Laurence Maroney Making His Presence Known Once Again

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Oct 23, 2009

Laurence Maroney Making His Presence Known Once Again FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Sorry, Big Ben, but Laurence Maroney has no interest in seeing you this weekend.

The New England Patriots running back is mostly interested in two of London’s lesser-known attractions: the walls of his hotel room and the end zone at Wembley Stadium.

Maroney is a little more focused and much more relaxed as his Patriots are preparing for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London. He is coming off of a 123-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Tennessee Titans, his best game since the 2007 AFC Championship against the San Diego Chargers.

“I almost felt like it was back in my Minnesota days,” Maroney said, referring to his college career. “Those yards were coming every game. I’m just trying to get back to my basics, get back to just having fun and playing my game, doing what I do best.”

Maroney was in his usual jovial mood Thursday before the Patriots boarded their buses to head for the airport. Truth is, even when the fourth-year back is struggling on the field, he is always in high spirits and can lighten the mood of a room just by being himself. This time, he entertained a group of reporters asking about his four days overseas.

“They’re already cheating me,” Maroney said. “I heard I’ve got to give $1.60 just to get one pound. That’s unfair. That’s highway robbery. A dollar is not even worth a pound over there. I’m not even looking to spend any money.”

With that, Maroney quipped he might need to renegotiate his contract this week to work off of the United Kingdom’s pay scale.

“I think we should be paid in pounds, so I can go ahead and convert that back over,” Maroney said. “It will add up a little bit.”

When Maroney was informed the British say “cheerio” as a form of “goodbye,” he responded, “Like the cereal? Cheerio? How do you say ‘hello’? Kellogg’s? Is it Kellogg’s? Cheerio, Kellogg’s, Frosted Mini-Wheats. Is that a word over there?”

Comedic stylings aside, Maroney wasn’t much worried about the culture change because he doesn’t plan to leave his hotel room during the team’s free time in London. There will be little need to heed Bill Belichick’s advice to look right when crossing the street because Maroney will keep it simple and worry about the Buccaneers, not double-decker buses or Westminster Abbey.

“I wasn’t even thinking about leaving the hotel, to be honest,” Maroney said. “It’s really not a vacation, so I’m not really looking forward to going. It’s more of a business trip. It’s not like I’m out there to have fun and go sightseeing. I’m going there for a job, and that’s to play Tampa. I’ll worry about London on a later note.

“If I want to go sightseeing in London, I’m going to have to go on my own time. Right now, I’m on Patriots time, so I’ve got to go out there and handle my job.”

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