Mark Wahlberg brought the hype, but it wasn’t enough to push the Patriots to a victory over the Chiefs on Thursday night.
The actor and New England superfan was a featured guest at the season opening ceremony and celebration at Gillette Stadium. The pregame party also included a performance by hip-hop star Flo Rida, who rocked a Pats jersey during the show.
Prior to introducing Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Wahlberg gave a passionate speech about his favorite team and their recent run of success. The Dorchester native went so far as to call the squad “a modern day-dynasty.”
“Patriots fans!” Wahlberg exclaimed. “We’ve seen a lot of incredible moments over the past 15 years and witnessed a modern-day dynasty born before our very eyes.”
After calling New England champions past and present to the field, the world’s highest-paid actor gave an impassioned recap of the Patriots stunning comeback against the Falcons in last year’s Super Bowl. He also gave a ton of props to quarterback Tom Brady.
“On the evening of Feb. 5, 2017, the Patriots trailed the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 with 2 minutes and 12 seconds left in the third quarter,” Wahlberg said. “At that moment, the odds of a Patriots loss were 99.6 percent, and with the deficit of 25 points, at 2.5 times greater than any overcome in a Super Bowl.”
“What happened next defied logic,” he added. “So does a 39-year-old quarterback—the greatest of all time—playing at a level that nobody has ever seen before.”
Check out the full pregame festivities from Thursday’s Patriots game in the video below.
#Patriots pregame ceremony celebration. Tune in at 8:30 on NBC https://t.co/RRx9sVPofb
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 8, 2017
