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Patriots' dropkick football held for ransom?
Stacey James, the Patriots' executive director of media relations, couldn't understand why his phone calls were not returned, until a fax showed up on his desk Monday morning that made it all shockingly clear.
Ever since Doug Flutie's dropkick split the uprights on New Year's Day, the Patriots had searched for the football that was literally a footnote to history.
(Flutie's kick at first was believed to be the first successful dropkick in pro football since Ray McLean of the Chicago Bears kicked an extra point in the 1941 NFL championship game; but kicking guru Rick Gonsalves of Gloucester later wrote to point out that Joe Vetrano of the San Francisco 49ers had dropkicked an extra point after a muffed snap against the Cleveland Browns of the All-American Football Conference Nov. 28, 1948. Although not all AAFC records were transferred to the NFL when the leagues merged in 1950, the franchises in Baltimore, Cleveland, and San Francisco were, so Vetrano's kick was technically the most recent by an NFL player until Flutie's.)
Regardless of that, the Pro Football Hall of Fame called James the next day seeking the ball. But because the Patriots had lined up before Flutie's kick as if it were a play from scrimmage, the net was not raised behind the goalposts, so the ball went into the stands and the waiting arms of a fan who shall remain anonymous at the Patriots' insistence.
James told the Hall he would send Flutie's jersey and shoes for display but wasn't sure he could find the football. The team reviewed film to try to locate the lucky fan but came up empty -- until James got a phone message from someone purporting to have the ball or at least know where it was. James left several messages in return but the caller didn't reply until the morning of Jan. 23, when a fax arrived from a lawyer, whom the team also decided to keep anonymous.
According to the fax, the law office represents Mr. X, ''who is in possession of the football recently drop kicked by Doug Flutie for the first extra point scored in the NFL by drop kick in forty one years. My client understands that the New England Patriots may have an interest in purchasing that historic football."
Then came the fan's ''terms and conditions," which frankly boggle the mind. Here's what one self-proclaimed ''real Patriot fan" feels the ball is worth:
''1. Payment of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND ($100,000.00) DOLLARS [lawyer's capitals] on delivery of the football.
''2. A guarantee of eight (8) season tickets for 25 years in the end zone (preferably sections 142 or 143).
''a. The season tickets will be paid for annually by my client at the then going price for season tickets. The Patriots would not be expected to pay for the tickets.
'3. Delivery by the Patriots to my client sometime in September, 2006, of a Tom Brady Patriots' football jersey signed by all the team members as of the beginning of the next football season."
Well, at least he didn't ask to call a few plays against the Dolphins next year or throw a couple of passes against the Jets' secondary.
The lawyer's letter goes on to explain that his client ''has had a number of offers for the football already but he is a real Patriot fan and would prefer to see that historic football wind up in the Patriots' possession."
Thank goodness his client is a real Patriot fan. Had he been a phony Patriot fan, what would he have asked for? That he and Bob Kraft become partners in this football thing?
From time to time, this corner has taken the side of fans who felt they had been ill-treated or overcharged by the Patriots. This case is the flip side of the coin. The Patriots' refusal to accede to a ransom demand for the Flutie ball is a clear example of common sense on the one hand and blind greed on the other.
A tip of the hat to the Kraft family for ignoring the whole matter. As someone in the organization said Friday, ''I hope he enjoys the football."
Source: Boston Globe
Ever since Doug Flutie's dropkick split the uprights on New Year's Day, the Patriots had searched for the football that was literally a footnote to history.
(Flutie's kick at first was believed to be the first successful dropkick in pro football since Ray McLean of the Chicago Bears kicked an extra point in the 1941 NFL championship game; but kicking guru Rick Gonsalves of Gloucester later wrote to point out that Joe Vetrano of the San Francisco 49ers had dropkicked an extra point after a muffed snap against the Cleveland Browns of the All-American Football Conference Nov. 28, 1948. Although not all AAFC records were transferred to the NFL when the leagues merged in 1950, the franchises in Baltimore, Cleveland, and San Francisco were, so Vetrano's kick was technically the most recent by an NFL player until Flutie's.)
Regardless of that, the Pro Football Hall of Fame called James the next day seeking the ball. But because the Patriots had lined up before Flutie's kick as if it were a play from scrimmage, the net was not raised behind the goalposts, so the ball went into the stands and the waiting arms of a fan who shall remain anonymous at the Patriots' insistence.
James told the Hall he would send Flutie's jersey and shoes for display but wasn't sure he could find the football. The team reviewed film to try to locate the lucky fan but came up empty -- until James got a phone message from someone purporting to have the ball or at least know where it was. James left several messages in return but the caller didn't reply until the morning of Jan. 23, when a fax arrived from a lawyer, whom the team also decided to keep anonymous.
According to the fax, the law office represents Mr. X, ''who is in possession of the football recently drop kicked by Doug Flutie for the first extra point scored in the NFL by drop kick in forty one years. My client understands that the New England Patriots may have an interest in purchasing that historic football."
Then came the fan's ''terms and conditions," which frankly boggle the mind. Here's what one self-proclaimed ''real Patriot fan" feels the ball is worth:
''1. Payment of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND ($100,000.00) DOLLARS [lawyer's capitals] on delivery of the football.
''2. A guarantee of eight (8) season tickets for 25 years in the end zone (preferably sections 142 or 143).
''a. The season tickets will be paid for annually by my client at the then going price for season tickets. The Patriots would not be expected to pay for the tickets.
'3. Delivery by the Patriots to my client sometime in September, 2006, of a Tom Brady Patriots' football jersey signed by all the team members as of the beginning of the next football season."
Well, at least he didn't ask to call a few plays against the Dolphins next year or throw a couple of passes against the Jets' secondary.
The lawyer's letter goes on to explain that his client ''has had a number of offers for the football already but he is a real Patriot fan and would prefer to see that historic football wind up in the Patriots' possession."
Thank goodness his client is a real Patriot fan. Had he been a phony Patriot fan, what would he have asked for? That he and Bob Kraft become partners in this football thing?
From time to time, this corner has taken the side of fans who felt they had been ill-treated or overcharged by the Patriots. This case is the flip side of the coin. The Patriots' refusal to accede to a ransom demand for the Flutie ball is a clear example of common sense on the one hand and blind greed on the other.
A tip of the hat to the Kraft family for ignoring the whole matter. As someone in the organization said Friday, ''I hope he enjoys the football."
Source: Boston Globe