Community Corner

Tom Brady's Comment to Fans Raises Some Eyebrows

Tom Brady tells fans to drink early Sunday, Patriots vice president in charge of media relations clarifies he was referring to drinking water.

Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady raised a few eyebrows at a weekly interview in front of his locker with reporters Wednesday when he issued a message to fans concerning Sunday's home opener at Gillette against the San Diego Chargers.

"Yeah, start drinking early. [...] Get nice and rowdy. 4:15 game, lot of time to get lubed up. Come out here, and cheer for the home team," he said.

Brady has been quoted in the past as being upset with fans when they chose to leave early during Gillette home games. In September 2010, the Boston Herald reported that Brady asked aloud why Patriot fans leave games early while fans of other teams don’t.

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“The road environment is very different than our friendly home crowd, who when I looked up, half the stadium was gone when we were up 21 points early fourth quarter, which I wasn’t so happy about,” Brady said in the report in regards to the teams 38-24 win over the Bengals in the 2010 season opener.

Brady's message to Patriot fans this year had a much different tone, which is attracting a lot of media attention.

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"I honestly don't think Brady meant any harm in his comments. I think he was talking about his hope for an energetic and loud crowd on Sunday. I think too much is being made of it," said New England Sports blogger , whose works appears on Foxborough Patch.

However, the comment from the star quarterback is not one that sits well with Foxborough officials and one that they have been fighting to correct. Foxborough police have cracked down on drinking in town and at Gillette Stadium.

The town is currently waiting to hear back if the State Attorney General's Office will approve or reject a Foxboro bylaw establishing fines for public drunkenness.

The Patriots vice president in charge of media relations Stacey James clarified Brady's comments to fans, saying "stay hydrated, drink a lot of water, be loud, drink responsibly."

The Patriots will face the San Diego Chargers at home in Foxborough Sunday in the home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.


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