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Watch: Patriots celebrate Robert Kraft’s 500th game after win vs. Steelers
"Doing it here in Pittsburgh is pretty special."
Robert Kraft and the Patriots have given out a lot of game balls since he bought the team in 1994.
On Sunday, after the Patriots defeated the Steelers 17-14, Kraft received the game ball to commemorate his 500th game as the team’s owner.
Here’s a look at the postgame celebration, as players called for a speech from the 81-year-old team owner.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick noted that the Patriots have played a lot of big games in Pittsburgh.
“I think it’s fitting that this one comes on Mr. Kraft’s 500th,” Belichick said as he handed Kraft the ball, before breaking into a grin as he pulled him into a hug.
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Kraft accepted the ball.
“Thank you all,” he said. “Our family has a chance — I speak for [Kraft’s son, Patriots president] Jonathan here as well — we have a chance to be in a number of different businesses. There’s no business like the NFL. We bring the community together, and we play like a team. No one can do it on their own.”
Kraft grew up a Patriots fan in Brookline and paid a record price to acquire the team in 1993, breaking — as he once told a reporter — “every one of my personal financial rules” to purchase a team that was last in revenue the year before. He had previously bid on the Celtics and the Red Sox.
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With the Patriots, however, Kraft found a perfect landing spot. He has compiled the best winning percentage of any NFL ownership group, with some help from Belichick and Tom Brady, helping rescue the Patriots from their reputation as one of the league’s bottom feeders.
“What you guys did here today is so sweet for my family, and I thank you all,” Kraft told the players on Sunday. “And doing it here in Pittsburgh is pretty special. Thank you.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Sunday was Kraft’s 500th win, not game. Boston.com regrets the error.
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