Peter Gay: Pats, US Soccer and political powerhouses – The Sun Chronicle
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The demise of the New England Patriots’ dynasty may have its advantages. I accepted an invitation from a friend to join him at Thursday night’s game against Buffalo knowing I probably wouldn’t get to bed until 2 a.m.
The lopsided Buffalo win ended at 11:10 p.m. and we were back at my friend’s North Attleboro house exactly one hour later even after tailgating for a short time before heading home. While officials have improved the flow of traffic on Route 1, the main reason was the mass exodus by fans when the Bills increased their lead to 17 points early in the fourth quarter. Mediocrity apparently has its advantages.
That was one of many thoughts I had over the past week. Here are five more:
“We’ll agree to disagree,” was the content of a final email I sent after multiple exchanges with a reader upset with a thought I shared in last week’s column. The reader didn’t like my comparison of Joe Wilson yelling “Liar!” at President Barack Obama during a speech before a joint session of Congress to Nancy Pelosi tearing up a copy of the state of the union address by Donald Trump in 2020.
The reader is correct, Wilson’s actions were worse than those of Pelosi, but she clearly missed the point I was making that someone has to take the higher road if civility is ever going to return to our nation’s capital.
Attleboro is lucky to have Kyle Heagney leading its police department. His candor in questioning the city’s parking ban during the winter is refreshing. Technology has improved to the point texts are now sent stating precipitation will begin in 15 minutes. Residents have plenty of time to move their cars off city streets.
Heagney also has the foresight to request funds for two vehicles equipped with equipment needed if an active shooter situation ever occurs in Attleboro. The city was wise to install gunshot detection systems in all of its schools and having equipment readily available in such an emergency is wise. Response time is critical in public safety and the city council should approve the chief’s request.
Adam Scanlon and Paul Heroux should start a consulting firm for future political candidates. The two Democrats have never lost an election.
Scanlon was still in high school when he won a seat on the North Attleboro school committee, knocking out incumbent Chris Frost. He was then elected to the town’s first council before defeating fellow councilor John Simmons for the state representative seat open when Betty Poirier announced she was not seeking reelection. He ran unopposed last month for a second two-year term on Beacon Hill.
Heroux defeated George Ross back in 2012 to become Attleboro’s state representative. He then stunned Mayor Kevin Dumas five years later and was reelected twice before defeating Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson last month.
Both men are single. Could that be the secret?
While I applaud the efforts of elected leaders when they secure state money for the communities in their districts, the three words pork, barrel and spending came to mind when I read the story about Foxboro receiving $75,000 of our tax money to replace a 20-year-old skate park.
I have to disagree with colleague Tyler Hetu’s description of the USA vs. Iran World Cup match on Tuesday as “anything but boring.”
The 1-nil victory by the American team had some exciting moments, but until soccer does something about players feigning injuries and finds a way to increase scoring — eliminating offsides, for example — the game will never become as popular in this country as it is in the rest of the world.
While I’m on the subject of soccer, do you remember when the question used to be why the U.S. women aren’t paid as much as the men? The question after this World Cup should be why the men are paid as much as the women. A moral victory was used by analysts after the U.S. lost 3-1 to the Netherlands on Saturday, a term I’ve never heard for winners, have you?
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