FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Moments after the New England Patriots grabbed the late fourth quarter lead in the A.F.C. Championship game on Sunday, a portable podium, like an apparition, suddenly emerged from the shadows of a tunnel beyond one of the end zones.
Five minutes earlier, when the Patriots were still behind and it felt like their dynasty was collapsing on itself, the podium was not visible. But then, Tom Brady’s poised passing led to yet another playoff comeback as the Patriots methodically squashed the Jacksonville Jaguars’ dreams of an upset.
And like magic, the podium, resembling a parade float, was wheeled into position on the field at Gillette Stadium for the Patriots to celebrate their eighth conference championship since 2001, the third in the last four years.