Somebody’s Pulling the Fire Alarm in the Patriots’ Hotel
It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book; a prank perfected by disgruntled high schoolers across the nation and a scheme more diabolical than “deflategate” and “spygate” combined: The erroneous fire alarm — and the New England Patriots are its latest victims.
As ESPN reports, the fire alarm in the Patriots’ hotel has been pulled twice over the past three nights ahead of Super Bowl XLIX. The first false alarm sounded ahead of Tuesday’s media day at 1:30 a.m., rang for about 10 minutes and was called “an anomaly” by the front desk, according to the NFL Network’s Jeff Darlington. The second alarm reportedly rang at about 2 a.m. Thursday, but was shut off after just two minutes.
During an interview on Tuesday, Patriots star tight end — and self-proclaimed “baller” — Rob Gronkowski said he slept right through the alarm. Quarterback Tom Brady told reporters on Thursday that he hadn’t been woken up by the second false alarm, either. “I must be sleeping through it,” Brady said. “I slept great.”
Contrary to team sources, Sheraton Wild Horse Pass public relations director Stephanie Sanstead denied that the alarm went off in the players’ wing of the hotel, but did confirm that Thursday’s incident was the second of the week. “We apologize to our guests,” she said. “We are taking this matter very seriously. We are reviewing everything.”
The Patriots will face off against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX this Sunday, February 1st, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. Whether you’re polishing the angles of your tricorn hat or prepping the pitch-perfect 12th man scream, check out Rolling Stone‘s bevy of Super Bowl coverage, including our list of the 12 championship bouts that lived up to the hype, and our interview with Dion Rich, the gatecrasher who’s snuck into the big game 35 times.