On April 15th 2000, I went to a draft party at then, Foxboro Stadium, home of the NE Patriots. I bought this hat. At the same draft, a day later, the Patriots drafted Tom Brady. I tossed the hat in a pile of other hats when I got home and did not think about it for a while. It was baseball season, I had a Red Sox hat I wore most the time and that was it, until September 23, 2001. For whatever reason the family decided to go to Yankee Candle in Deerfield MA, even though the Pats game was on that afternoon. It was the home opener against the Jets. On the way out the door, I grab my never worn Pat Patriot hat and figured it was a good day to break it in. I listened to the game on the radio that day. Those who know the history of the team know that date. Drew Bledsoe, Mo Lewis, Tom Brady… we still lost that game, but that was not important. Now, I do not believe in luck, I don’t believe in a lot of things, but this is my hat.  I try to wear it each time the Patriots play. I lost it for 2 games once… I apologize. I did not wear it for the 2008 season opener, then Bernard Pollard… I am sorry. I am not jinxing anything by talking about the hat – many know about the hat, I get texts asking if it is on, we have lost plenty while wearing it, trust me it flew across a room February 3, 2008, a day we do not talk about. But it is my hat, it is falling apart, it smells horrible and is very sticky to touch, it will only get worse since I am afraid to wash it… but this is my hat as long as #12 is on the team.

tr/trp