My sister and I visited Gillette Stadium (a.k.a. The Razor) last night for the Patriots and the Chiefs match-up on Monday Night Football. This was my first time to the Razor to see the Monday night spectacle. The night (or should I say afternoon?) started like a lot of others that involve going to Gillette, waiting in dreadful traffic on Route 95. Despite leaving 4.5 hours prior to the game, it still took us 90 minutes to drive roughly 44 miles. Thankfully, once we got there, we found it easy to park.
Since we weren’t tailgating, we decided to venture into Patriot Place to check-out the dining options there. We were both in the mood for barbecue so we ventured over to Toby Keith’s place only to find out that a lot of other fans Love this Bar. Hearing there was a two and a half hour wait, and really needing some food, we decided to explore other options. We happened upon a bar at the Renaissance Hotel called Twenty8. We were seated in about 40 minutes. The bar area had comfy sofas and flat-panel displays to watch ESPN while we were waiting for our table. Twenty8 was serving an event menu for the game which consisted of typical appetizers (chowder, wings, etc.), sandwiches and a few salads. We both liked the Thai Sweet Chili wings for starters. They were freshly cooked and served with a sweet and not-too-spicy dipping sauce. Sticky goodness. For dinner I had the Turkey club with in-house potato chips while my sister had a barbecue chicken sandwich with chips as well. Both were pretty good considering the options in the stadium. We left satisfied.
Security lines at Gillette Stadium seemed to move a little bit slower last night for what looked like a more intense pat-down than normal. After making the hike up to the third deck, we were definitely ready to sit down and relax. Maybe because it was a little colder last night, it felt like I got my exercise getting to my seat. I guess I was expecting a little more fanfare at the game last night because it was Monday Night Football. Other than some fireworks, which I think is done at every night game, there wasn’t really any noticeable difference other than the announcer mentioning that the game was on ESPN.
As I mentioned, the temperatures were little bit cooler than they had been in previous games. Given this, and the fact that many folks were probably coming from work to get to this game, and the traffic, the fan seems somewhat subdued. The Kansas City Chiefs are not a team that we see very often. In fact, I believe the last time we saw this team was on an afternoon when Tom Brady went down with a serious knee injury and did not return for the rest of the season. Those were certainly grim times for the organization but an opportunity that Matt Cassel, who joined the Kansas City Chiefs after that season, took advantage of. Matt wasn’t able to play last night due to injury suffered the week prior. In any case, it was hard to compare the chatter in the stands last night, which seem to be only about 80% full, to the veracity of the Pittsburgh Steeler fans that I experienced just a few weeks prior. Those are the most intense fans I have ever witnessed. The Patriots and the Chiefs started off very slowly. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, this continued throughout the rest of the game. The Chiefs scored first with a field goal to go up 3-0. In the second half however, and as expected by many of the football pundits, the Patriots put up 34 unanswered points which included not only offenses scores but several turnovers by the Chiefs. The game ended with a Patriots victory, 34-3. The Patriots visit Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to take on the Eagles on Sunday afternoon at 4:15 PM (EST). This should be a tough match-up for the Patriots.
You can read more about last night’s game by clicking here.