New England Patriots team president Jonathan Kraft stood on a stage at Gillette Stadium Sunday morning in front of an estimated crowd of 30,000 fans that turned out in the bitter cold and let them in on a possible fun fact.

“I don’t know if our opponent is having a send-off rally today,” he said. “But I do know that the temperature in that city (Seattle) is 50 degrees today. And if they are having one, they won’t have a turnout like this.”

A look on line appears to prove Kraft correct. A seemingly overcast day had a crowd of maybe a couple thousand Seattle “12’s”waving at buses as they left the Seahawks facility. But no stadium rally, etc. Pretty lame, it seemed from the clips, for a team that counts on its fans as that 12th man. But a couple of days ago there was a neat drone show at night over the city, you can catch it on social media.

But that’s not how they do things in New England. They come out in droves when the Patriots win, and even when they lose they’re the biggest topic of conversation. But fans were staying away the last couple of years, the upper bowl at Gillette maybe 50-60 percent. The Krafts knew they had to do something so they fired head coach and favorite son Jerod Mayo after just one season (4-13) and brought in Mike Vrabel. Presto. Like magic, they’re back in the Bowl.

“We hope to bring a seventh treasure back here to honor you,” team owner Robert Kraft told the crowd. And after that, his son Jonathan let the crowd in on another tid-bit.

“A Kraft has been at every game in Foxborough since 1971,” he said, noting the family had season tickets before buying the team in 1994. “So we know Patriot fans. … We know Patriot fans are passionate. We know that they’re tough, we know that they’re loyal. But even more important than us knowing it, the team and the coaches know it. They couldn’t believe how many people are here in this weather.”

So there’s not a difference in send-offs, but in ownership. The Krafts have owned the franchise for 32 years, rescuing it from a near certain move to St. Louis. Under Robert Kraft’s ownership, three different coach-quarterback combinations have now gone to Super Bowls: Bill Parcells-Drew Bledsoe, Bill Belichick-Tom Brady with six titles, and now Mike Vrabel-Drake Maye.

A big difference in ownership. Why? The Krafts will likely own this team for years to come, while reports say that the trust of the late Paul G. Allen will officially put the team up for sale after the Super Bowl.

A pretty stark difference, wouldn’t you say?

Allen, the late owner, died in 2018 and the Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers have been owned by Allen’s estate which is run by his sister, Jody Allen. His directive was that the two teams be sold with the proceeds be donated to charity. Reportedly the first major effort will be to sell the Blazers.

So there you have it. Different owners. Different weather. Different send-offs.

The Patriots, who beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl 11 years ago, just don’t want the result to be different.

The guess here is it won’t be.

Let Super Bowl Week begin, and a couple of days from now, The Telegraph will be there. Probably without a send-off, but that’s OK.

Tom King may be reached at X @Telegraph_TomK, or via email at tking@nashuatelegraph.com