The glorious past was celebrated once again at Gillette Stadium on Friday evening.

We should all be used to it by now.

But what about the present — and near future?

It doesn’t look all that bad, right?

New England Patriots legend Tom Brady is immortalized in a six-ton statue that was unveiled at a jam packed Patriots Place Plaza about an hour before TreyVeyon Henderson zipped 100 yards to paydirt on the opening kickoff of last night’s Patriots preseason opener vs. a group impersonating the Washington Commanders. Not a bad present since Henderson, who has had a great camp, gives you even more hope for the future. Speed the Patriots sorely need,and a threat to score anytime he touches the ball.

If you missed it, you missed the biggest takeaway of the Patriots’ 48-18 preseason thrashing over the Commanders’ third string.

“I was surprised myself,” said Henderson. “They did a good job of blocking up front and clearing a path for me.”

“It’s a good start,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said.

You may have cringed when Drake Maye took off running a couple of times during the three series he played,even if one 5-yarder was for a touchdown And yes, Will Campbell,combined with fellow rookie guard Jared Wilson gave up a sack on a play Maye fumbled trying to throw when he should’ve taken the sack. Ahh,the trials and tribulations of youth. And bad QB decisions.

“Bad decision and we’re going to need better from him,” Vrabel said. “And he knows that.”

But had Brady been running around like that in a preseason game, who knows if there would ever have been a statue?

“I gotta play football,” Maye said. “That’s my natural instinct.”

Everyone’s favorite underdog, Pats undrafted rookie receiver Efton Chism III, excelled in second half action. But he looks more like a practice squad player at this point. But fun to watch against other practice squaders from the Commanders.

“It was awesome,super surreal,” Chism said. “We’re (rookie free agents) the one percent of the one percent.”

The Tom Brady statue at Patriots Place Plaza has a majestic look a couple of hours after the Patriots’ blowout preseason win over the Commanders Friday night. (AP photo)

That may have been how one Tom Brady felt some 24 years ago, right? Even Vrabel felt it was important enough, 90 minutes before kickoff,to be at the unveiling.

“You saw the amount of people that were there to support him, people on the Commanders’ side, former teammates,” he said. “Just having somebody like that be part o this organization, pretty unique, pretty special. Glad that I was able to be part of it for a little bit.”

“Seeing myself as a statue,”Brady said,”is something I wouldn’t have imagined growing up.”

The past is memorialized. The present is pretty good. And the future? It may be looking bright.

A different preseason night at Gillette.