If you have never been to Gillette Stadium, I highly recommend it. On Sept. 30 my journalism class had the opportunity to go there and interview Ray Ventrone of the New England Patriots for the show “Totally Patriots.”

It started with the bus ride. We were all so anxious to get there! Then we saw the welcoming stadium from afar and got very excited. We took a class picture near the pro shop and were met at the front of the stadium by Sam Chud, who organized our expedition.  He took us into the pro shop, where there was an endless supply of everything Patriots: clothing, calendars, couches, etc. It was wall-to-wall Patriots.

After what seemed like forever, we were brought to the set. We all took the rows of seats in front of the seat where Ray would sit and take our questions. We later met our awesome, enthusiastic host Kerri, who showed us the ropes and calmed our nerves a bit. Then the taping began.

There were two large cameras that seemed to follow your every move. Our player then came out. One by one we asked our questions. Learning a little bit about Ray and his career was really interesting.

After all of our cheering and the intensity of filming, we got an added bonus: Paul Carrol, Education and Tours Coordinator at Gillette, gave us the chance to look around at their museum. There was everything from the Super Bowl trophies to a place where you could try on the players’ equipment. They had an endless list of interesting facts and signed footballs and jerseys. Then, unfortunately, our trip was coming to an end. We loaded the bus and saw our amazing experience getting smaller and smaller as we drove off. This opportunity will hopefully lead to more opportunities to interact with the staff at Gillette Stadium. We showed everyone all the pictures we had taken that day that documented our trip. They may be able to remind us our trip, but they are nothing like the memories we will keep with us forever.