NORTHAMPTON — The beginning of Super Bowl 51 did not start the way it was supposed to for the New England Patriots.
The offense did not move up and down the field and there were turnovers. The Atlanta Falcons’ defense was swarming all over the field.
The Falcons were the better team for 30 minutes.
By the third quarter, the Patriots faced a 28-3 deficit. The crowd at Platform Sports Grill did not disperse, and did not give up.
Everybody had confidence in the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Well, almost everybody.
“I gave up on the game,” Patrick Yarrows of Northampton said. “I conceded the game in the third quarter. I wasn’t even excited when they scored touchdowns.”
Yarrows made a bet with his friend Earl Raymond of Easthampton that he would dance on the bar if the Patriots came back and won.
When James White scored in overtime to give the Patriots their unprecedented fifth Super Bowl championship, Yarrows made good on his bet.
For a few moments, Yarrows found himself on the bar dancing.
“I told the guys that if the Patriots win the game I would dance on the bar,” Yarrows said. “They held me to it.”
Both Yarrows and Raymond will head to Boston for the championship parade Tuesday.
Two years ago after Malcom Butler’s interception in Super Bowl 49, Yarrows was on a chair to celebrate.
“I think it’s a height thing,” Yarrows said.
Max Clark of Northampton was part of a large contingent of fans at Platform. Clark’s group cheered every positive play when the Patriots were trailing in the game.
“We were really pumped up tonight. I grew up watching the Patriots,” Clark said over celebratory screams. “This meant a lot. Ring No. 5 for Brady.”
The Patriots’ comeback gave quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick their fifth Super Bowl ring, the most ever for a coach-quarterback combination.
After the victory, Brady made sure to thank the fans of New England.
“This was the best sporting event I have ever watched,” Clark said. “That’s how New England fans are — we are loyal as hell.”
After the game, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell faced a chorus of boos from the New England fans in attendance at NRG Stadium in Houston.
“If Roger was in the room right now,” Clark said. “I would just say … come to daddy. Give me that trophy.”
The mood at halftime was somewhat solemn, but with every sliver of hope the crowd got more and more rowdy.
Smith College student Vikki Kraft pointed to Patriots history when analyzing the awful start to the game.
“I was frustrated at the beginning of the game,” Kraft said. “But I know they always do better in the second half. I knew how badly Tom wanted his fifth ring, I knew they would push together to make something happen.”
At Rafters Sports Bar & Restaurant in Amherst, there was talk of Brady’s legacy.
“Playoff wins mean you’re the best ever, plain and simple,” Carl Lang of Acton said. “Joe Montana has nothing on Brady anymore. Five beats four any day of the week.”
Austin Blair of Amherst focused on the comeback.
“Overcoming a 25-point deficit is the greatest accomplishment I’ve ever witnessed on a football field,” Blair said “He (Brady) worked out the kinks. Belichick orchestrated it all. As a Patriots fan, there’s nothing sweeter.”
Additional reporting by Henry Brechter.
