New England Patriots Fans Unite. I have been a Pats fan since the Grogan days while growing up outside Boston. And some of those days were pretty lean. Of course, the football gods have blessed all Bostonians under the holy trinity of Kraft-Belichick- Brady. And over the years, I have taken my Patriots game on the road. And I mean the international road. I am on a quest to travel to every country in the world (there are 193 of them). When I am traveling I am constantly watching games overseas, and keeping my eyes out for Pats fans. And some of these fans turn up in very unlikely places.
Burkina Faso
I yelped out to my driver to stop the car. I had spied a Patriots jersey in a sea of people in a small village in the western part of Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in western Africa. I hopped out and approached the man sporting a Tom Brady jersey. And he was not too happy to see me and more than a bit confused. After some serious cajoling and a small monetary gift, I was blessed with a photo. He still was quite confused when I left with my photo and a smile.
Cape Verde
Another poor soul, similar to my friend in Burkina Faso. I was eating a lazy lunch on the ocean on the island of Santiago in the island nation of Cape Verde. I noted a man with a bucket of fish shuffle by and I jumped out of my seat and darted over to him. In excitement, I blurted a couple of words of Spanish (they speak Portuguese here) and then my friend, Pong, came over and helped with his better spoken broken Spanish. After a couple of minutes, the man relented for the photo. You can see his big smile. I thanked him with a giant obrigado and he went on his way.
Chile
I was checking out the local markets in Santiago, the capital of Chile, when the corner of my eye caught a glimpse of a very sharp looking hat. A quickly made am introduction and asked for a photo.
This was a pretty neat experience. I was in Santiago and I hunted down the bar that played NFL games. This was the Thursday night game in 2017 against the Chiefs. I walked into the backroom with the game projected on the wall. There were about twenty fans crammed in the room with about half being Patriots fans. All of the guys were locals and big Pats fans.
Iran
OK, this one took me by surprise. I was looking for somewhere to eat lunch when I crossed paths with this Pats fan in Tehran, Iran. Always nice to meet a fellow DeAndre Carter fan, number 83. Or is it an older Wes Welker shirt?
Kyrgyzstan
Patriots fans were out in force in Kyrgyzstan with three sightings. I was attending the World Nomad Games, a multi-day international athletic event. My first two new friends were Kyrgyz locals, a WNG fan and a volunteer. Unfortunately, the reality was neither knew who the Patriots were, they simply bought the Patriots gear because of course they looked great.
My third sighting was Rob, a member of the press corps, and wearing a very sharp Patriots cap. I saw his hat and made a beeline for an introduction. Rob hailed from Boston and even better, was also a graduate from my alma mater, Boston College. Obviously, a quality guy.
The World Nomad Games came to an end and Rob and I found ourselves in the capital, Bishkek. We were unable to find a bar playing the Patriots 2018 game opener against The Texans. We ended firing up the laptop and watching the victory on the web with the NFL GamePass.
Madagascar
It was my last day in Madagascar and I wanted to add in one more visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Royal Hill of Ambohimnaga. I saw a family on this holiday day joining the throngs and my eye spied a Patriots shirt. Now, this was one of those interactions where my target has no idea who the Patriots are and the whole family thought I was a bit crazy. But after several minutes, photos and smiles were produced.
Mexico
I was looking forward to a night of Luche Libre, also known as wrestling, in Mexico City. While waiting in line I ran into this cool guy.
Rwanda
Ok. There wasn’t too much camaraderie when I watched in the Patriots in the Superbowl playing the LA Rams in 2019. I was a strange guy sitting by himself in a small restaurant overlooking Lake Kivu, staring intently at my laptop occasionally screaming and talking to myself. I ended up watching the Superbowl the Tuesday after the game. During the game, I was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and they are not know for their download speeds. The victory was well worth the wait.
Sporting my Patriots t-shirt
The view of Lake Kivu, looking at DRC on the opposite coast
Taiwan
Brass Monkey in Taipei pulled out all of the stops for the 2008 Superbowl. Of course, the result was not want we wanted. But they did show the American ads as advertised. And you had to get up quite early, kick off was at 7:18 am local time.
Thailand
I met this awesome kid at a school in Bangkok. Go Pats!
An advertisement for Superbowl 51. Note that sitting is either inside or out. That is a pretty good feeling in February, compared to shivering in Boston.
I met this guy hanging out at the Bangkok ComicCon. Also great to meet a Brady fan.
Tunisia
I was strolling the streets of Tunis, Tunisia in North Africa. Tunisia is much better known as the birthplace for the Arab Spring, but there are a couple of Pats fans mixed in as well. I ran into this guy in the center of town.
New England Patriots Fans Unite
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My favorite NFL team as well…but what I miss most about travelling is hockey, especially my Montreal Canadiens. But at least they’ve done me the honor of sucking ass the last few years. I hope they forever regret trading P.K Subban, the most exciting Canadiens player to come along in a while…
Hard to shake the love for our favorite sports teams though…
You got to stay loyal to your team … but it is so much easier to follow teams internationally compared to ten years ago.
Love this post! I was going to ask where you were for all six of the Patriots’ Super Bowl victories, but you seem to have covered a bit of it already here. The funny thing is I doubt many of these International Patriots fans really understand the struggles that New England has gone through in putting together a successful NFL team. Enjoy this dynasty while it still lasts because who knows when the Football Gods will bless the team again!
Hey Ray … yeah, it is fun to keep my eye out for Pats gear around the world. And, I agree, most of them have no idea about the franchise or what they are even wearing. I have seen a ton of games overseas, in many different countries. Can be a fun experience.