Wolves forward Patrick Brown attended the Bears game Sunday at Soldier Field with a group of teammates. Brown’s perspective on the game, though, was quite different than anybody else watching it.
Through his mother’s side of the family, Brown is a grandson of Wellington Mara, the late patriarch of the Giants.
“It’s part of my family, and we’re really proud of them,” Brown said.
Brown, who’s full name is Patrick Wellington Brown, doesn’t introduce himself as part of the Giants family. He’s an all-around hockey player who captained Charlotte to the Calder Cup title earlier this spring and now plays a key role for the Wolves, who hosted the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday night. At 27, Brown has appeared in 28 regular-season NHL games and wants his colleagues and opponents to know him as a hard-working hockey player, not a scion of a huge influential sports family.
But people tend to find out.
“It’s not the first thing I bring up,” Brown said, “but guys figure out over time.”
Wolves coach Rocky Thompson praised Brown for his character and honesty, saying those are reasons why he has been a team captain and leader. As for the Giants’ connection, Thompson only discovered it recently on the team bus when he heard Brown and Brandon Pirri talking about the connection.
“It’s a pretty cool thing that the family owns one of the most storied franchises in NFL history, which is pretty neat,” Thompson said. “I would’ve never known if I hadn’t overheard that conversation.”
Of course, there are advantages to Brown’s lineage.
When Brown was in high school, he went to Arizona to see the Giants upset the 18-0 Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Four years later, Brown was at Boston College and watched the Giants again knock off New England.
“All of my buddies at the time were Patriots fans and I got to watch the game with them in one of the seniors’ dorm rooms,” Brown recalled with a smile. “They were giving it to me the whole game and Eli [Manning] came through at the end for me and it was awesome.”
Brown said he has met Manning a few times, calling him an “incredible” man who’s got an “awesome” presence. Brown attended a few training camps as a kid and would help by gathering footballs. He said a lot of his older cousins were more involved with the team, while he would tag along and watch practice while “trying to stay out of the way.”
But playing tackle football wasn’t for Brown, whose father Doug appeared in 854 regular-season NHL contests. Though he did play some flag football and competed in soccer and lacrosse while spending summers playing tennis, golf, and swimming, hockey captured his attention.
“I was always playing hockey,” Brown said.
As for the Bears game, Brown wasn’t in a suite but in the stands enjoying the experience with teammates Tye McGinn, Gage Quinney, Curtis McKenzie and Jaycob Megna. They all wore team hats, but nothing else that screamed Giants.
“It was a great experience,” Brown said. “A really fun place to watch a game. The Bears fans were very passionate. We all had our Giants hats on and got a couple boos in the stands, but it was pretty fun.”
Note: The Wolves-Griffins game ended too late for this edition. Please go to www.suntimes.com for complete coverage.
