In a sense of a Blues Brothers car chase, at least in sheer magnitude, the New England Patriots were successful in rounding up over 35,000 fans for their "Super Bowl" pep rally. To put that in perspective, that over two times the population of Foxborough, where the New England Patriots' Gillette Stadium is located.
The rally was organized in conjunction with much of the team's grassroots support in Norfolk County, making it the team's last emotional hurrah before they board the plane for Atlanta in preparation for the big game.
"This is an awesome crowd. Just tremendous. This is the biggest sendoff we've ever had," coach Bill Belichick spoke into the microphone, and he certainly wasn't fibbing: the Pats head coach ditched his regular sweats for a clean-cut suit and tie with hush puppies to match. Owner Robert Kraft, back from assisting in the launch of Jay-Z's new criminal justice reform league, also addressed the crowd, as did his son Jonathan Kraft, who also holds a stake in the football team due to his inheritance.
Once the big wigs were done speaking, the closing "peps" if you will, were reserved for the on-field captains, a leadership core comprised of James White, David Andrews, Matthew Slater, Patrick Chung, Devin McCourty, and of course, Tom Brady who got the final word in. "We're still here!" he stammered multiple times. The Pats are scheduled to arrive in Atlanta within an hour's time - keep it locked.