Pair of Granite Staters Attend White House Ceremony for the Patriots
WASHINGTON, April 02–Posing for a picture in front of the White House Tuesday, Randy “Zip” Pierce, the 2001 New England Patriots Fan of the Year Award recipient, put his arm around Patriots defenseman and fellow Nashua resident Kole Ayi. “Smile,” Pierce said. “It’s not often the two of us are dressed up like this.”
Army Pvt. Kyle McGovern, the Merrimack soldier who returned home last week after being wounded in Afghanistan on March 2, looked on, talking about the Rose Garden ceremony for the Superbowl-winning Patriots that he and Pierce had just attended.
“It was great. They gave us VIP seats right in the front row,” McGovern said. “Tom Brady walked right up to me and said, ‘I’m Tom Brady,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I know.’” Brady, the Patriots’ starting quarterback, signed McGovern’s football and two of his hats. McGovern and Pierce also met backup quarterback Drew Bledsoe, Patriots owner Bob Kraft and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), among others.
Approximately 200 Patriots fans, many of whom hail from New England and work in congressional offices, turned out to watch President George Bush congratulate the team. Kraft gave Bush a jersey with his name and No. 1 on it, and coach Bill Belichick gave the president an autographed football.
Bush stood in front of approximately 50 suit-clad players and said that their careers have been similar. “I can remember when they were down on you a little bit,” he said. “I know how you feel.” But, Bush said, they all learned the same lesson: “The experts are often wrong.”
Pierce and McGovern received their tickets to the event from Rep. John Sununu (R-NH) who received them last week from the White House congressional affairs office, according to Sununu’s spokeswoman, Barbara Riley. “John had previous engagements in Franklin, Northfield, Cantebury and Manchester,” she said. “He gave the ticket to Kyle because he made such a great sacrifice for his country. And John couldn’t think of a better person than Randy for the other ticket.”
Pierce and McGovern said they liked Bush’s message about overcoming adversity. “Everybody faces challenges,” he said.
Pierce is blind. He is guided by his dog, Ostend, a golden retriever that is never without a Patriots scarf around his neck. McGovern gets around on crutches. He lost two toes in Operation Anaconda, the offensive that drove al-Qaida operatives from Afghanistan’s Shahikot Valley. He returned home last week after being treated in a series of hospitals.
Linebacker Ayi, a 1997 graduate of Nashua High School and the lone Granite Stater on the Patriots, said the attention the team has received has been great. “I was home and walked in Wendy’s and everyone was so excited,” he said as he walked back to the team bus after taking a private tour of the White House. Ayi, who wears No. 99, was one of a group of Patriots who threw out the first pitch at the Boston Red Sox game at Boston’s Fenway Park yesterday morning.
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
