Friends Remember Former Patriots Fan of the Year Tim Fowler

When Tim Fowler and Aaron Goldberg took a trip to Gillette Stadium back in 2024, Fowler was originally told it was where all the finalists for that year's New England Patriots Fan of the Year Award would get together. Goldberg had an inkling it was more than that.

Turns out Goldberg was right. After a private tour of Gillette Stadium, both Fowler and his longtime friend were surprised by Patriots owner Robert Kraft and special teams captain Matthew Slater in the trophy room.

That's where Fowler found out he was the 2023 Patriots Fan of the Year -- "I can't tell you what an honor this is," Fowler said to Kraft and Slater, as seen in a video posted by the Patriots.

"Just to see the joy on his face, to just see the the recognition," Goldberg told Patriots on SI. "It's a blue collar guy from Newburyport. He's not a rich man, not a famous man, puts a lot of effort into his church, but to see him recognized for something he was so passionate about was just absolutely amazing."

Fowler had led a large tailgate for almost every Patriots game for decades. His group -- growing in size by the year -- would make the long trip from Newburyport each week to cheer on his favorite team. He passed away on December 25 after a decade-long battle with pancreatic cancer, and his friends remember him as a "real fan."

"Tim was so welcoming," Goldberg said. "You know, you there were no strangers, just friends he hadn't met yet. We had all kinds of people coming in, and, you know, they filled in with us for two years, 10 years, 15 years, and then somewhere by the wayside, and some stuck around. It's just amazing how he created that, that culture and community around the Patriots. And you know, this is a real fan."

When he wasn't helping with his local church or boating, Fowler was spending his days watching the Patriots. Whether it was a group of friends he had known for years, or just a new face joining in on the pre-game grilling, Fowler had an ability to make them feel welcomed.

"Tim could always tell a good story," Bob Tarrant told Patriots on SI. "So a lot of times he'd come in and he'd have some story of a natural, or a man-made disaster that had happened along along the way."

The New England Tailgaters Take on Super Bowl XXXVI

Tim Fowler and his tailgating crew traveled down to New Orleans to watch the Patriots win their first Super Bowl in Feb. 2002. | Contributed by Aaron Goldberg

Like most Patriots fans who suffered through some of the bad seasons, it all came together for Fowler at Super Bowl XXXVI. His tailgating group made the trip to New Orleans for the game, and wanted to take in the pre-game festivities. While WEEI 93.7 was setting up, Fowler and his friends wanted to help with their set up.

In return, they were offered drinks all day on the radio station's dime. At Joe's Bar, they spent their afternoon mentally preparing for the Patriots' third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. By the time the game was over, and Adam Vinatieri had split the uprights for the team's first championship, everyone in the stadium was jumping up and down.

Except for Fowler.

"He's just looking down, nothing," Goldberg remembers. "He looks up and his tears running down his eyes. 'Tim, what's the matter?' He says, 'I never thought I'd see them win it all.'"

Back home in Massachusetts, their tailgates weren't just folding tables and lawn chairs. It was a big process, Tarrant said. Every week, they would take their set up -- what they called "the kitchen" -- out from a storage unit to drive down to Foxboro.

"Most of it was found on the side of the road," Tarrant said. "A full wooden kitchen with cabinets and table, countertops, none of this folding table stuff. We had a regular, full kitchen that they made the effort to load up and down from their pickup truck at every game."

"It was a lot of work because they would have these wooden cabinets and stuff like that that were all loaded with all the gear needed for every tailgate and a full size grill. None of this porta-grill stuff. This was a regular full size barbecue grill that came down with them all the time."

Tim Fowler and his friends on the field pregame ahead of the New England Patriots' 2025 season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. | Contributed by Aaron Goldberg

In his younger years, his friends recalled a time where Fowler's girlfriend in the 1980s were disappear on him during game time. It wasn't long until Fowler discovered she was a cheerleader for the Patriots. Even though they hadn't been together in years, she was at Fowler's funeral service, Tarrant said.

"His loyalty was projected back towards others," Tarrant said. "He once told me that the most important fulfilling thing in his life was his friends. He didn't have a lot of means, and we had enough to keep him going and live on and everything like that. But money was not that important to him. It was his. It was his groups of friends, really, that was most important."

Fowler sat through all sorts of weather, and all sorts of Patriots teams. He watched Steve Grogan and Tony Eason share the starting job. He saw Drew Bledsoe pass the torch to Tom Brady for two decades. Fowler sat in his seats for some ugly showings in recent years.

What were his thoughts on this current team?

"We talked after he couldn't come to the games," Goldberg said. "They looked good, and Drake Maye is something. He said 'He's not Tom Brady, but he potentially could be that kind of quarterback.'"

Fowler was at Gillette Stadium for the first five home games of the season, his last game a 24-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons in November. Health complications forced him to watch the remaining games from somewhere else, but his fandom -- his unwavering one -- still shined through until the end.

"We're getting ready to walk up to the stadium (before the Falcons game)," Goldberg said. "He says, 'I can't believe they're going to get good again on me again.' I didn't know it was his last game, but he did. 'I said, Well, we're gonna enjoy this ride.' ... He's a hell of those people you're honored to call your friend in life. "

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!