Zip's Page A top Patriot Fan Site since 1996 - Oldest on the Web! Winner of the 2001 Patriots Fan of the Year Award! Home | Bruschi | Modi's Doghouse | Ostend's Awards | Preview | Review

2001 New England Patriot Fan of the Year!

& NFL Hall of Fame - Visa Hall of Fans!

Chad Gifford (President CEO Fleet Bank), Zip, Ostend and Tedy Bruschi with the Joseph R. Mastrangelo Trophy

Joseph R. Mastrangelo Memorial Trophy:

   The Fleet Fan of the Year award is presented annually to the person who shows the strong support, loyalty and devotion to the team as exemplified by the late Joseph R. Mastrangelo, one of the team's original season ticket holders. Fleet, the official bank of the New England Patriots has sponsored the award for the past seven years.

What it Meant to Me:

   I am and have always been tremendously proud of my fandom though not for the accolade but for the pride which comes from something which means something to you.  There is little doubt family and friends always have a priority above a past-time and this is no less truth for me than for others.  Football is a past-time.  It is a past-time in which I take particular delight and through which I enhance my interaction with friends and family.  My passion for football and more directly the New England Patriots provides a great deal of enjoyment for many of us through the strategy, rich history and physical execution of the sport.  I enjoy the sport and I've been fortunate to find many with whom I could share the sport.  Having some of those people thank me by writing to the Mastrangelo family on my behalf was a credit to our friendship and shared past-time.  There's some simple fun in getting an accolade and a much deeper satisfaction in knowing the shared friendship is at root in this Patriotic kinship. 

   I believe in striding forward against each challenge which arises in life.  Football is a microcosm of this mentality.  You take the challenge and you examine a way to rise above it, develop a plan for such and execute the plan.  Each play, each game and each season the cycle repeats.  You find individual victories and group victories and when you properly immerse yourself in these details, you share a bit of these victories.  I've hung in hope to the last with Steve Grogan throwing  a pass to Stanley Morgan.  I've admired the courage and strength of a broken handed Steve Nelson playing the inside linebacker position despite the pain.  I've dared the curse of the Orange Ball to bring it's best as we strode the underdog Wild Card road games to the Superbowl.  I've felt the pride in Sam Gash punishing the punishers, I've joined an exuberant Drew Bledsoe in celebrating an overtime rally against Miami.  I've celebrated the hearts determination of nearly every Troy Brown effort and the non-stop tenacity of a young Tedy Bruschi using intelligence and drive to match his opponent.  I've been a bit of all these things as if reading some great classic novel but I've been close enough to touch and feel the magic of those moments of personal battle both in triumph and in setback.  For one day I also stood on the field with them and was in a fashion thanked for my part in supporting those moments which have been my great pleasure to share over the years.  Moments which will be my tremendous pleasure to share for many more years to come.  My thanks to the Mastrangelo Family for establishing such a tribute both to their Father and to the fans of our team.  My thanks to Fleet Financial for aiding the continued tradition in the respectful manner which shows their appreciation for the endeavors.  My thanks to the New England Patriots for the great tradition they build stronger each season.  Most of all, my thanks to all those who each season join me in various aspects of fandom to appreciate our friendships while immersed in this New England Patriot Organization.  I always Keep the Faith - Go Pats!

The Award:

I shall build this more thoroughly over time but wanted an initial thanks and tribute to a most memorable day in my fandom for the Patriots.  The New England Patriots and Mastrangelo family were most excellent hosts and did all they could to make the day a spectacle.  The Patriots provided what I desired most this day: Victory over the Dolphins.

WMUR- ABC Channel 9 Manchester, NH did a short feature which they have graciously allowed me to include here on this page:

NFL Hall of Fame - Hall of Fans Award!

The NFL Hall of Fame joined with VISA in 1998 to establish the "Hall of Fans" which has become the most popular segment at the Canton Pro-Football Hall of Fame.  In the list of 2001 recipients, Randy "Zip" Pierce was enshrined.  There will be a plaque detailing Zip's Patriotic FANaticism for one year.  After the year, Randy "Zip" Pierce will be engraved on a plaque to commemorate his name for all time.  A tremendous honor which even further enhances this dream season.

Visa Hall of Fans 2002 Inductees

My Announcement at the Hall of Fame:

Hall of Fans Opens

Hall of Fans Announced

Some Cool and Relevant Links from the Day:

Boston Globe Feature 

Patriots.com New Announcement

Patriots.com Fan of the Year Feature

Nashua Telegraph - Brown's, Saints fans don't know Zip

Nashua Telegraph - A True Blue Patriot Fan

Providence Journal Article - Fantastic Farewell

Providence Journal Notes about Award

Boston Globe Story

Fleet Nomination Page:

WGIR -  FM 101.1 - The Buzz with Greg Kretchmar, Andy Blacksmith, Roadkill and crew Jan 11.

WMVU - AM 900 with Maury Parent 5-6 weeknights - 2 appearances: Dec 19 & Jan 11.

WPRI -  Arty Goldstein and Russ Adams set me up with a day at Foxboro for their Pats Special which airs Friday, January 19 at 8:00 pm.

WKXL - Friday night on Sportszone with Mike Murphy (1/19/02) we preview the Raider match-up!

WMUR-9 - Another Feature as the Pats Prepare for the Raiders!  Zip's Superbowl Announced! (1/18/02)

WBZ-4 - A Feature on the FOTY as the Old Stadium Dismantling begins. (1/22/02)

WPRI-12 - Arty Goldstein and the WPRI crew filmed a touching segment at Foxboro! (1/18/02)

Updates Coming Soon:

Bio of Joseph Mastrangelo

My Nomination Letters

A Chronicle of My Experience

The Lombardi Trophy!