Drake Maye didn’t just draw a crowd in Chelsea on Tuesday. He drew the kind of line that starts before sunrise and keeps growing all day.
Jonathan Andrews was already committed before the doors even opened at MB Spirits, the liquor store next to the Market Basket in Chelsea. The Boston Children’s Hospital administrative coordinator told his supervisor he needed the day off so he could meet the Patriots quarterback, then showed up at 4 a.m. - four hours before the store opened and 13 hours before Maye’s scheduled meet and greet.
“I always would rather overplan than underplan,” he said. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet somebody of Drake Maye’s stature. I didn’t want to miss out on it.”
Andrews was hardly alone. Fans packed the scene in Patriots No. 10 jerseys, team gear and all kinds of homemade Maye tribute looks, all waiting for a quick photo or a few words with the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl this past February.
One fan showed up in pajama pants printed with Maye’s face. Another wore a custom split jersey that represented both the Patriots and the University of North Carolina, where Maye played college football. Guillermo, a Patriots fan and Market Basket employee of 18 years, kept his company uniform on but added a pin listing the Patriots’ Super Bowl championships to the lapel of his classic red jacket.
“I was going to put the jersey on, but I had to keep my uniform on,” he said. “But I have my jersey just in case.”
When 5 p.m. arrived, the line finally started moving. The first 200 fans also went home with an autographed poster of Maye, and plenty of them tried to make the moment last longer than a handshake and a photo.
One invited Maye to his wedding in Topsfield in May 2028. Another asked about his rank in Rocket League, the video game Maye used to play for hours with his brothers.
A few fans handed him gifts. For some, the exchange was over in seconds, but the reaction said everything.
“Dude, that was [expletive] sick!” one fan yelled.
“Bro, he asked me how I was doing,” said his friend.
The scene even pulled in people who weren’t there strictly for the Patriots. Two tourists from Montreal stopped by because Maye is on one of their fantasy football teams. Two Bentley students, Paree Patel and Brooke Tiziak, also came out for Ann Michael’s meet-and-greet and arrived at 11:30 a.m. to start Patel’s 21st birthday celebration.
Maye seemed to enjoy the whole thing. When Andrews told him he had been there since 4 a.m., Maye responded, “Good god,” and when he met one of the few fans taller than him, he joked, “He’s trying to big dog me,”
He also had a little fun with a fan wearing a Celtics jacket over a Bruins jersey: “All that gear, and you got no Pats gear on,” he told him.
Maye’s appearance was tied to Connecticut-based Athletic Brewing, the non-alcoholic beer company where he holds an undisclosed amount of equity after becoming an athlete-owner in September alongside Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
“Athletic’s growth story and challenger mindset immediately stood out to me,” Maye said in a statement. “The company started with an idea that many people doubted, stayed committed to its vision, and built a nationally recognized brand through hard work and determination. Becoming an athlete-owner gives me an opportunity to learn from that journey and begin building my own understanding of business and entrepreneurship.”
Maye has also been open about how little he drinks. In an interview with Men’s Health earlier this year, he said he rarely has alcohol and estimated he drinks fewer than 10 times a year.
“Unless I’m on the beach and getting a piña colada, it’s not something I really enjoy,” he said. “Sure, I may have missed some of those nights with some teammates, or some college buddies. But at the end of the day, I think, you know, it wasn’t worth it for me.”
For at least one fan in Chelsea, that was all the more reason to wait it out.
“I wouldn’t stand in line for anybody else,” one said.
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