I lived there for three years, including the first super bowl. I'd argue it's a hockey town too, they play a great college hockey tournament every year that people get fired up over. But yeah, that playoff win vs the Raiders and subsequent run took everyone by surprise. Nobody gave a crap about the Patriots before that, except for a very few. Today, everyone claims to have been a diehard Pats fan since 1776, yet they can't name any players prior to 2000 not named Bledsoe.