5 Things for Aug. 9: East Granby Selectmen, Granby Primary, Pro Football

For me, the football season truly begins today as the New England Patriots take on the New Orleans Saints in Foxboro, MA in preseason action. I'll be at Gillette Stadium to see the game and I couldn't be more excited.

I'm football fanatic. I really enjoy the high school games I cover as a reporter, spending fall Sundays watching football and my favorite Canadian Football League team, the Montreal Alouettes. But the one team I truly love is the Patriots.

I love the Patriots because I identify with them – they represent New England and I am a New Englander. I love them because founder Billy Sullivan's belief that New England deserved professional football was so strong that he severely leveraged himself financially to make sure the Pats joined the American Football League in 1960, and because Bob Kraft stopped the team from leaving and ushered in an era of relevance and success.

I love the team's history too, from the Snow Plow game (I've touched the plow – which is actually a brush on a John Deere tractor – and I'm proud of it) to the team's itinerant AFL years and the 1985 squad that was chewed up by the Chicago Bears, 46-10, in Super Bowl XX, just six days before I was born. One of my prized possessions is an autographed photo of Pats quarterback Steve Grogan, the tough-as-nails signal caller who played his entire 16-year career with the team and retired after the 1990 season.

If anyone is still reading, be happy to know that I'll cut off this ode to the Patriots. But I encourage you to share something about your favorite football teams, traditions, stories and superstitions in the comments section.

1.There is a 60 percent chance of rain today, likely after 4 p.m. It will be mostly sunny otherwise, with a high temperature of 88 °F. Rain is equally likely tonight as more clouds move in. The overnight low is 70 °F, according to the National Weather Service.

2. The East Granby Board of Selectmen covered road repair, a town concert, the results of an emergency preparedness exercise and more .

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5. History columnist Phil Devlin .