Happy anniversary, New England Patriots fans.
Robert Kraft bought the Patriots 26 years ago today on Jan. 21, 1994, ensuring they would stay in New England and not move to St. Louis.
The Patriots have won six Super Bowls, 19 AFC East titles and 10 AFC Championships since that date. They’ve also sold out every home game in the Kraft tenure.
Here’s the message Kraft delivered to fans and the media 26 years ago today:
26 years, 19 division titles, 10 conference championships and 6 Super Bowl victories ago today, Robert Kraft purchased the New England #Patriots. pic.twitter.com/0ZTZOtUVBj
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 21, 2020
“The real equity holders of this team, I hope, will be the fans and the corporate community,” Kraft said. “We’re going to need your support, and I hope we earn it.
“My objective in doing this is to help bring a championship to New England. We didn’t do this to be a doormat for any of the teams. We do like to win. We think everything is in place to make that happen.”
The Patriots played in Super Bowl XXXI two seasons later and won Super Bowl XXXVI just seven seasons later. They’ve gone 324-139 for a .700 winning percentage under Kraft.
