Mike Honcho 3,994 Posted January 18, 2019 Robert Kraft and the Patriots: From Fan to Owner, From Losers to Dynasty, in 25 Years Before Robert Kraft became a billionaire, made bespoke suits paired with Air Force 1’s a signature look and carved a Hall of Fame-worthy résumé, he was simply another paper packaging employee who walked into his Newton home one day holding a leather briefcase, the kind with a combination lock on each side. Inside, he showed his eldest son Jonathan, were Patriots season tickets. This was in 1971. That night Kraft fought with his wife, Myra, like Jonathan had never heard before. She did not believe the family could afford something so frivolous, and besides their four sons had Sunday school in the mornings. Kraft assured his wife they would still go. Then he’d slip notes under his boys’ pillows, excusing them from class, and tell Myra he was going out to buy sandwiches. They’d drive together to rickety Schaefer Stadium, pushing eight or nine family members through the turnstiles when they only had six tickets. Kraft was simply a fan back then, before Tom Brady ever threw a football or Bill Belichick donned a sleeveless hoodie. Before the Patriots had their famous Way. Before the team that never won became the team that seems to at least play for the conference championship every season. Next Monday, Jan. 21, will mark the 25th anniversary of Kraft’s purchase of the team in 1994. It’s easy to forget how different everything was then. “My objective in buying the Patriots is to help bring a championship to New England,” Kraft said on the day he made the purchase. Back then such lofty expectations seemed farfetched. When the ’94 team made the playoffs, it marked the franchise’s first appearance in eight seasons. New England had only hosted one postseason game in its entire history. The Patriots were more like the Lions than, well, the dynasty we know now as the New England freaking Patriots. Now, with Kraft and company set to play in their eighth straight AFC Championship Game, on Sunday night in Kansas City, it’s worth briefly revisiting the earliest days of Kraft’s tenure. The franchise he took over has averaged more than 12 wins a season in those 25 years. But it wasn’t always that way, even if a case full of trophies tends to overshadow what Kraft inherited at the start. For decades Kraft attended games as a fan, living and dying a little with each loss, of which then there were many. Eventually he muscled his way into ownership— first banking a fortune as a paper magnate, then buying the parking lot and the surrounding land next to the Patriots’ stadium, then leveraging the lot to buy the stadium, then using the power culled from owning both to buy the team. Robert and Jonathan completed the sale in a conference room in St. Louis in 1994, before hustling to the airport. They had to fly home to tell Myra that they’d spent $172 million, or more than anyone had paid for a team in NFL history, before the news broke. Kraft, his son says, had to bribe airline officials to get them on the next flight back to Boston, and they had to slide some extra cash to their fellow passengers to obtain two seats next to each other. When they got home, the phone rang. It was a lawyer offering Kraft three times the money that he had paid six years earlier for the stadium lease; they wanted to move the team out of Massachusetts. Kraft thought back to the heartbreak he felt as a kid when the Boston Braves were uprooted to Milwaukee, and he refused. Myra was livid. “You don’t get a second chance at this,” Kraft responded. Eventually Myra relented, and a dynasty was born. Good read Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Honcho 3,994 Posted January 18, 2019 Krafty Bob Funny to read that he had to sneak his kids into the game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kutulu 1,541 Posted January 18, 2019 Funny to read that he had to sneak his kids into the game. once a cheater, always a cheater Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Honcho 3,994 Posted January 18, 2019 once a cheater, always a cheater Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strike 3,932 Posted January 18, 2019 Change thread title please. It's hard to "enjoy Pats fans.". Pompous bandwagoners who haven't won a title in years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Honcho 3,994 Posted January 18, 2019 Change thread title please. It's hard to "enjoy Pats fans.". Pompous bandwagoners who haven't won a title in years. fixed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NorthernVike 2,079 Posted January 18, 2019 once a cheater, always a cheater Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hardcore troubadour 12,552 Posted January 18, 2019 Change thread title please. It's hard to "enjoy Pats fans.". Pompous bandwagoners who haven't won a title in years. When you say bandwagoners, are you talking about Digby. who jumped on board after they won a few, or guys like PFB who jumped on in 2002? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 5,538 Posted January 18, 2019 once a cheater, always a cheater Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kanil 519 Posted January 18, 2019 When you say bandwagoners, are you talking about Digby. who jumped on board after they won a few, or guys like PFB who jumped on in 2002? Yes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 5,538 Posted January 18, 2019 you should enjoy us Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hardcore troubadour 12,552 Posted January 18, 2019 you should enjoy us I enjoyed certain parts very, very much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patriotsfatboy1 1,432 Posted January 18, 2019 When you say bandwagoners, are you talking about Digby. who jumped on board after they won a few, or guys like PFB who jumped on in 2002? Been a season ticket holder since 93. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hardcore troubadour 12,552 Posted January 18, 2019 Been a season ticket holder since 93. Did you get tired of all the games being blacked out? Only way to see the games back then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drobeski 3,061 Posted January 18, 2019 Did you get tired of all the games being blacked out? Only way to see the games back then.front row sports pub Methuen Ma Had the satellite Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hardcore troubadour 12,552 Posted January 18, 2019 front row sports pub Methuen Ma Had the satellite Yeah, I'm sure all you chowda heads were glued to the tv watching Scott Zolak engineer another 3 and out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drobeski 3,061 Posted January 18, 2019 Yeah, I'm sure all you chowda heads were glued to the tv watching Scott Zolak engineer another 3 and out.Jelly Joey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patriotsfatboy1 1,432 Posted January 18, 2019 Did you get tired of all the games being blacked out? Only way to see the games back then. Followed with Grogan as well. Dont even try to go down this road. One thing I have never been is a bandwagon guy. In my old age, I am getting to be fair weather, but never bandwagon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hardcore troubadour 12,552 Posted January 18, 2019 Followed with Grogan as well. Dont even try to go down this road. One thing I have never been is a bandwagon guy. In my old age, I am getting to be fair weather, but never bandwagon. I know. Just bustin. But do guys like Digby make you sick? You know, the guys who never sat on a cold steel bench at Foxborough or got stuck in the muddy parking lot waiting for the traffic? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Patriotsfatboy1 1,432 Posted January 19, 2019 I know. Just bustin. But do guys like Digby make you sick? You know, the guys who never sat on a cold steel bench at Foxborough or got stuck in the muddy parking lot waiting for the traffic? I dont care anymore. We have pink hats for the Sox too. I have repressed issues that come out when dealing with poorly behaved fans, but I am okay with being that d!ck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
