10/13/13: A day forever in New England lore
This is a cross-post of nePatriotsLife.com orginally written by Eric Anderson. For all of your Patriots news, follow @PatriotsLife on twitter.
In the morning of October 13th, many New England fans were all set to tune in and watch an afternoon, turn evening, of sports. Many were not prepared to witness what they were all about to see.
At 4:25, the Patriots and Saints kicked off a, great game filled with all the emotion and drama of what any playoff game could bring. Going into the locker room, many New England fans were pleased with the score against such a high powering, prolific offense that is the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately the tides would turn and the first real dip in emotion came once Talib and the 10 point New England lead, vanished. The Patriots would take back the lead after two field goals, but a late Saints touchdown deflated all the fans hopes at that moment.
Furthermore deflation, the Patriots would go for it on a 4th and 6 and failed to convert. Playing the field position game, the defense stepped up and allowed only a field goal. Giving New England a chance to take the lead late, all this hope and would yet again be deflated rather quickly after Brady's first pass of the drive was picked off. Seemingly all but over, many fans called it quits and left the stadium (even before the interception happened) to perhaps beat the traffic to catch game 2 of the ALCS.
Somehow, the Patriots held off the Saints and once again New England would get the ball back with around a minute left, 70 yards, no timeouts and no Danny Amendola. Throw after throw, completion after completion. Tom Brady drove New England down the field and then there stood 10 seconds on the clock. ball on the New Orleans 17 yard line, a game ending and seemingly impossible touchdown strike to Kenbrell Thompkins. The Patriots would actually pull off a late game shocker, 30-27. But the night of dramatic finishes wasn't over in New England.
Around 8:00 that night, the Red Sox and Tigers threw the first pitch. It was another slow night for Boston, the Tigers starting pitching yet again silenced the bats of Fenway's finest. An eruption of runs in the 6th inning helped propelled a Tigers lead of 5-0. With nothing going, it seemed bleak in the New England area once again.
The Red Sox did put up a run in the bottom of the 6th, but trailing 5-1 in the 8th inning the Red Sox faced a tough hole. One that David Ortiz looked poised enough to dig them out of. With Ortiz coming up, the Tigers called in their closer to hold preserve the lead. One swing changed that.
A grand slam home run tied the game 5-5 and once again, the New England area was at full throat. A broken bat ground ball proved too difficult for Detroit's shortstop as he threw the ball into the crowd. A wild pitch later and with a runner on 3rd and no outs Jarrod Saltalamacchia stepped to the plate and delivered a ground ball base hit and driving in the game winning run, much like Brady and Thompkins just hours ago.
While the Patriots season is reaching the halfway point, the Red Sox postseason is in full swing. But if there were to be a day that is forever remembered in the New England area, that day and night would be October 13th, 2013.
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| Photo Credit: Matt Slocum/AP Photo |
At 4:25, the Patriots and Saints kicked off a, great game filled with all the emotion and drama of what any playoff game could bring. Going into the locker room, many New England fans were pleased with the score against such a high powering, prolific offense that is the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately the tides would turn and the first real dip in emotion came once Talib and the 10 point New England lead, vanished. The Patriots would take back the lead after two field goals, but a late Saints touchdown deflated all the fans hopes at that moment.
Furthermore deflation, the Patriots would go for it on a 4th and 6 and failed to convert. Playing the field position game, the defense stepped up and allowed only a field goal. Giving New England a chance to take the lead late, all this hope and would yet again be deflated rather quickly after Brady's first pass of the drive was picked off. Seemingly all but over, many fans called it quits and left the stadium (even before the interception happened) to perhaps beat the traffic to catch game 2 of the ALCS.
 |
| Photo Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images |
Around 8:00 that night, the Red Sox and Tigers threw the first pitch. It was another slow night for Boston, the Tigers starting pitching yet again silenced the bats of Fenway's finest. An eruption of runs in the 6th inning helped propelled a Tigers lead of 5-0. With nothing going, it seemed bleak in the New England area once again.
The Red Sox did put up a run in the bottom of the 6th, but trailing 5-1 in the 8th inning the Red Sox faced a tough hole. One that David Ortiz looked poised enough to dig them out of. With Ortiz coming up, the Tigers called in their closer to hold preserve the lead. One swing changed that.
 |
| Photo Credit: Jim Rogash/Getty Images |
While the Patriots season is reaching the halfway point, the Red Sox postseason is in full swing. But if there were to be a day that is forever remembered in the New England area, that day and night would be October 13th, 2013.
