FOXBORO -- No one in their right mind would come to shop at Patriot Place on the day of a game. In fact, only the most hardcore fans are willing to put up with what continues to be an utterly ridiculous, and highly frustrating, traffic problem getting to Gillette Stadium.
I've been covering games here since 1979 and, for the most part, I could drive to Foxboro with relative ease if I arrived between 10:30 and 11 for a 1 o'clock game. Not any more. Traffic on Route 495 was backed up almost to Route 95 nearly four hours before the 4:15 kickoff. It was bumper-to-bumper, poking along, all the way north on Route 1. Team officials insist there are more parking places than ever, despite the space taken by the new mall just south of the stadium. Nevertheless, traffic is worse than it has ever been.
As for shoppers -- why would anyone battle game traffic to get to Patriot Place? And since most of the parking spots around the stadium are a healthy hike from the stores, why would those stores even bother to open on the day of a game? Did they expect extensive walk-in traffic from fans? Hard for me to picture a Patriots fan heading to Bed, Bath, and Beyond before he enters the stadium.
Other media members arriving from the North report similar problems.
The best move might be to go to Circuit City during the week, buy a big, flat-screen, HDTV, and watch the games at home.