Patriots fans say they are excited that the Mike Vrabel era has begun in Foxboro, but they will have to wait a little longer to see the new head coach earn his first win at Gillette Stadium.
New England lost its season opener at home to Las Vegas on Sunday, 20-13, with fans letting out loud boos as they started to exit the stadium before the Week 1 dud came to an end.
Sterling resident Steve Maynard, a season ticket holder for 15 years, stayed through it all.
He joined fellow season ticket holders on the field after the game, trying to take the loss in stride and remain optimistic.
With the Patriots starting 0-1, Maynard told the Herald he has tempered his expectations. He predicted the hometown team would win 10 games, but now he said he hopes they can get at least eight.
“Everybody was hyped,” Maynard said of the in-stadium vibes before opening kickoff, “but when you got into the fourth quarter, and we were down by 10 points, that was slipping away.”
“We have the coaching staff and leadership to right the ship,” he added. “I don’t think it’s going to happen immediately, but I think eventually it will turn around.”
The Patriots’ offense went cold in the second half, mustering a field goal from rookie Andres Borregales with just 22 seconds left. The miserable performance matched Sunday’s dreary, wet weather – conditions more often seen later in the fall.
Boos started to ring out with 4:53 left in the fourth quarter after the Patriots’ offense jumped offsides, taking quarterback Drake Maye and his weapons off the field and away from going for it on 4th and 5, closer to midfield.
The tailgating scene returned up and down Route 1, with fans turning out early and often, grilling up their favorite pregame snacks while boozing and rocking team apparel.
Ahead of the draft this past April, fan Johnny Occean believed the Patriots could have won 10 to 11 games this season. He has halted those expectations a bit after the way the rest of the league shook out during the offseason.
Occean said he predicts New England will hover around .500, at either eight or nine wins.
“It will be a really competitive year,” he told the Herald. “I am excited to see where they can go. There is a lot of hope.”
That optimism stems from Vrabel leading the team instead of Jerod Mayo, who faltered drastically after a surprising Week 1 win last season in Cincinnati. Owner Robert Kraft fired the first-year head coach in January after the team finished 4-13 for the second straight year.
Michael Young, of East Falmouth, has organized the “Tailgater 2000” since the 1998 season. He recounted his excitement for Mayo before heading across Route 1 on Sunday after he held a massive party for fellow fans in the morning.
“It was a disaster, obviously,” Young said of the Mayo experience. “Going into this year with Vrabel, a lot more optimism.”
Young’s tailgate, in the middle of a parking lot across the road from Patriot Place, features it all: A bus filled with Patriots merchandise and a TV, trays of grilled chicken, steak, shrimp, and other goodies, a live band and yard games.
Gerry McCarthy, of Sandwich, has been a season ticket holder since 1980 and serves as a key voice to the Tailgater 2000, offering hundreds of fans a prayer – a poem he writes as a rallying cry.
“It was a party last year, and if a football game breaks out, so be it,” McCarthy told the Herald. “This year, I have a lot of optimism. I have heard people talking about 11 wins and all of that. I don’t see 11 wins. … If we make it to eight this year, and we have one or two other games where we are competitive, then this was a big success, and we continue to build next year.”
A Patriots fan cheers during the first quarter of the game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
A Patriots fan decked out in rain garb cheers during the second quarter. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)