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The New England Patriots’ Super Bowl run has surprised much of the NFL. But perhaps the most telling reaction didn’t come from analysts, fans, or even opposing coaches.

It came from inside Drake Maye’s own family.

“Like everybody, I’m surprised they made the Super Bowl.”

That was the candid admission from Mark Maye, Drake’s father, after the Patriots punched their ticket to Super Bowl LX. It wasn’t said with disbelief or doubt—just honesty. The kind that slips out when success arrives faster than anyone expected.

For the Maye family, this isn’t just a championship game. It’s a logistical scramble unfolding in real time.

Ten months ago, Drake Maye was entering a new chapter with a retooled Patriots roster, a first-year head coach in Mike Vrabel, and an offense still finding its identity.

Optimism existed, but expectations were measured. Even Mark Maye admits that while he believed the team would be competitive, a Super Bowl appearance felt like a long shot.

Playoffs? Maybe.
The Super Bowl? That’s different.

Now, everything is happening at once.

The entire Maye family plans to attend the game in Santa Clara on February 8, but getting there hasn’t been simple. Drake’s oldest brother, Luke, currently lives in Japan, where he plays professional basketball. According to Mark, Luke is planning a whirlwind trip—flying from Japan to California, arriving Sunday morning, attending the Super Bowl, then turning around and flying back to Japan the very next day.

No buffer. No celebration tour. Just presence.

That detail alone captures the surreal pace of the moment.

Meanwhile, Mark and his wife Aimee, along with Drake’s other brothers, Cole and Beau, will arrive a few days early. Drake’s wife, Ann Michael Maye, will travel separately with other players’ wives, navigating a parallel Super Bowl universe filled with schedules, security, and ceremony.

It’s not chaos—but it’s close.

The Maye family is used to elite sports environments. Mark played football at North Carolina. All four sons were raised competing across football, basketball, and baseball. Cole won an NCAA championship in baseball at Florida. Beau played college basketball at UNC. Luke built a career overseas.

Still, this moment stands apart.

Super Bowls compress time. They erase planning windows. They turn “maybe someday” into “next Sunday.” For families, that shift can feel disorienting. Flights booked late. Schedules rewritten. Emotions held in check because there’s still a game to play.

And through it all, Drake Maye remains at the center—quietly preparing.

What makes Mark Maye’s comments resonate isn’t the surprise itself. It’s the humility. There’s no grand declaration. No sense of destiny. Just acknowledgment that what his son and the Patriots have accomplished is rare—and fragile.

“To make the Super Bowl? That’s pretty tough to do,” Mark said.

That understatement carries weight.

As the Patriots prepare to face the Seattle Seahawks, storylines will focus on injuries, schemes, and legacies. But somewhere beyond the lights and noise, a family is coordinating flights across continents, counting hours instead of days, trying not to miss something that came sooner than anyone imagined.

The Super Bowl didn’t just arrive for Drake Maye.

It arrived all at once—for everyone around him.

And in that quiet scramble lies the clearest reminder of how fast everything can change.