Page 4 - December 2015
P. 4

Any Given Sunday
During NFL Season, MSP Plays Big Role Protecting Safety of Pats Fans
                                                                                                                          by Trooper Matthew Guarino

Long before Gillette Stadium was erected and Patriot Place,           detail, including those that escort the buses transporting the vis-
    the brainchild of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, began sprawl-      iting team to the stadium. Many people recall seeing troopers
ing outwards from the Stadium, the Massachusetts State Police         on the sideline during a game. It is those escort troopers whose
were on hand for New England Patriot home games. Many “old
timers” on the Department will remind young troopers of the
hardships of the old days, and of how much things have changed
over the years. The team logo has changed (goodbye Pat Patri-
ot, hello Flying Elvis), the team plays in a new stadium, com-
pleted in 2002, but the men and women of the Massachusetts
State Police proudly wear the same uniforms and perform the
same, albeit slightly modernized, functions they did back then.

A large contingent of Massachusetts’ finest sign up to work the       Captain Matt Roy, Commandant of the State Police
Patriots games at Gillette Stadium. Before most fans have started                    Academy, and Pat Patriot
their pre-game parties, the troopers assigned to the early start of
the Patriots detail are on hand with Lieutenant Andy Klane of the
Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section to accompany the
crews as they set up the complicated traffic patterns. They pro-
vide assistance with traffic at the crosswalks, crossing employees
and early arrivals to the stadium. They also provide traffic con-
trol in areas where the traffic pattern has been altered. Route 1 in
Foxboro has restricted turns as early as 6 a.m. on an early game
day. After all these years of football in Foxboro, there are still
many locals who are unaware of the schedule and others who are
just unlucky enough to have business on Route 1 on game day.
Most troopers on the detail share a love of New England
sports teams. Many have been Patriots fans since child-
hood. They sacrifice watching the game to work the detail that
ensures the public’s safety around the stadium. The New
England Patriots pay for all of the troopers assigned to the

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