Wow!

That was PFW’s first reaction to Tedy Bruschi’s retirement press conference, which featured emotional tributes from Owner Robert Kraft and especially Bill Belichick. The coach spoke at length about what Bruschi meant to him, choking back tears several times in the process. It was a powerful moment and Belichick’s words resonated to anyone privileged enough to be in the media work room.

Belichick spoke glowingly about his former player, repeating on more than one occasion that whatever the situation was “Tedy always did the right thing.”

“I’ve had the privilege of coaching a lot of great players and a lot of great leaders in the National Football League, and I’ll just put Tedy up there with all of them, and above all of them. There is no player that epitomizes more of what I believe a player should be – on the field, off the field – in every situation,” Belichick said.
 
But it was near the end of his tribute that Belichick offered up the ultimate compliment. “How do I sum it up? How do I feel about Tedy Bruschi in five seconds? He’s a perfect player.”

It was quite an emotional moment. For a room full of people that either were directly involved in the macho game of football or have spent a good portion of their lives discussing it with those individuals, that kind of emotion is rarely seen. And that all came before Bruschi took the podium.

Bruschi spoke from the heart for about a half hour, recounting his entry into the league as a defensive lineman trying to learn how to play linebacker, recalling the team’s successes and personally thanking his wife, Heidi, Mr. Kraft, Belichick, his brother, Tony, Jim Whalen and the rest of the team’s training staff and the passionate Patriots fans he said he wished he could personally address individually.

He took a several questions and remained fairly composed throughout. He mentioned on more than one occasion how he felt no regret because he knew the time was right. He joked off the top that the one goal he failed to achieve was being part of a fourth championship, a fact that he laughed was a “pretty good goal not to get since it meant they’ve won three others.”

He thanked Belichick by saying the coach turned him into a champion and taught him how to win and not to be content to just go out and play well. He then pleaded with the fans of New England to realize just how special Belichick is. He spoke of being especially proud to have played his entire career with the Patriots, something that is becoming less and less prevalent in the era of free agency.

He closing his remarks by talking about a sign hanging just inside the door where the players enter the facility every day that reads “Do your job.” The linebacker then said, “I did my job for 13 years and now my job is done.”

With that the questions began. He expressed tremendous appreciation for Belichick’s reference of him being a perfect player. He joked that it was something “you’ll never hear during your career” but added that it was “probably the best compliment he could ever give me.”

When asked what his next step would be, Bruschi simply said he was “ready to live real life” and that he was a “36-year-old father of three” and ready for the challenges that come with that. A short time later he was asked if there was a chance he would come back during the season.

“Bill and I had this conversation. We had a great conversation yesterday. I don’t know if the answer to that one was ‘Don’t call me.’ I think if I was in a different situation there would be a different answer to that. I think if there was more than I wanted to achieve, to come back and do more, I would welcome that.”

It was a rather fitting tribute for a player that has meant more than football to the community. He’s been a fan favorite for a long time – the better part of those 13 years actually – and watching the video tribute and perusing the many action photos that adorned the walls brought back a lot of memories.

Bruschi made so many big plays for this team over the years that it was hard to remember them all. It seemed when one popped up on the TV screen it reminded us of others that were just as important. The stripping of Dominic Rhodes in the Colts playoff game, the pick-six against Miami that set off the snow fireworks at Gillette, the pick-six on Thanksgiving 2002 in Detroit … the list goes on and on.

But what truly stood out for me on this Monday morning was Belichick. Anyone watching this who didn’t feel that Bruschi was more than just another player in the coach’s mind doesn’t have a pulse. I’ve been covering the team for 10 years now and there have been many players that have been integral parts of winning games that have come and gone – Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Troy Brown, Mike Vrabel, Rodney Harrison, Drew Bledsoe (you didn’t think I’d leave my boy Drew out).

None has received a tribute as stirring and emotional as the one Belichick just gave Bruschi. It was fitting for someone who always seemed to play with just a little more heart on his sleeve than the average player.

Which way to FedEx Field?

 So, as you may have already read on Fred’s “Kirsch Words” blog, we had a little incident on the way to the game tonight. A players and coaches bus broke down as we pulled onto the highway, so the police escort had to stop in the breakdown lane, unload us, and put the remaining members of the team on board our bus. Meanwhile, we waited a few minutes for a shuttle bus from our hotel to arrive and then fight our way through Beltway traffic at rush hour.

Eventually, we met up again with part of our police escort, which ferried us safely to the stadium without much more delay. All in all, we got here about 45 minutes later than scheduled.

The shuttle ride was actually a riot. Our party included about 20 people (media relations, PFW, the radio broadcast team, and others), and we all shared horror stories of previous travel disasters on the way to and from games over the years.

Now, hopefully, we can play this game, avoid the approaching storm, and get home safe and sound. Keep your fingers crossed for us …

Patriots Football Weekly’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Fred Kirsch will again be offering his “Kirsch Words” blog which will feature in-game commentary during the Patriots-Redksins preseason game on Friday, August 28th beginning at 7pm. Read his commentary and notes as he blogs before, during and after the game.

O for the evening

Since our hotel was closer to Baltimore than D.C., we spontaneously decided to catch a ball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Great ballpark … one of, if not the, best of the new parks in the majors. Only cost us 9 bucks to get in to see the Os host the Indians.

We entered at the center field gate, which is a picnic-table area above the bullpen.  I turned to Paul and said, “OK, let’s have a home run, right here, right now.” No sooner did I speak the words than an Oriole (forgot who it was) cranked one into the left field seats, just to our right. Got a high-five from Paulie Walnuts for making the call.

Get to the top of the ninth inning, Cleveland down 4-3, with a man on first and Andy Marte at bat. By this time, we’d moved to the piazza in right field, just below the brick warehouse facade. I got on the cell to call the cab company to hail our ride back to the hotel, and Andy Hart says, “We can’t leave yet because Marte’s gonna hit the game winning home run right to us.”

Swear to God, as soon as the words left his mouth, Marte drilled a pitch to the same spot in left field where the first home run went. So, PFW was 0-for-2 in catching a baseball, but 2-for-2 in calling homers on the night.

And yes, that’s the world famous Brian Lowe of Patriots Today fame joining Team PFW for a night on the town.

CRACKING HIMSELF UP

Back in July, the PFW boys hit the Hall at Patriot Place for a feature story on the team’s hall of fame. Then, during our first road trip of the 2009 season, we paid a visit to the Liberty Bell, with Independence Hall in the background, as you can see in Andy’s photo above. So, we came up with an idea for what we hope will be a season-long feature on the PFW blog. Whenever we hit the road this year, we’re going to attempt to take a touristy, or just plain goofy, photo of ourselves in the city we’re playing in that week. We’re calling it “PFW hits the road.”

When we went to Philly a couple weeks ago, Andy kept amusing himself by repeatedly telling me and Paul that the Liberty Bell “wasn’t all it was ‘cracked’ up to be.” (insert Andy’s Betty Rubble-like giggle here)

He also wasn’t convinced that the famous crack in the bell was real. “Looks like someone took a blow torch to it,” Hart insisted.

This week, we’re off to the greater Washington, D.C. area, so hopefully, we can come up with an interesting image to post from this upcoming trip.