Fitchburg Couple Wins Super Bowl Tickets At Patriots Send-Off Rally
FITCHBURG (CBS) - Frank Schembari had finally pulled his head out of the clouds as he settled in to his Fitchburg apartment Monday night.
"Yeah, it's kicked in," he said.
The 23-year-old is talking about a pleasant change in his plans for the coming weekend -- he's going to the Super Bowl with free tickets.
But he's still reluctant to admit he grew up rooting for some other team.
"I won't disclose any specifics on that," he says. "But I'm from New Jersey."
Still, the former Giants fan ventured to the Gillette sendoff rally Sunday with the woman who converted him to Patriot Nation -- his girlfriend Courtney Hastings.
"I always tell people that I created a monster," she says, "because now when we sit on the couch and watch he is so into the football games -- even more than I am."
And so it was Frank who emailed his name into the Pats ticket giveaway as they stood waiting for the rally to crank up, only to be stunned by the email that came back a little later.
"It said 'Congrats Frank! You win!' And I'm like 'No way!'"
But it wasn't long before he and Courtney were on stage with Tom Brady and Company, winning two Super Bowl tickets from the Pats.
"I figured at any moment I was going to wake up in my own bed," Frank chuckles, "and realize that I overslept the rally."
He works for the Boy Scouts, and she works at a daycare -- so they're not made of money. That means the rest of the trip will have to be done on the cheap.
"Still, to get that expense covered," says Frank, "it's a steal. The opportunity of a lifetime."
They've found a hotel room on the outskirts of town, and will hop in Frank's car Friday after work, for the 17 hour drive to Atlanta.
Frank says his car is pretty new, so he thinks they'll make it.