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It’s 12.23am at Gillette Stadium and it’s so cold I’m shaking non-stop and can’t feel much of the bottom half of my body. But one hell of a football game has just come to a predictably sensational end.
Something amazing usually happens when Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are on the field together. It has happened so many times we have come to not just expect it, but demand it.
Regular visitors to The Roar will appreciate this story, because you only become a regular at a site like this if you truly love your sport.
I’ve been living the dream these past few days, having planned a trip to the US centred on the NFL game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
I love American football and I’ve been a Manning tragic ever since he was the number one draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts all those years ago.
I’d never seen him play live – in fact, I’d never been to an NFL game – and with him being in the twilight of his career I wanted to make sure I did.
So I checked the schedule for November and, as any NFL follower would understand, the Pats-Broncos game stood out.
Plus, Boston is only four hours from New York City by train, so I could visit there for a few days on either side of the trip to Boston.
I took my 19-year-old son, Jack, who loves the NFL as well, so we could experience a fantastic father-and-son trip together.
It was absolutely freezing in Boston. Wind chill factor: Plenty.
The ground is way out of Boston itself. We left four hours before the game so we could pick up tickets I had bought through StubHub without any dramas and get a feel for the place before the game, without being in any rush.
The people at South Station in Boston assured us that if we caught a train to a place called Mansfield there would be plenty of cabs available to take us to the ground.
Wrong! There was one cab there at the time – with a lot of people clamouring over it.
But we had time on our side, and after about 40 minutes we were able to jump into a Maxicab with a few other people and get there.
The locals seemed to handle the bitter cold at the ground pretty well. Obviously, they are used to it. I found myself constantly adjusting the two beanies I was wearing to try to keep my head from getting frostbite.
I was wearing two shirts, two jumpers and a thick overcoat, and the wind was still going straight through me.
I’m sure plenty of you would have seen the game. It was amazing.
Three fumbles by the Pats in the first quarter and the Broncos were leading 17-0. Another touchdown in the second quarter and it was 24-0 at the half.
But the genius that is Pats coach Bill Belichick obviously came into play then.
He and his coaching staff made adjustments that saw Brady enjoy a lot more freedom and Manning feel a lot of pressure.
After building their early lad the Broncos had concentrated on running the ball, but in the second half that wasn’t enough to extend their lead as the Pats scored 28 straight points to turn a 24-point deficit into a four-point lead.
That lead was stretched to seven, 31-24, before Manning led a drive that forced overtime.
Neither team could get close enough to try a field goal attempt, and in the end the Broncos were about to get the ball back for one last drive inside the final two minutes of OT.
That was, until a Broncos blocker was hit by the bouncing ball after a Pats punt and a Pats player fell on it. The field goal gave the Pats a 34-31 win.
What an incredible contest, and what an experience to see Manning and Brady on the same field.
My son and I are back in New York now, armed with some fantastic, life-long memories from Boston.
The only problem is I’ve picked up a dose of the ‘flu, so I’m pumping myself full of cold tablets and orange juice to try to get on top of it.
After all, we’ve got to go to the Barclays Center on Wednesday night to see the Nets play the Lakers in the NBA.
I’m sure plenty of you reading would have made trips like this, so you know how good it can be.
But for those who haven’t, make sure you do. It’s the trip of a lifetime for my son and I.
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