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/>Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhitePats Pulpita New England Patriots communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpPatriots NewsOpinion and AnalysisContribute!About the SiteTopicsPatriotsOddsShopStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementFiled underatriots First ReadPatriots players and coaches reveal what their 2018 Super Bowl rings mean to themNew Womens Dont'a Hightower Jersey ,3commentsRelated: Watch the Patriots players react to receiving the biggest Super Bowl rings everEDTShareTweetShareSharePatriots players and coaches reveal what their 2018 Super Bowl rings mean to themMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsEarlier this month, the New England Patriots officially closed the book on the 2018 season: at a party at team owner Robert Kraft’s home, the club handed out the championship rings earned for beating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl 53. The rings are the biggest that have ever been created for such a purpose, but their actual value goes far beyond the 422 diamonds they have been made out of.“When I look at the ring, I think about the people that made this possible — starting with the guys in that locker room. I truly felt like we had a brotherhood,” team captain and special teams ace Matthew Slater told patriots.com at the ceremony when speaking about the ring’s meaning to him. “This ring is a testament to the character of the men in that locker room over the 2018 season. When I look at this ring, that’s what I think of.”Slater is not the only man on the club to see the ring as representation of the squad that were the 2018 Patriots — a team that had to face its fair share of doubters on the way to capturing the franchise’s sixth Vince Lombardi trophy. “This is just a culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work done by an incredible group of people,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels pointed out.“Each ring is special because it’s that team’s ring,” continued New England’s offensive signal caller, who has been a part of all six championships brought back to the Northeast by the Patriots. McDaniels also went on to speak about the mystique of the Patriots organization and what the underlying foundation of its success is: “People oftentimes wonder what the magic and the mystery is of our organization, and it’s just the people we had.”Fellow offensive assistant Dante Scarnecchia, who won five Super Bowls as the Patriots’ offensive line coach, sees the ring as more of a manifestation of memories collected over the course of what was almost a year towards ultimately (re)capturing the title. “It’s not so much the ring for me — it’s the memories that you keep drawing back on through out the season,” said the 71-year-old, who is back in his role for 2019.The memories Scarnecchia spoke of are of course not just tied to the games themselves, but also to everything that led up to them — the countless hours of preparation from spring to early February to get to that final hill to climb. “You just go back to the time of all the practices that you put in, all the hard work. You think about the brotherhood, the bond you built with the guys on the team,” said 2018 rookie running back Sony Michel.Michel, who scored the lone touchdown of Super Bowl 53 when he found the end zone from two yards out in the fourth quarter, was not the only first-year Patriot to call himself a champion at the conclusion of the season. Danny Shelton, for example, was also new on the team: New England acquired him via trade from the Cleveland Browns in the offseason to play a rotational role along the Patriots’ interior defensive line.“Coming from an 0-16 season with the Browns the year before, and making it to the Super Bowl and winning one of these... I can say that I earned it with my guys,” said the former first-round draft pick http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-jonathan-jones-jersey , who was re-signed by New England earlier this offseason. Shelton was not the only ex-Brown on the Patriots’ 2018 roster, though, as one of his former teammates also went the literal worst-to-first route from Cleveland to the Super Bowl.“Just a great feeling, and it means the world when you talk about career,” said cornerback Jason McCourty. One of four defenders to play all 65 snaps in the title game, the veteran earned his first Super Bowl ring — an accomplishment made even more special by the fact that he did so alongside his twin brother: Devin McCourty, who obviously already owned two championship rings entering the 2018 campaign.Also earning his first Super Bowl ring was fellow starting defensive back Stephon Gilmore, who like the McCourtys did not leave the field even once against the Rams. The soft-spoken cornerback, who was arguably the NFL’s best in 2018 and made the game-clinching interception against Los Angeles, spoke about his feelings heading into the celebration event: “I couldn’t wait to see the ring, and the ring is more than what I expected,” Gilmore said. “It’s a great feeling to be a Super Bowl champ.”“It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was a little boy to have a Super Bowl ring and to help a team win a Super Bowl. It really is a dream come true,” added defensive lineman John Simon. Like the aforementioned Sony Michel, Danny Shelton and Jason McCourty, Simon also earned a ring in his first season with the Patriots — and like all three of them, he will get a chance to add to his collection this upcoming season.The same also holds true for one of the most experienced players on New England’s roster — but one that was not with the team when it won its previous Super Bowls: Brian Hoyer left the Patriots in 2012 only to return in 2017, capping his time away with two title-game losses. In his third try, however, the 33-year-old finally earned his first championship and the ring that is the mark of a winner in the NFL.“I look at this and everything in my career, the ups and downs, it’s all worth it,” said Hoyer, who also spent time with six teams before re-joining the Patriots midway through the 2017 season. “It took me ten years to get this ring, and I told those other guys: if my first one is the biggest one, I’ll be happy.” Matthew Slater is more than halfway to his father’s longevity as an NFL player. He doesn’t plan to equal it.The star special teamer of the New England Patriots just completed his 11th pro season Rex Burkhead Jersey , and he’s at his fifth Super Bowl, with two wins. In his dad Jackie’s 20-season NFL career, he made one Super Bowl — coincidentally, with the Rams in 1980 — and lost to Pittsburgh.“That’s a long time to do anything,” Matthew Slater said Tuesday. As for the New England kick coverage ace lasting so long, he added with a laugh: “Absolutely not.”Of course, when your team becomes a regular visitor to the Super Bowl, it lengthens the season by more than a month. No one in the NFL would want to pass on that, but in reality Slater has played nearly 12 seasons, making All-Pro in 2016 and being voted to seven Pro Bowls.Not bad for someone whose Hall of Fame father didn’t necessarily want Matthew to play football.“He felt that way for two reasons,” Matthew Slater says. “First, he didn’t want me to feel the pressure of living up to his name. He thought the expectations could be unfair.“He also wanted me to avoid injury. He knew the toll it takes on you physically.”Matthew and his brother played plenty of sports, and guess who usually was the coach. Yep, Jackie.“Sports have always been a big part of my life and have so many life lessons from being on a team, and the disciplines of preparing to compete and how you compete, and having teammates around you. I thought they were good lessons to learn,” Jackie Slater said.“I discouraged them to play football. I didn’t think (Matthew) would be big enough to play football. I coached in basketball, soccer, track and field, even some flag football. I didn’t see football as something that he would excel. But when he played flag, he had good speed and he caught the ball and ran well.”Matthew kept improving at Servite High School and grew, though not to Jackie’s offensive tackle measurements. Because Jackie was unfamiliar with the kind of skills his son possessed, he turned to teammates Ron Brown — a 1984 Olympic champion speedster, who played wideout and returned kicks — and outstanding cornerback LeRoy Irvin. Brown refined Matthew’s technique and speed, and Irvin worked with him on back-pedaling and breaks for receivers.“Things I was not familiar with Womens Donald Trump Jersey ,” says Jackie, who recalled watching Matthew leave everyone behind in a 100-meter race, only to have Brown say “he did everything wrong.“I knew I needed to get out of the way.”Not really. Matthew, now 33, credits pretty much everything he has achieved in football to his father, who entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.“He made every effort to be present,” the son says. “That’s what I appreciate the most: He was a father first. So many young kids … many black kids … I see they don’t have a presence like that.“Anytime I have success, certainly my dad is sharing in it. It all goes back to my dad; I wouldn’t be playing this game without him. It’s pretty unique, a son being able to do something his dad did. We are enjoying this ride together.”For sure. But on Sunday, well, Jackie admits to being a bit torn when the Rams — his team — take on the Patriots — Matthew’s team.You see, Jackie Slater still has plenty of millennium blue and new century gold running through his veins.“This is a win-win situation for me,” the elder Slater notes. “If my son loses, it’s not as if he hasn’t experienced the thrill of victory in a Super Bowl, something I never did. And if he loses, it hurts, but he has a great attitude about it. It helps me live with the defeats he has.“If the Rams win, I will be happy because I have been pulling for this team for more than 40 years. My first hero in the game was Tom Mack, who I actually played with for three years.“You know, he has an unbelievable opportunity to experience things I never did. I don’t know what it is like to win the Super Bowl beyond the joy my son had when he won on two occasions. That’s almost as good as me winning, I felt.”