It’s been quite a ride.

Quite a story.

Quite a run.

And it’s still, well, running.

No matter how you describe it, there hasn’t been as much of success story as Robert Kraft and his family have had in owning the New England Patriots, a purchase they made 25 years ago today.

Just think, after Sunday’s dramatic 37-31 overtime AFC Championship win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Patriots, under Kraft’s ownership, will be headed to their 10th Super Bowl.

And think, for the first part of this franchise’s history, it was an eye opener if the Patriots would win 10 games.

How can one describe it other than incredible.

“In life, I think it’s important to dream big. My dream was to be able to own the NFL franchise that I adored and was passionate about. I wanted the privilege of trying to run it in my own hometown. [That day] a lot of things came together,” Kraft told ESPN a few days ago of the day he bought the team. “It’s unbelievable to me; I just sit back and pinch myself, that we were able to do it. [Tom] Brady and [Bill] Belichick get a lot of the credit, as they deserve to get. Really, the hidden asset in all of this is the fan support we got.”

Remember, it was Kraft who saved the franchise from moving to St. Louis (the Rams were still in Los Angeles) when he basically outbid the competition for the franchise. He was the logical savior as he already owned what was then Foxboro Stadium.

When the Patriots left the field after winning their last game of the 1993 season in early January of ’94, it didn’t look good. Yours truly remembers standing behind the end zone of the old stadium – media had to wait outside toward the end of games at the old place – and talking to a reporter from St. Louis, who was confident he was looking at that city’s next football team.

But that never happened. What’s happened is a New England sports legacy that has produced five championships, the greatest coach of all time and the greatest quarterback – Kraft feels he’s the greatest player overall – of all-time.

People may also forget that Kraft’s first Super Bowl wasn’t with either Bill Belichick or Tom Brady, but with Bill Parcells and Drew Bledsoe. That was against the Green Bay Packers in New Orleans, and it was overshadowed by the strong rumors that Parcells would bolt for the rival New York Jets after the game/season, which he did. The acrimony between he and Kraft appeared to reach a bad point when Parcells was overruled in drafting the late wide receiver Terry Glenn.

That certainly hasn’t been the only Patriots soap opera in the Kraft Era. We’ve gone through SpyGate, DeflateGate, and in the last year, all the TB12-Alex Guerrero-Tom Hates Bill nonsense. It’s certainly an adventure for Kraft, who will likely tell you he’s learned a ton, learned that a football team likely can’t be run like a regular company, learned that football coaches are rare breeds who need to be treated with care.

Kraft showed his true class when he talked after the game about how grateful he was to late Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt when Kraft bought the Patriots. You could tell how touched he was.

Reaching this Super Bowl is arguably the best coaching job Belichick has done for his owner and the franchise since his first one after the 2001 regular season, when a young QB was thrust into the starting role and took his team down the field for the game-winning field goal over, ironically, the St. Louis Rams in the New Orleans Superdome.

And now they head to Atlanta with a team not nearly as talented as some from the past, but with a few common denominators:

The coach, the quarterback, and, of course, the owner of the last 25 years.

Tom King may be reached at 594-1251, or@Telegraph_TomK.tking@nashuatelegraph.com

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