"For Patrick, his aides insist, hanging around the inner sanctums of Gillette Stadium is not the sort of thing he thinks of as fun"
What, you DON'T LIKE FOOTBALL, guv?
"Patrick at a Pats game? All in a day's work" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | December 23, 2008
Yes, Pats fans, that was Governor Deval Patrick you spotted in the warm owners' box at Gillette Stadium during Sunday's broadcast of New England's drubbing of the Arizona Cardinals, the same governor who often has to be updated by his aides on the names of key players.
Although it may seem like a treat to sit with Robert Kraft and others in the cozy, exclusive environs of the box, particularly on a day when the snow was a lot more furious than the Cardinals defense, the governor's staff says that Patrick was there only because he was working.
Yeah, he was working. Pfffffttt! What was he doing, giving away taxpayer money?
Patrick was visiting Gillette on official business, spokesman Joseph Landolfi said, and it was within his rights to take in the game as a guest of Kraft. "His involvement at the game was formal," Landolfi said. "He was there in his official capacity to reenlist National Guard members during halftime. This is done annually."
Landolfi discounted any thought that Patrick was accepting an improper freebie from a team owner who is on the potential receiving end of significant state assistance.
Yup, the "change" guvernur!
Just a few weeks ago, the Patrick administration designated 500 acres near the stadium as a growth district, meaning it would be eligible for fast-track approvals and state infrastructure money.
(Blog author just shaking his head; I was hoping I was kidding about the giveaways)
The Krafts have been considering the property for a 1.5-million-square-foot office development and biotech research park. And last year, the governor signed legislation that makes a dozen liquor licenses available for the huge new Patriot Place development next to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
But for those who have watched the governor express awkward enthusiasm for Boston's teams and players and stumble over their positions and names, the explanation that he was working is credible. For Patrick, his aides insist, hanging around the inner sanctums of Gillette Stadium is not the sort of thing he thinks of as fun.
What, he DOESN'T LIKE FOOTBALL? What kind of an Amurkn are you, guv?
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