Even now the diehard fans are congregating and tailgating outside of Gilette Stadium in sunny-but-frigid Foxboro, in preparation for tonight's playoff showdown between the New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans. Never mind that the crater on Mars in which the Spirit probe landed would be a more hospitable venue for a football game - the faithful are not to be deterred by such concerns as frostbite, hypothermia, or the logistics of drinking frozen beer. There's a stupid kind of stiff upper lip that certain people get in the face of such extreme weather that you can't help but admire, even if you find it frightening and suicidal. A great case in point was a fellow student I knew at M.I.T. named Paolo. Hailing from Bermuda, Paolo never wore pants, but instead always clad himself in the shorts that his native island is famous for. Always. Casualwear? Bermuda shorts. Formalwear? Bermuda shorts. Subzero temperatures in the middle of January? Bermuda shorts. 1994 was the last time it was as cold as it is now, but my friend Paolo was unflappable. He'd wear a massive parka with a hat and scarf up top, but the thought of wearing something other than Bermuda shorts down below was unthinkable, as if you'd asked him to wear a feather boa, or a live boa constrictor.
I wonder if he's back in Bermuda now, or whether he's still here in New England, bundled up for bear save for his legs. Who knows - maybe he's going to the Pats game tonight! Tailgating? Bermuda shorts. Waiting in line for beer? Bermuda shorts. Riding to Mass General Hospital in an ambulance with third-degree frostbite on his ass? Yep, you guessed it: Bermuda shorts!
(Incidentally the Boston Globe has a great article on how the laws of physics will affect the game tonight given the unusually cold temperatures. The piece also reveals that there are people out there who actually make a living out of measuring how footballs travel in wind tunnels - just stop and think about that one for a moment...)
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