Football Fever is Back in Foxborough

Does Patriot nation have Chad Ochocinco fever? That question was answered in the number of attendees last night at the annual Season Ticket Holder and Foxboro Resident practice at Gillette Stadium. 18,334 fans attended last night's practice, a five-year high for the annual event.

Whether it is the Tom Brady and Ochocinco combo that has fans fired up or the simple fact that football is back in Foxborough, one thing is for certain, this NFL season promises to be the most exciting and promising for the Patriots.

New England Patriots President, Jonathan Kraft, spoke to fans last night, echoing his and his father's, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, thoughts on the highly anticipated season.

Kraft first thanked the fans for sticking by the team during the lockout.

"[It is great] to have our family back here tonight," he noted in reference to the fans.

Kraft enthustically expressed how memorable this season plans to be, drawing a loud applause from the crowd.

Offensive lineman Matt Light and running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis both shared their thoughts on the upcoming season with reporters Wednesday evening.

Light was asked if he was happy to back on the field.

“Hey, look, I’m excited. I’m excited for all these guys that are out here, for all the work both sides did to get this deal done. This is a heck of a time. We’ve been sitting around waiting for this moment and for me and for me personally, my family and everybody else, we’re real excited to be back here in New England," he said.

Green-Ellis, who signed his new contract with the Patriots yesterday, recalled his thoughts on walking into Gillette for the first time since the lockout ended.

“I was happy to see everybody. We were all happy to see [each other]. Really, my emotions were just to get to work and get ready to start working on this 2011 season. But like I said, it’s going to be one practice at a time and taking it step-by-step," he said.

Assuming the collective bargaining agreement is ratified today and the new league year begins at 4 p.m., Green-Ellis will be on the field for his first practice of the year today along with Matt Light, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris.

Patriot fans appeared more fired up than ever. The loudest cheers came from when Brady made a series of complete passes to Ochocino.

However, even with Ochocinco fever, fans' eyes are still glued to their favorite quarterback. Fans honored their veteran star quarterback last night by singing Happy Birthday from the stands to Brady, who turned 34 years-old yesterday.

Jason Hernie, Foxborough resident and Patriots fan, summed up why there seems to be an extra boost of excitement surrounding this upcoming season.

"Brady, Ochocino, Welker, Light, Green-Ellis, and the team as a whole, it seems this year that the pieces are really coming together. The players themselves seem more fired up and perhaps it was the extra time away from field, but I think in general everyone is excited to have football officially back," said Hernie. "Do I think we have the pieces in place to take it all the way to Indianapolis this year? I would say yes, absolutely."