WESTFIELD – Although the city of Westfield sits two interstates and almost an hour and a half west of Foxborough, home of the New England Patriots of the National Football League, many of the denizens of the Whip City live and die by the Pats.
Since their boys vanquished the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 to win the American Football Conference Championship several weeks back, Westfieldians are over-the-moon excited to see the Pats take on the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX Sunday in Glendale, Arizona.
JOHN VELIS
Elected officials statewide are enthused at the team’s chances of hoisting a fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy since the turn of the century, with Mass. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito wagering a case of beer from Wormtown Brewery and a box of cannolis from Worcester’s Wholly Cannoli with her Washington state counterpart Brad Owen, who is in turn wagering a package of goods from the Evergreen State.
Polito has her doubts that Owen will end up receiving any beer or cannolis.
“The New England Patriots are unstoppable and I have no doubt they will come back home with another win for our great fans,” said Polito. “I’m excited to offer Lt. Gov. Owen some of Worcester’s finest goods, but I have a feeling he will not have the opportunity to enjoy them this year. Either way, this wager is meant for a good cause to support our teams and local food pantries.”
Massachusetts and New Hampshire Gov.’s Charlie Baker and Maggie Hassan have also made a friendly symbolic wager with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, agreeing to donate Boston cream cupcakes from Springfield’s Koffee Kup Bakery and New Hampshire bacon to the Washington state food pantry, while Inslee will be sending 1,000 cups of clam chowder to food pantries in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
“New England may have been hit by a historic blizzard this week, but nothing can ice our team who has another Super Bowl Championship to win this Sunday,” Baker said in a statement.
DONALD HUMASON JR.
Members of the city of Westfield’s Beacon Hill delegation are also expecting a great game for the home team.
State Rep. John Velis of the 4th Hampden District said Wednesday that he believes the Patriots will defeat the National Football Conference Champion Seahawks 24-21 in a closely contested affair that pits the Patriots’ considerable offensive firepower against Seattle’s vaunted defense, dubbed “The Legion of Boom.”
“Seattle’s defense is just raw right now, but the Patriots also have, without a doubt, one of the best defenses in the league,” said Velis, predicting that Pats quarterback Tom Brady will connect with tight end Rob Gronkowski for at least one touchdown and will win his third Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award.
The Westfield Democrat added that he believes the “deflategate” scandal and the NFL’s ongoing investigation into whether the Patriots intentionally tampered with the air pressure in 11 of their 12 footballs during the AFC title game will provide motivation to go out and shell the Seahawks in Glendale, where the Pats’ near-perfect 2007 season was tarnished with a 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
“I think that the Patriots are going to come out with a certain amount of swagger because of all of this ‘deflategate’ nonsense and I think that’s going to be the driving factor that’s going to push them over the edge,” said Velis.
State Sen. Don Humason, Jr. of the 2nd Hampden-Hampshire District said that he had his doubts a few weeks ago about the Patriots chances in a potential matchup with Seattle, but after their dismantling of the Colts and with “deflategate” stoking the flames, he believes they’ll emerge victorious, too.
“I think it is a strategy of Coach (Bill) Belichick to get everyone else’s attention on something other than how the team is preparing for the game,” said the Westfield Republican of deflategate. “I think the Pats are going to come out and stomp. I think they’ll do a great job.”
Asked to predict the final score, Humason said it would be close and that he expects New England to win by at least a touchdown, though he differs with Velis about who will win MVP, choosing instead the Patriots’ defensive captain, 6’2″, 326-pound defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.
“They can’t do this without the big guy. The world needs 400-pound guys,” said Humason, with a chuckle. “There’s got to be a reason for us out there.”
“Whenever I see one of my friends wearing a Tom Brady shirt I say ‘Yeah, I’ve heard of him,” he said. “But I like this Vince Wilfork guy!”
“I’m looking forward to a really good game. Seattle’s obviously a ferocious team with a chip on their shoulder,” said Humason. “But where I wasn’t confident a few weeks ago, I’m growing more and more confident that the Patriots are going to win.”
Boston’s mayor didn’t want to ante up, but Providence’s mayor is all in.
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza says he’s taking part in a friendly wager with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Sunday’s Super Bowl pitting the New England Patriots against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks.
A spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Friday that Walsh declined to wager with Murray because he does not want to “jinx” his beloved Patriots after losing two previous sports bets with other mayors.
If Seattle wins, Elorza says he’ll send Murray roughly 13 pounds of items the Rhode Island capital city is known for, including Olneyville New York System hot wiener sauce spice mix, sweet bread from El Quetzal Bakery, Trinity Brew House IPA and music by Deer Tick and the Low Anthem.
If the Patriots win, Murray says he’ll send Elorza a gift basket with Northwest alder-smoked salmon from Pure Food Fish Market, whole bean coffees from the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market and a giant bag of Skittles.
The Democratic mayors will finalize the details of their Super Bowl XLIX bet in a conference call Friday afternoon.
Elorza is a lawyer, professor and former housing court judge who defeated former Providence Mayor and convicted felon Buddy Cianci in the November election. Murray is a former Washington state lawmaker elected who took office as mayor about a year ago.
