Patrick trading Bruins parade for weekend home
You’re the head of a state with a capital city some are now calling “Titletown,’’ so where will you be tomorrow when an expected 1 million people come to Boston to celebrate the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup?
If you’re Governor Deval Patrick, you’ll be enjoying a quiet weekend at your home in the Berkshires.
To his credit, the governor is no bandwagon-jumper. He is interested in sports, but he doesn’t really take advantage of his prominence as the state’s chief executive officer to gain front-row access to the Bruins, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, and Boston Celtics.
In fact, former Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican now running for president, has been to more Red Sox games this year than Patrick, the state’s Democratic incumbent.
Romney splits prime season tickets that place him in the NESN backdrop for right-handed hitters.
Patrick aides are quick to say that reporters would be the first ones to call-out the governor if he took improper advantage of his office. Like other public officials, he also faces state ethics restrictions and government gift limits.
In addition, Senator John Kerry got dinged this week when he, a true hockey fan, mistakenly called the Bruins goalie “Tim O’Brien.’’ He immediately corrected himself to “Tim Thomas.’’
Patrick went to Fenway Park for the first game of the 2007 World Series, and he welcomed the Sox to the State House after they swept the Colorado Rockies – the follow-up championship to their epic 2004 World Series win.
He called Celtics coach Doc Rivers after the team won the NBA Finals in 2008, an act he repeated this week when he placed calls to Bruins coach Claude Julien, General Manager Peter Chiarelli, President Cam Neely, and owner Jeremy Jacobs after their team beat the Vancouver Canucks.
Patrick visited Gillette Stadium in 2009 for ceremonies honoring the state’s National Guard members during a Patriots game, but he’s also no pigskin prince.
In fact, Patrick helped explain his attitude toward professional sports in his recent memoir, “A Reason to Believe.’’
The governor wrote that his musician father was an avid professional football fan, such that he would drive his Volkswagen Beetle to Connecticut to watch games blacked out in his hometown of New York City, or watch a small portable television during orchestra performances.
Patrick himself is a fan – just not a fanatic.
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