“We’re going to give it our best,’’ he said. “Hopefully we have a lot more people at our party next weekend.’’
Many of the fans in attendance touched on a theme that Brady and other players who spoke during the rally left unsaid: revenge.
“Oh, God, we can taste it,’’ said Doreen DuPont, 50, of Leicester. “We need to get that monkey off our back.’’
She was referring to the team’s devastating Super Bowl loss to the Giants in February 2008, quashing what had been a perfect season and sending the Patriot faithful into a winter-long depression.
Wearing team jackets and holding a sign urging the squad to avenge that loss - it said “Yeah Baby!! Super Bowl Bound!! Bring It Home Boys!!’’ - DuPont and her friend Beth Cardinal, 42, of Auburn, were ready to cheer on the team.
Cardinal, who predicted the Pats will prevail by a 34-to-20 margin in the rematch, said her team loyalty runs deep.
“I’ve been a fan since the ’80s, when it was $10 to get into the old place,’’ Cardinal said, referring to the old Foxborough Stadium.
Younger fans shared her passion.
Paulmichael Bertocchi, 18, of Reading, wearing a Chad Ochocinco jersey, said the last Super Bowl loss to the Giants was hard to stomach.
“I have to admit it, I cried,’’ Bertocchi said.
How will he react if the Pats win next week?
“I don’t even know,’’ he said. “I’m just going to go crazy. Bang the pots and pans like the good old days and stuff.’’
Pete Sutera, 30, of Gloucester, also recalled the brutal feeling when the Pats fell to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
“It was like getting punched in the stomach,’’ he said.
Sutera wore a Rob Gronkowski jersey and said he hoped the standout tight end would fully recover before Sunday’s kickoff from the ankle injury that he suffered during the last game.
Sutera predicted a 24-to-17 victory for the Pats, and like other fans yesterday, said his confidence in the defense has grown during the season.
