Old Dominion got to experience the Super Bowl LI Champion New England Patriots celebration by playing for the team and owners.
For the past couple of years the country group has been a part of Kenny Chesney‘s stadium concert at Gillette Stadium, the home of the Patriots. That has allowed the group to become friends with the team’s owners, the Kraft family.
That connection led to the invitation from Robert Kraft for the band to play for the five-time NFL champions after the historic game last Sunday (12/5). Old Dominion member and lead singer Matthew Ramsey explains the group was both honored and excited to be given the amazing opportunity. “We were so excited when we got that offer, we jumped at it.,” he says, “The party was a blast. The game was unbelievable. It was a once in a lifetime experience.”
Matthew shares that the room was just electric and full of emotions, “The atmosphere in the room was just…you know there was energy, there were a lot of smiles, people were so excited because everyone had thought the game was going to end one way, and then the biggest come back in Super Bowl history happened. So, everyone was just so excited, and cheering and so excited to see the players, and so excited to see the Krafts with the Super Bowl trophy.”
While Kenny Chesney did not perform for the team, he was at the game and could be seen right next to Robert Kraft in the Patriots suite every time the TV coverage went to a shot of the owner in the suite. Old Dominion knows that the incredible experience they had was all due to their friend and country music colleague.
“I think the whole thing came about because of the Kenny Chesney tour honestly,” Matthew admits. “We’ve been on tour with Kenny for two years and we played Gillette Stadium, and for whatever reason in that area, we have sort of been adopted a little bit.” The group has seen the relationship that Kenny has with the Patriots organization and Matthew says, “I think we sort of rode those coattails right on in there and they’ve adopted us and our music, and have embraced us. The Kraft family themselves really like our music, so we’d been invited to come do that, so we jumped. Like I said it was really unbelievable.”
Congratulations to Old Dominion on such a cool, once in a lifetime experience and memory!
By: Buck Stevens
