What brings a crowd of 65,000 fans out to Gillette Stadium these days?
Not the Patriots, one of the National Football League’s worst teams in 2023. They averaged just over 63,000 during a miserable campaign.
Not the Revolution, one of Major League Soccer’s worst teams to start 2024. They averaged about 20,000 through their first four home games of the season.
Until recently, the answer to that question was probably Taylor Swift, who sold nearly 200,000 tickets over three nights of her “Eras” tour that rolled through Foxboro last spring.
But another global superstar proved their selling power Saturday night, and his presence almost single-handedly drew the biggest crowd the Revs have ever seen at Gillette for an MLS game.
That would be Lionel Messi, who led Inter Miami into town for a matchup before a record-setting 65,612 fans.
They weren’t there to see the hometown team, who entered the night in the basement of the Eastern Conference and second to last in MLS overall.
They came to see Messi, a once-in-a-lifetime player whose genius on the pitch since his debut with Barcelona in 2003 has made him a household name to even the most soccer-averse American sports fan.
Or, more accurately, they came to Foxboro in droves just for the possibility of seeing Messi in action, as the sub-par reputation of Gillette’s artificial turf has led some international soccer stars to skip the stadium entirely in the past.
The demand to see the Argentinian legend led the Revs to open up ticket sales for the third level of the stadium, which was filled to the brim (along with all the other seats) by the opening kickoff.
Nobody wanted to miss a minute of Messi.
Nosebleed tickets were selling for about $250 on game day. For comparison, you can get in the door for New England’s next home game, a Saturday night matchup against Philadelphia on May 18, for just $15.
With Messi questionable to play, the whole stadium breathed a sigh of relief and the buzz began to build when Miami announced their starting lineup an hour before the game.
Messi was in. The show was on.
When he led Inter out for warmups, the crowd responded with an ovation that surpassed the one the home team received a few minutes before.
They cheered again when he blasted his first warmup shot into the top right corner of the net from just outside the box.
They gasped when he used his typical slick footwork to set up his first shot on target of the night in the 29th minute, although it was stopped by Revs keeper Henrich Ravas.
And they all got what they came to see when Messi found the back of the net from close range after sliding in behind the defense for an easy finish in the 32nd minute.
“Messi did what he does, and he found a crack,” New England coach Caleb Porter said. “Our detail in that moment could have been better.”
It looked like an instant replay when Messi scored another easy goal in the 68th minute after a timely run and a perfect feed from Sergio Busquets, his longtime Barcelona teammate.
“Almost the exact same play,” Porter said.
The Revs were the only ones in the building who didn’t have eyes on Messi from the minute he walked onto the turf.
They provided some fireworks of their own with an exciting goal in the opening minute, courtesy of a Tomas Chancalay chip shot off a great feed from Carles Gil.
But Messi and Co., as one might expect, were simply too much for the Revs to handle as Inter pulled away for a 4-1 win.
Some fans hit the exits after Miami’s third goal sealed the deal with under 10 minutes to play, but more stayed to give Messi an ovation after he acknowledged the crowd during an injury stoppage in the 86th minute.
Chants of “Messi, Messi” rang through the stadium. It was a celebration of soccer’s biggest star, and maybe a sign of the potential for the sport to reach new heights in the New England market.
“(The atmosphere) was great… I know there were a lot of new fans that came to the game to watch the Revs, and Messi,” Porter added with a laugh. “Hopefully we have some new fans who will come back.”