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A Postcard from Gillette - tracy hackler - 01-28-2008 01:23 PM
<p><i><b>Two weeks ago we told you about <a href=http://www.beckett.com/estore/news/?A=9134 target=blank">Maryland collector Ryan Schear</a>, who, as the winner of Beckett's Playoff Hunt for the NFL Playoffs contest, was headed to the AFC Championship Game.</i></b></p>
<p><i><b>Well, you'll be happy to know that he's thawed out from the big game and filed this report:</i></b></p>
<p>After learning of my impending trip to Foxborough, there was only one thing I could do: Go out to eat with my buddies Tom Fleming, Tom Giles and Jim Morrison (yes, that’s his real name).</p>
<p>Through their unwavering disbelief and envy, the excitement culminated with me yelling “I’m going to the AFC Championship” in the parking lot of Chili’s. The guys working on the roof peaked over and offered up congratulations. Everybody at my work was in shock, congratulating me and saying how great it was.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.beckett.com/images/news_editors/football/AFC-ProShop.jpg" hspace="5" vspace="5" border="0" align="right" />I decided to take one of my best friends, the aforementioned Tom Giles (the guy on the left in the picture) with me. Tom has been a great friend for years and I knew he would appreciate the magnitude of this event. After several correspondences with Elizabeth at Donruss, our flight and hotel were booked. We left Reagan Airport at 7 a.m. on Sunday (Jan. 20) and touched down in Boston at around 8:30 a.m. After a quick cab ride we were at our hotel in Foxborough, Mass. A few hours later we were dressed in our winter-expedition best and headed to the game.
The woman at the front desk of the hotel, Jill, extended congratulations and talked some Pats football with us. She was awesome and knew her stuff.<p>
<p>We shared a shuttle with four Chargers fans (we were pro-Patriots), one of whom yelled “Go, Chargers!” out the window at every Pats fan he saw. I must say that the Chargers' fans travel well; there were a lot more than I was expecting.
We settled into our seats and waited for the game to begin.</p>
<p>It was cold. Not just “Brrr, it’s chilly” cold, but “Wow, I can’t feel my feet” cold. I had bought “Expedition Tested” socks that apparently were tested on an expedition slightly warmer than the weather in Foxborough because my feet went fast (for the record, the official temperature at kickoff was 23 degree with a wind-chill factor of 9 degrees).</p>
<p>The crowd was great and everyone was into it. Some of the Chargers fans were trying to tell the locals that <a href=http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Controller.osi?Ntt=Tom+Brady&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Ntk=Interface1>Tom Brady</a> just wasn’t that good. They were met with a thick, Boston-accented cheer of “MVP! MVP!”</p>
<p><img src="http://www.beckett.com/images/news_editors/football/AFC-Field.jpg" hspace="5" vspace="5" border="0" align="right" />After <a href=http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Controller.osi?Ntt=Laurence+Maroney&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Ntk=Interface1>Laurence Maroney</a> scored the game’s first touchdown and <a href=http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Controller.osi?Ntt=Jabar+Gaffney&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Ntk=Interface1>Jabar Gaffney</a> the second, the place was electric. Everyone in our section stood for most of the game. And after Brady hit <a href=http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Controller.osi?Ntt=Wes+Welker&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Ntk=Interface1>Wes Welker</a> for the third touchdown, everyone started dancing and chanting, “Super Bowl! Super Bowl!” We headed back to the hotel and ate at the “99” while watching the upset-special Giants.</p>
<p>The next morning, we caught a cab back to the airport and were back in Maryland by 11 a.m. This was a truly unforgettable experience. People actually win these contests, I’m proof.</p>
<p><i>-- Ryan Schear</i></p>