My sister, Nicole, is a huge New England P

My sister, Nicole, is a huge New England Patriots fan, especially of quarterback Tom Brady.

So what do I do when I take a vacation this past weekend? I go to a New England Patriots game.

She’s never been to a Patriots game before, but don’t feel bad for her — that’s where her Christmas present is coming from. But for me — being my first NFL game — it’s an experience I won’t soon forget.

I went out to the east coast for a five-day weekend to visit a good friend from college who lives in Rhode Island. I’ve been out there once before, but never for a sporting event.

It’s a great little place out there — lots of restaurants and shopping all around the stadium in an area known as Patriot Place. It’s no shock to see why people like going there — it was the 166th straight sellout. And like Iowa, the weather was great for November with temperatures surging to around 70 degrees.

After it snowed in the northeast a few weeks ago when the Patriots played the Tennessee Titans, I was slightly worried for this game. But it all worked out in the end.

It was a pricy venture, but it was well worth the $170 for a ticket and $40 for parking. Yeah, $40 for parking — everything is obviously more expensive when you get to the larger markets like Foxboro, Mass.

I’ve become somewhat pampered being a media person — press passes to college games, parking and press box meals all for no charge.

I guess I’m not the kind of person who wants to sit in the nose-bleed section for a game — done it before — but I didn’t do it on Sunday.

When the Patriots played the Miami Dolphins, my friend and I were just 14 seats up from the sidelines. It’s a little further away than I’m used to, but it was a great location to watch a game.

It made for a long day — leaving at 9 a.m. and getting back at about 7:30 p.m.

But the game proved to be very telling for the AFC East race — Miami came into the game with a 3-0 divisional mark, so a Dolphin win would loom large if tiebreakers came into effect down the road for the title. Both teams showed signs of looking good — New England with its passing game and the Dolphins putting together solid drives and taking lots of time off the clock.