Patriots owner Robert Kraft calls today’s sendoff rally a “very emotional experience”

It’s been an emotional year for Robert Kraft. The Patriots owner’s wife, Myra, died last summer, in the middle of the NFL lockout that Kraft helped resolve. Kraft has said numerous times that this season has helped him cope with his heartache. Kraft experienced another special moment this morning when 25,000 fans filled Gillette Stadium for a rally before the Patriots departed for Indianapolis. “At the stadium today was so special,” Kraft said at the team’s hotel in Indianapolis tonight. “To have 25,000 of our fans come to the stadium and cheer our team on and they were chanting my sweetheart’s initials as well, it was a very emotional experience, very special.” It wasn’t lost on Kraft, a longtime Patriots season ticket holder before he purchased the franchise, that 25,000 fans used to be the turnout for a game, not a pep rally. “I sat in those crowds,” Kraft said. “I sat in the stands for 34 years and we had one home playoff game in 1...