It’s an off-field distraction for some, a labor of love for others but when you’re a player in the Super Bowl everyone wants tickets.
On the secondary markets tickets are being sold for $9,000, so it’s no wonder players are getting asked, but the important thing is knowing how to say no.
“It’s easy, if you didn’t make a high school game you can’t make the Super Bowls,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said. “A lot of texts got ignored, and ignoring texts is easy for me, just look at it and put it back in your pocket.”
As part of his ‘do your job’ mantra Coach Belichick reminded players that it’s their job to say no.
“Bill made sure that everybody knew how to say no before we left out of that meeting,” Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount said.
In some cases the easiest thing to do is make someone else be the bad guy.
“Everybody has to go through either my mom or my agent to get tickets and my mom’s never been opposed to saying no,” Blount said.
“My brother is really huge for me because I don’t have to do much, he kind of handles everything for me and he knows exactly what I’m going through and he kind of can take that stress off me,” McCourty said.
Regardless of how they get there, what matters is who gets to take it in with you.
“You have your close family members and friends around you at times like this and it’s an honor to share everything with them and it’s an honor to just go out there and play in front of them,” Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said.
“It will be exciting once everybody gets here and I can see everybody, my family members and my kids, it will be very awesome,” Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis said.