Shamed Into Staying by Liza Maloney

I remember going to the Snow Bowl game against the Oakland Raiders back on January 19, 2002. It was basically a blizzard outside. Somehow, we scored two single tickets but they were on opposite sides of the stadium. We dressed in about eight layers on the top and bottom and headed to the Foxboro Stadium for the final game ever played there. Stadium staff actually let us sit together – they felt badly for everyone. We also snuck in a couple of flasks to keep warm. The old stadium had metal seats that were not shoveled off so everyone stood for the entire game. I had an extra women’s fleece hat with me and loaned it a man standing beside us. He was teased mercilessly by his friends for a wearing a feminine hat but he didn’t care because it was helping keep him warm. I also remember fans taking off their coats and shirts and cheering the Pats on in the fourth quarter while bare chested. I am not sure how they survived, but they never wavered. It appeared as though the Patriots might lose and we said to our frostbitten neighbors that we might leave, but they shamed us into staying and I’m so happy we did. It was snowing so hard that when Adam Vinatieri came out to kick those two field goals in the snow, we couldn’t even see the football go through the uprights. When the stadium erupted in cheering and fans started throwing snow in the air, we knew the result was favorable and we knew we won the game. We ended up getting married a few months later and the Patriots won the Super Bowl so the Snow Bowl was the catalyst! That incredible game provided me with many wonderful and unique memories.

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