(First in an occasional series.)
It is exactly 7:30 a.m., and the silence in the neighborhood is shattered as a garage door hums open. Matthew Slater, special teams captain of the Patriots, emerges, wearing a black Red Sox cap and driving a black Lexus. He has a big grin on his face. Today is a good day. Slater has just won the NFL’s Bart Starr Award given annually to a player who exemplifies character and leadership on and off the field.
Smack dab in the middle of the Patriots’ bye week, we are carpooling to work on a cold January day.