ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Phaedra Deland, a Lynn native, began rooting for the Patriots in the early 1990’s.
By HAROLD RIVERA
PEABODY — Lynn native Phaedra Deland is not your average Patriots fan.
Her toaster? A Patriots toaster.
Her salt and pepper shakers? Patriots salt and pepper shakers.
Her radio? A Patriots radio.
When it comes to the Patriots, Deland takes her devotion to the team as seriously as she can. For Deland, it all started when her father, Rod, brought her along to Patriots games at the old Foxboro Stadium.
At the time, the Patriots weren’t the powerhouse organization they are today but Deland still developed a passion for the team.
“When I was a child my father had season tickets,” Deland said. “Way back in the ‘90s they weren’t that good so we went to a lot of games. As we started winning Super Bowls, and my father got a little older, it became more difficult to go to games. Everyone jumped on the bandwagon.”
Deland began attending Patriots games in the early 1990’s, before Bill Belichick and Tom Brady took center stage at 1 Patriot Place. Even when the team was losing, Deland and her father showed their devotion by staying in their seats until the final whistle.
“Some of the fans weren’t great fans,” Deland recalled. “Even if we were getting blown out, me and my father would never leave the stadium.”
Then, Belichick and Brady found their ways to Foxborough and the Patriots began to find success year in and year out. Deland feels a special connection to Brady, as she watched from the stands when he replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe on Sep. 23, 2001.
“I was actually there when Brady came in for Bledsoe,” Deland recalled. “Brady talked to my dad before the game, because my dad would give anybody the time of day. At the time, nobody knew who Brady would become. Now you can’t even get near him.”
That wasn’t Deland’s only special memory of the early-season matchup against the New York Jets. Sept. 23’s contest was the first game after the Sept. 11 attacks. When former Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi ran onto the field waving two American flags, the moment hit close to home for Deland.
“When Joe Andruzzi ran on the field with the flags in the first game after Sept. 11, that was a special moment,” Deland said. “It was amazing. I gave him those flags.”
Among her favorite Patriots memories is also the moment she met Rob Gronkowski at his annual Football 101 women’s clinic in 2013.
“I didn’t drop any passes thrown at me,” Deland said. “I came close to making a field goal, but I didn’t. I was so into it, it was so much fun.”
She was also in attendance when Brady spoke at the 2015 Salem State Speaker Series, his first public appearance after the release of the Ted Wells report.
“I took my dad to the event for his birthday,” Deland said. “It was good to see him speak and how he is in reality. You can tell he’s really into the game.”
Over the years, Deland has built an impressive collection of Patriots memorabilia. The centerpiece of the collection is a Patriots jacket that signed by over 40 former and current Patriots players. Among the signatures on the jacket are those of Andruzzi, Bledsoe, Tedy Bruschi, Terry Glenn, Lawyer Milloy and Adam Vinatieri.
Deland recalled being offered a nice ransom for the autographed jacket but she couldn’t accept the bid.
“I was at a Patriots game and a guy offered me $3000 for the jacket,” Deland said. “I said ‘no way.’ There was no way I was parting ways with my jacket.”
Deland, like many other devoted fans, takes part in a handful of pregame rituals. She wears her lucky jacket, lights her football candle the very moment of the opening kickoff and puts out a box of Patriots tissues that can’t be touched.
“It’s so superstitious,” Deland said. “I know it’s silly but I always do it.”
With Sunday’s Super Bowl game against the Atlanta Falcons around the corner, Deland, who will host a Super Bowl party with friends and family at her home in Peabody, expects to be dialed in on the action once the game starts.
“The people that are coming over to watch it know I won’t be talking to them,” Deland said. “We’ll do a buffet style for the food. If you want a beer, go to kitchen and grab it. I’m totally focused on the football.”
Deland also offered her Super Bowl prediction.
“I’ve been saying 31-17, Patriots,” Deland said. “I don’t know why I chose 31. It might be a close game but not a three-point game. We’ll play as a team like we always do.”
