Having been around since 1960, the Patriots are among the oldest teams in the NFL. In that half century, Pat Patriot and the team have certainly created many memorable moments, but there are a few little known stories worth noting.
Although you may have already known that the Patriots are going to win their fourth Super Bowl this Sunday, here are a few bits of trivia you’ve yet to learn:
1. The team was shortly called the Bay State Patriots. This had to change because of the unintended abbreviation, BS Patriots.
The Boston Patriots were the eighth team added to the AFL, keeping the original name until 1971. But owner Billy Sullivan became upset that Boston wasn’t allowing him to build a stadium in the downtown area, so he snubbed the city and moved to Foxboro. With the location change came a name change and the Patriots adopted the “Bay State Patriots” moniker. This didn’t go over well.
An AP story from 1971 entitled “Bay State or Boston? Even Patriots Unsure” explains:
The club’s board of directors voted a change from Boston to Bay State last week, recognizing the fact the team is scheduled to play home games this year in a 62,000-seat stadium under construction in Foxboro, about 20 miles south of Boston. The “Bay State” tag hasn’t proved too popular, and some Boston sports writers refuse to call the team by anything but “Patriots.”
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Brady was only 22, but, according to Kraft, his trademark confidence was already quite apparent:
I still have the image of Tom Brady coming down the old Foxboro stadium steps with that pizza box under his arm, a skinny beanpole, and when he introduced himself to me and said, “Hi Mr. Kraft,” he was about to say who he was, but I said, “I know who you are, you’re Tom Brady. You’re our sixth round draft choice.” And he looked me in the eye and said, “I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.” It looks like he could be right.
Now it’s time to take that confidence and do this again.
All images Getty unless otherwise noted.
