Happy Monday, Boston. We hope you’re able to take some time today to enjoy the calm before the score. That’s right — we’re talking Monday night football with the Patriots. Before we get to kickoff, let’s run the play back.
Did you know that this December is the 50th anniversary of the Boston Patriots becoming the New England Patriots?
Prior to 1971, the Boston Patriots, were a charter member of the American Football League. The team that dates back the 1960s would play at various locations throughout the city, sometimes even at Fenway.
In 1970, the NFL decided to merge into one football league and the Boston Patriots decided to move about 25 miles south of Boston, finding a new home at Foxboro Stadium.
Today, the New England Patriots play at Gillette Stadium, which the team has called home since 2002.The Patriots are the second highest valued franchise in the NFL at $5 billion, second only to the Dallas Cowboys at $6.5 billion, according to Forbes.
There’s still plenty to talk about with this team. C.J. Jackson earned the Player of the Month for November and rookie quarterback Mac Jones is making plays similar to another QB you might remember. Jones has filed for a trademark for merchandise — MJ10. This might give you a little deja vu, since his predecessor Tom Brady did the same thing with the TB12 logo + company.
We have a few more opportunities to watch the team in action in the regular season.
- Tonight at 6 p.m. against the Buffalo Bills
- Sat., Dec. 18 at 8:20 p.m. against the Indy Colts (hey INDYtoday)
- Sun., Dec. 26 at 1 p.m. against the Bills again — this time at home
- Sun., Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. against the Jacksonville Jaguars
- Sun., Jan. 9 at 1 p.m. against the Miami Dolphins