National Football League

Patriots fan to mark 44th consecutive home opener

Published Sep. 8, 2015 12:09 p.m. ET

foxsports

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) This week's New England Patriots home opener will be deja vu all over again for Rocco Santurri Jr.

The 69-year-old Santurri plans to be in the stands Thursday night for his 44th consecutive home opener. His streak began in 1971 when the Patriots moved to what was then Schaefer Stadium.

Santurri now lives in Key Largo, Florida. His family owns a home in West Warwick, Rhode Island, that they call the ''Patriots House.''

The home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers marks two other milestones for Santurri's family: It'll be the patriarch's 35th with daughter Dayla Arabella Santurri and his 33rd with son Rocco Santurri III, who's returning from a military exercise in South Korea to keep his own streak going.