New England Patriots
It may be a problem to discover a Seattle restaurant to host the 1000’s of Washington-based Patriots followers in enemy territory.
Outdoors of New England, it’s powerful being a Patriots fan. Simply ask some fellow Boston sports activities fanatics in Seattle, whose Seahawks will face off in opposition to the Pats this Sunday in a Super Bowl match-up.
“Patriots fatigue is an actual factor — however not for me,” stated Pats fan and former Charlton resident Lee Webb about his Seahawks pals. Webb moved to the Seattle space in 2016, a yr after the Patriots beat the Seahawks 28-24 throughout the 2015 Tremendous Bowl.
It’s not simply the fatigue that Patriots followers expertise from different soccer watchers that makes life exhausting. There’s some animosity particularly in Seattle given the close contest of 2015. Dunkin’ additionally doesn’t have a single location in Washington State, the birthplace of espresso competitor Starbucks.
And it wasn’t so way back that the Patriots had been nice, the most effective even, a franchise that’s been featured within the Tremendous Bowl the most with 11 video games — and it was even a shorter time in the past that the successful momentum fell aside, and the workforce struggled to rebuild.
Now Patriots followers discover themselves in a Tremendous Bowl as soon as once more, for the primary time since 2019. And in Seattle, the two,100 members of the Boston Sports Fan Group of Seattle Fb web page virtually discovered themselves with no residence this Sunday.
Patriots followers of this over-20-year-old group usually have a ok set-up at Gasoline Sports activities Grill, a sports activities bar in Seattle. Certain, typically they’re compelled to sit down outdoors, like Webb stated “plenty of Seahawks followers could be completely satisfied to know” occurred throughout the AFC Championship.
However the bar situated within the coronary heart of enemy territory couldn’t accommodate the projected 80 Patriots followers, probably extra, on Tremendous Bowl Sunday.
“It’s actually exhausting to attempt to discover a venue that may enable us to take over the bar and have it only for Patriots followers,” stated Jesse Canton, who runs the social media accounts for the Boston Sports activities Fan Group of Seattle. She’s not initially from New England, however her household is, so she’s a Boston sports activities fan lifer by blood.
Canton can be concerned behind the scenes in making these watch events occur for his or her passionate group of sports activities fanatics. Their subsequent finest spot was a former host of Patriots video games, a restaurant with a New England spirit known as Bar Harbor — just like the city in Maine. The proprietor, Ben Hodgetts, is from Portland, Maine, initially and is a lifelong Pats fan.
The mix of the pandemic and some rotten Patriots seasons led him to shut his restaurant on Sundays, and since his staff are largely made up of Seahawks followers, he couldn’t workers the restaurant for this one-off occasion.
“I really feel horrible about not internet hosting it,” Hodgetts stated. “I’m type of shedding sleep over it. I’m getting plenty of emails like ‘The place can I’m going with out getting murdered in Seattle?’”
He was in a position to provide a peace providing of types: Hodgetts is promoting lobster roll and clam chowder kits on Saturday in order that Boston people can take pleasure in their residence delicacies on recreation day. And Bar Harbor has been that includes Tremendous Bowls of Patriots’ previous on its two tv screens ever because the Pats received the AFC Championship in opposition to the Denver Broncos.
Canton stated they reached out to a 3rd place that needed to cost them an expensive $200 per head. They lastly landed on Shawn O’Donnell’s, an Irish pub. It’s becoming for a bunch of Boston sports activities followers that their final-hour hero comes wearing inexperienced and serves pints of Guinness and clam chowder.
The bar sometimes welcomes Seahawks followers, with one in every of its places a brief distance from Lumen Subject, the place the Seahawks play. The O’Donnell members of the family are lifelong Seattleites, and due to this fact Seahawks followers.
Regardless, the bar is pulling out all of the stops for his Patriots clients this Sunday. For one, the bar can be serving Sam Adams beer and a Patriots-themed cocktail — probably a “Maye Tai.” And for each pint or cocktail offered of the 2 drinks, the restaurant is donating $2 to the Jimmy Fund, one in every of Boston’s favourite charities.
“Patriots followers are seasoned, and what I imply by that’s that they’re well-equipped to deal with the opposing groups’ followers in a respectful and enjoyable approach,” stated Shawn O’Donnell Jr., who manages the Pioneer Sq. location of his household’s pubs, the one that’s internet hosting the Patriots followers on Sunday.
Boston.com reached out to Boston Seahawk Fans group however didn’t hear again in time for publication. In response to social media, the place that often hosts them, Alma Cantina, is internet hosting them this Tremendous Bowl Sunday, in addition to neighboring White Bull Tavern. Each eating places are absolutely reserved and are solely permitting walk-ins, first come first serve.
What does it say that the Patriots followers’ battle to discover a Seattle bar seat this Sunday was (allegedly) considerably more durable than that of Seattle followers in Boston?
It reminds one in every of a current notion from Boston sports activities fan and former Dorchester resident Ayo Edebiri on “Late Evening with Seth Meyers.”
“Everyone seems to be the dangerous man, and we’re the underdogs.”
However the entire largely pleasant hostility received’t matter if the Pats win — one thing these “underdog” followers have skilled six occasions to the Seahawks one victory. And in the long run, it’s good to be with practically 80 or extra like-minded people all sporting nautical blue and crimson.
“We’re all pals, and it’s enjoyable to seek out comparable pursuits. It’s one thing that reminds us of residence,” Webb stated.
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