What a long, strange trip it’s been! Those classic Grateful Dead lyrics from “Truckin’” could very well describe my life-long journey with the Boston, now New England, Patriots, and the past 39 years with season tickets.

All journeys begin somewhere, and my football one began as a boy living in Massachusetts. I followed my New York Giants each and every Sunday. In those days, the American Football Conference (AFL) was a fledgling league. In 1960 Patriots games were mostly only on radio. The NFL’s Giants were New England’s team. My normal Sunday routine was to go to church and then race home to watch Frank Gifford’s half hour pre-game show, followed by my beloved Giants on our super-wide 13-inch black & white television.

My first sports heartbreak came as an eight-year-old during the 1962 NFL Championship game between the Giants and Vince Lombardi’s Packers. I bet my best friend’s dad a dollar that the Giants would win. When they didn’t, I had to suffer the agony of defeat. I sadly went next door to pay off my debt. My neighbor would not accept the dollar but it didn’t lessen the pain of watching my football heroes, quarterback Y.A. Tittle and wide receiver Del Schofner, not complete the winning touchdown pass.

I continued to watch the Giants and watch and listen to the Pats. My dad took me to several games at the Patriots’ various stadiums. The Boston Patriots revolving home included Boston University, Fenway Park, Harvard Stadium and Boston College Stadium. One “home game” was in Birmingham, Alabama against the Jets in 1967 as the World Series came to Fenway. You can imagine how many Patriot fans ventured to Alabama, college home of the Jets’ Joe Namath! The final score was…not pretty!!

Neither the Giants nor Pats were very good in the late 60’s but I do remember having to stop at my Pledgemaster’s home one Sunday afternoon as a Boy Scout. I noticed a color television. I asked if I could watch the game for a bit. Three hours later, I had watched the Jets beat the Patriots again, this time in living color. I returned home and asked my dad if we could get a color tv. He said no way. It took a couple of more years before I could watch the Giants and Pats lose on our very own color television.

By 1969, I was totally engrossed in Sunday football. When the Jets played the Colts in Super Bowl III, I had to watch that game and see if the upstart AFL could beat the NFL and prove that the two leagues were on equal footing. My problem was the game and Church Confirmation class were both mid-afternoon. Luckily my parents were away that weekend and my older sister was watching me. I told her how sick I was feeling at noon. She sent me to bed. I then proceeded to watch that great game on my 7” Sony black & white. When the Jets won, led by their brash young quarterback Joe Namath, the leagues proved equal. The NFL was established with two conferences. Dan Sullivan, a key offensive lineman, played for the Colts in that game and later became one of my bosses in the food business that employed me. I never told him that as a 15-year-old kid I had rooted for the Jets that day.

At Ithaca College, in upstate New York, I still followed both the Giants and Pats, both still lousy and not much fun. I became a one-team fan in 1974 as most of my classmates and fraternity brothers were New York fans, and well, you know how they can be.

I married Kathy in 1976. We attended a couple of Patriots games in 1977 and then the following year we were able to secure two season tickets from a friend of my father-in-law and the journey has continued for 39 years.

Kathy and I had seat #1 in separate rows so I had to lean over to talk with her. Our first game in 1978 may be one of our most memorable. We had been on vacation in California and I had the brilliant idea of taking the red-eye back to Boston, then driving to Foxboro with little to no sleep. For the first and only time, I can remember I dozed off in the middle of the game. I can’t remember who won, and when we returned to our car, we had a flat tire and three more hours in the parking lot. Nice beginning!

Keeping the seats was a top priority. Kathy and I ventured to many games over the next eight years until, finally, the Patriots made the playoffs in 1985, amazingly winning three road games, and getting to their first Super Bowl in 25 years of existence. They’d be facing the Chicago Bears tremendous defense. We had to go to this game in New Orleans. With only about 15,000 season ticket accounts, every ticket holder was guaranteed two tickets. I picked up my two $75 tickets…that’s right, only $75 each. I drove from Foxboro to Salem and inquired about a little ad I’d seen in the Boston Globe the day before. It was a tailgate-in-the-sky trip to New Orleans. We were flown first class because I was the first to sign up.

What a day! The charter left Logan at about 4:00 am. We got to Bourbon Street around 8:00 am, only to find street cleaners washing down the streets from the night before. By 10:00 am, it was a different story as thousands of people had gathered and the party was on. Everything was great until the game. The Patriots took a 3-0 lead but the Bears proceeded to score the next 45 points and Super Bowl XX became the most lopsided game in Super Bowl history.

Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994 and games have been selling out ever since as the team heads to their ninth Super Bowl. A new stadium and Patriot Place replaces the beaten down Foxboro, where rain would leak thru the ceiling cement like Niagara Falls pouring onto your head.

We went to many games with friends as I had taken control of four seats. We had a third child and I knew we would keep the tickets so that all three of my boys could hopefully come to appreciate football the way I had.

Several memories of games in the snow include: a plow driver on work release from prison clearing a path for a game-winning field goal in 1983; three inches of snow falling in mid-October with Tom Brady throwing five touchdown passes in the first half; an eight hour drive from Foxboro to Gorham; and of course, the best snow game of all vs. the Raiders and the infamous “tuck rule” call that led to Adam Vinatieri’s tying field goal when you could not see the football go thru the uprights.

So many home victories, with maybe the greatest win a couple of weeks ago against the Steelers as the stadium was rocking louder then I’d ever heard it. Nobody sat down the entire game. Best of all to was to share that moment with my three sons, Brian, Danny and Kyle —priceless!

How could Kathy and I not go to one more Super Bowl? It’s a short bucket list. We’ll stay five miles from the stadium, thanks to a generous friend. We’ll fly into Austin, a cheaper flight than Houston. The tickets aren’t $75 anymore. (We won’t tell Kathy, so my marriage streak also continues.)

Sunday in Houston won’t be my last game. I expect to go to Foxboro for my fortieth season next year. I’ve had these tickets for as long as Tom Brady has been alive — something I really can’t fathom. Selfishly, I’d like to see the sports headline someday read Brady, Belichick and Griffin retiring. Can Griffin be replaced? GO PATS!

Editor’s Note: Dave Griffin has contributed to the Gorham Times over the years, and at one point, was the interim Sports Editor for the paper.