Patriots Day

Here in Massachusetts Patriots Day is a big deal and is always celebrated on the third Monday of April. Officially it’s a commemoration of the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the Revolutionary War. Unofficially, it’s a day when Bostonians celebrate their two favorite things… beer and sports. The Boston Marathon is held on Patriots Day, and the Red Sox also always have a game at 11am, ensuring that everyone begins drinking early in the day. This year the Bruins also happened to be playing a Stanley Cup playoff game on the evening of Patriots Day, guaranteeing a full day of fun and frivolity for Bostonians. The celebration starts in the morning when people begin lining the roads from Hopkinton to Copley Square in downtown Boston to cheer on the marathon runners. Conveniently for us, the marathon route travels through Natick about a mile from our house. This year, Lynn and Roy decided to join us for the festivities. Around 9am we grabbed our tailgating chairs and walked down to the route. We set up shop right around mile marker 9, in front of the VFW building. This turned out to be a perfect spot because the bar was open and they had the Sox game on the TV, so we were able to use their bathroom and periodically check the score. Many people in our vicinity were also partaking in the traditional marathon breakfast beer, but nobody in our party did.

Doug, Roy and Lynn along the race route.

The wheelchair participants were the first to reach us at about 9:45am. At around 10:30am the elite woman ran by, followed shortly by the elite men. No American woman was expected to contend, but Ryan Hall was one of the favorites in the men’s field and he was keeping it close.

Ryan Hall races along with the lead pack.

After a few more minutes, the first wave of the almost 30,000 runners began to arrive. It’s fun to see all the college shirts, charity shirts, and crazy costumes some people wear and to yell out encouragements to those we support. We saw about five or six runners wearing Virginia Tech logos, and one wearing UNH gear which elicited cheers from our group. Other favorites included the group of guys from South Korea who gave us high-fives, the runners from Children’s Hospital, the guy running barefoot, and the old guy whose shirt said “100th marathon.” Around 12:30, the runners were beginning to thin out so we packed it in and walked back home for lunch. This is the second year I’ve watched the marathon from that spot and I’m hoping it becomes an annual tradition. I’m thinking next year we could really go big time and drive down to the race course early before the roads close and bring along the grill and cooler. Of course, this being New England, there’s always a chance we could have a blizzard that day. We arrived home just in time to watch the Red Sox lose their 4th straight to the Rays and to hear the first “wait until next year” of the season. Luckily, Bostonians had one more sporting event to switch their focus to, the Bruins vs. the Buffalo Sabres in game 3 of the divisional playoffs. Doug and I left the house around 3:30 and made our way downtown. It was a still a bit early for dinner so we wandered around the Faneuil Hall area and checked out all the restaurant choices. There where a good number of marathon runners walking around as well. You can spot them by the blue and yellow track jackets and medals they all were sporting. A few of them were hobbling, but most moved normally. We finally settled on our old favorite Wagamama for dinner. Then we made our way to the Garden. The new Boston Garden is really nice inside; I can’t imagine there’s a bad seat in the house. However, I have a major complaint about the place -- the bathrooms are TINY. I cannot figure out why a new arena would not put in a huge number of bathrooms. Even Fenway Park’s new bathrooms put this place to shame. I saw the line for the men’s room between periods and it had to be at least a 45 minute wait.

Sage meets her new friend Blades.

Buffalo Goalie Ryan Miller. A hero for the US at the Olympics; a bum in Boston during the playoffs.

Opening faceoff.

Anyway... on to the game. I have been to three other playoff hockey games in my life, one in D.C. and two in Tampa. One of those Tampa games was the most exciting sporting event I’ve ever witnessed. There’s just something about playoff hockey. The Bruins fans were on fire, I think everyone had started drinking 10 hours before the puck dropped. The Bruins gave up a goal early to the Sabres but went on to score two unanswered goals, win the game, and go up 2-1 in the series. The place was LOUD. My ears were still ringing the next day. It was a fun Patriots Day; I’m already looking forward to next year.

I will leave you with my favorite quote from The Last of the Mohicans.

British Officer: You call yourself a patriot, and loyal subject to the Crown?
Hawkeye: I do not call myself subject to much at all.