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Bruins dress as colonial Patriots ahead of Stadium Series game in Tampa
"It's good ties to our football team, you know what I mean? We're at the football stadium, so I thought it played out pretty well.”
TAMPA — As the New England Patriots head west for Super Bowl LX, the Boston Bruins paid tribute to the local football team with their pregame attire on Sunday.
Ahead of Sunday’s Stadium Series game against the Lightning at Raymond James Stadium, the Bruins arrived at the outdoor matchup dressed as colonial-era patriots — tricorne hats, shoe buckles, wigs, and all.
All of the players took part in the theme as they made their way to the locker room within the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ stadium, with Fraser Minten holding onto a portable speaker that was playing Revolutionary War-era marching music.
“I think it was a lot of guys,” Nikita Zadorov said of the inspiration behind the outfit. “The idea behind it was kind of bring something Bostonian. I think, with the ties to Boston, and obviously Boston is known as a really historical city in the United States.
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“And so we decided to dress up as the Patriots from the 17th, 16th century. Obviously, give respect to the founding fathers of America. And also it’s good ties to our football team, you know what I mean? We’re at the football stadium, so I thought it played out pretty well.”
The Bruins used a local company — Boston Costume — to supply all of the pregame garb, with each player getting to design their own unique outfit.
“We had these guys come to the rink one day and they presented us with the whole wardrobe,” Mason Lohrei said. “And we kind of got to go through it and style our own outfits. So everyone’s got some personal style in theirs.”
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The Bruins are no stranger to committing to the bit for games outside of NHL barns.
Ahead of the 2019 Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium, the Bruins paid tribute to the popular TV series “Peaky Blinders” — donning three-piece suits, scally caps and fedoras, and pocket watches while mimicking the attire from the crime drama set shortly after World War I.
“We had a Halloween party and a lot of guys dressed up as Peaky Blinders, and kind of by the end of the night we wanted to do that for the Winter Classic,” Patrice Bergeron said of Boston’s throwback outfits in South Bend. “That’s how it started and we all loved the idea and ran with it.”
For the 2021 NHL Outdoors game set on the shores of Lake Tahoe, the Bruins followed Bergeron’s lead with a ski-centric, ‘90s throwback theme — with plenty of neon-heavy windbreakers, rolled up jeans, white sneakers, throwback jerseys, and vintage gear like a Walkman and fanny pack.
“He’s always one step ahead with this kind of stuff,” David Pastrnak said of Bergeron’s idea, while donning pink shades straight out of “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s wardrobe. “We all loved it. We had fun ordering some stuff and walking to the game.”
And with the Bruins returning to Fenway Park for the 2023 Winter Classic, the Bruins paid homage to the historical ballpark’s team by wearing vintage Red Sox jerseys while walking in from Van Ness Street.
The Bruins committed to the bit with their Red Sox gear, walking off the team buses with baseball bats and classic baseball gloves — eventually playing catch near the first-base line after walking up from Boston’s dugout.
The Lightning also understood their assignment given the locale on Sunday, as they arrived in classic Tampa Bay Buccaneers “Creamsicle” football uniforms — helmets included. Current Bucs players Baker Mayfield and Tristan Wirfs led the Lightning into the stadium, boombox in hand.
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