
The
New England Patriots Hall of Fame – the whole reason why you are here in the
first place – is noted for its four 30-foot-high pylons that honour the team’s
greatest players. The Hall of Fame
offers interactive kiosks for visitors to learn more about their favourite
player’s career statistics and biographies, as well as watch key video
highlights from their careers. Of the
twenty-four Patriots currently honoured in the Hall of Fame (as of June 2018),
Drew Bledsoe is by far the most well-known.
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| The Hall at Patriot Place - New England Patriots Hall of Fame |
The
other Hall of Famers include: Kevin
Faulk, Raymond Clayborn, Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi, Ty Law, Houston Antwine,
Willie McGinest, Ben Coates, Jim Nance, Sam Cunningham, Jon Morris, Steve
Grogan, Andre Tippett, Bruce Armstrong, Stanley Morgan, Steve Nelson, Vito
“Babe” Parilli, Mike Haynes, Gino Cappelletti, Bob Dee, Jim Lee Hunt, John
Hannah, and Nick Buoniconti.
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| The New England Patriots Hall of Fame |
For
the average visitor like myself, the Hall of Fame will feel a little
underwhelming. Of course, that will all
change in time as some of the current Patriots who have cemented themselves as
household names, like Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, Tom Brady, Bill Belichik, and
Robert Kraft, are inducted once their careers have ended.
In The Moment
Here
is where the New England Patriots Hall of Fame really rub the team’s on-field
successes in your face, especially with their AFC Championship trophies. Also on display here is the tractor driven by
Mark Henderson in the Snow Plow game.
There is also a life-sized snow globe simulator that allows you to test
your luck at kicking a successful field goal under the same conditions that Adam
Vinatieri faced during the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff game infamously known as
the Snow Bowl or Tuck Rule Game. I won’t
go into too many details here, but the controversial tactics used by the
Patriots in both games – albeit legal at the time – resulted in significant
rule changes the following season.
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| Commemorative football celebrating the Patriots' near perfect 2007 season 😉 |
There
is a commemorative football honouring the Patriots’ “21 game winning streak”
during the 2007 NFL season. While going
undefeated for 21 games in a row sounds impressive, what I find slightly amusing
here is that the Hall of Patriots neglect to mention that the streak ended that
season due to their loss at Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants. I remember watching that game as it was one
of the greatest Super Bowl upsets of all time.
To date, the 2007 New England Patriots are the only NFL team to go
undefeated during the regular season and not win a Super Bowl.
Inside the Game
If
you’ve ever wanted to know what it was like to be an NFL player, then this
exhibit is for you. There are so many
fun simulators for visitors to try out here, including watching Bill Belichik break
down plays, sit on an actual bench, check out the locker room, test your
vertical and reaction times, and go inside a huddle to hear Tom Brady call
plays from an actual game. Having
experienced something similar at the NCAA Hall of Fame and the Chicago Sports
Hall of Fame, I just browsed quickly through this section within a few minutes.
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| The Hall at Patriot Place - The New England Patriots Hall of Fame |
The Super Bowl Experience
The
final section of the Hall of Patriots – an undoubtedly the best part – is the
Super Bowl Experience. So much detail
went into the telling of the Patriots’ five Super Bowl Championships here. A 16x9 high definition video wall replays
some of the greatest stories and moments of past championship seasons.
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| The Hall at Patriot Place - The New England Patriots Hall of Fame |
The “Anatomy
of a Comeback” is probably the one exhibit you definitely want to check out as
it goes into great detail on how the Patriots came from behind an NFL record 25
point deficit against the Atlanta Hawks to win Super Bowl LI. What makes this story so great is that the
Patriots were down 28 – 3 by the end of the third quarter to come back and win
it 34 – 28 in overtime. Again, this was
another epic Super Bowl that I ended up watching and was just in awe at the
greatness of this dynasty.
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| All five of New England's Super Bowl trophies |
And
once you are done here, you can conclude your visit of the Hall of Patriots by
getting your photo taken in front of the Patriots’ five Super Bowl trophies. Each trophy costs approximately $250,000
US. So yes, you can literally get your
photo taken in front of a million dollars at the end of your visit if you want. Just don’t try to take one home as a souvenir
as this section is heavily guarded by security cameras and Hall of Patriots
staff.
First Level
This
last part of the Hall of Patriots is where you can purchase your admissions ticket
or browse through the Retail Shop to purchase a wide variety of New England
Patriots merchandise. I didn't bother getting any souvenirs myself as the museum was trying to close up and I usually don't buy souvenirs. But the avid Patriots fan might want to budget 15 minutes here to stock up on the latest gear if they'd like.
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| Super Bowl LI Championship Ring |
Although
there is a bit of a propaganda hype on the Patriots’ recent successes, I came
out feeling like the Hall of Patriots provided me with more value than I expected. But after learning about the origins of
American football and the decades of failed franchises and years of futility that
the city of Boston had to endure before the current dynasty came into fruition,
how could I not feel that way? While I
no longer hate the Patriots with a passion, it will be interesting to see how
long this ride will last with Tom Brady before he eventually retires.
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| Gillette Stadium - Home of the New England Patriots |
The Hall At Patriot Place
One
Patriot Place
Foxborough,
MA 02035
Phone: (508) 698-4800
Hours of Operation
Monday
– Friday: 10am EST – 5pm EST
Saturday: 10am EST – 9pm EST
Sunday: 10am – 7pm EST
Thankyou for sharing this information and experience
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