13 year old Cole Paquette of Bakersfield started the weekend with Super Bowl sized day at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on Friday. It was trip to Gillette Stadium for his own personal tour that came to be after what Frank-fm morning host and program director TJ Michaels sent what he calls the “Hail Mary” E-mail. Paquette, who is battling a rapidly moving abdominal cancer is a huge Julian Edelman fan and watched the 5 time super bowl champs win the big game from his bed, recovering from treatments.
Michaels explains; “I was asked by a friend of the family if there was anything Frank could do, the friend said, you guys are the New England Patriots radio station, you carry all the games, surely there must be something.”
Michaels says his heart sank, thinking that the odds of the right person within the Patriots organization seeing the e-mail and responding weren’t good, but he then started thinking about the uphill battle that Cole was fighting and the amazing come from behind Patriots Victory in the Super Bowl.
“l sent the email off to the Patriots Radio Network with a picture of Cole realizing that the Patriots must get hundreds of requests like this each month. The next thing I know I’m getting a phone call from the Kraft Sports Group and The New England Patriots! We’re going to invite Cole to Gillette and we’d like you to be a part of his big day! I was shocked! Over the next two weeks while the trip details were coming together. The e-mails from the Patriots kept coming. One even included a video recorded in the Patriots locker room of Tight End Rob Gronkowski telling Cole to “Keep Fighting!”
The Patriots put Coles family up at hotels at Patriots Place on Thursday night and then pulled out the red carpet for Paquette who was join by Michaels and got his own personal tour of Gillette Stadium. Cole went into the tunnel, the locker rooms, the training facility, Robert Kraft’s personal luxury box, the press room, down onto the field and a tour of the Patriots Hall of fame. Along the way the Patriots had several surprises for Cole. He met Defensive end Trey Flowers and Offensive Guard Ted Karras. The two players spent the better part of an hour with the Bakersfield boy. The Patriots then presented him with his own #1 team jersey, autographed ball, Tom Brady autographed picture and other fan items.
“They even put his name in lights on the scoreboard is was a Super Bowl Sized Day!” I had never met Cole and I told him I had a job for him in the pro shop outside the stadium. I told him that he and I were gonna turn this place upside down and we were going to find Tom Brady’s missing Super Bowl jersey, said Michaels.”
While they didn’t find the Jersey, they did find a day where they was no discussions of Cancer or Treatments, Just love, love for a family fighting uphill, love for a boy with the heart of a champion and love for the team that connects them all.
Michaels says, “I hope this day gives Cole even more fight! I just really was trying to do the right thing, I think Coach Belichick sums it up with DO YOUR JOB! Cole is the real Hero and the family that cares for him are doing the really hard work, I just sent a “Hail Mary” e-mail! One that was caught by the Patriots and it was a game winner! I just hope he uses the great time we had with the Patriots as strength, I hope it has a healing effect! “ I’m proud to be a part of his big day! Normally I’d just say “Go Pats!”…Today I’ll say “Go Cole and in the words of Gronk, “Keep Fighting Buddy!”
Video Footage of Cole’s Big Day Available from Facebook live Courtesy of Frank-fm (there are several on the page) https://www.facebook.com/frankvermont/