Belichick

FOXBORO — Usually, when it comes to this space, we take a few minutes to introduce you to a member of the Patriots beyond his position and college background.

But in honor of the first regular-season game of 2008, this week we visited with several players to ask for their memories of their first game and their emotions , whether it was more than a decade ago or just a couple of Septembers ago. The answers, as you’d expect are varied.

What do you remember about your first regular-season game?

•Laurence Maroney, first game Sept. 10, 2006, vs. Buffalo — “I don’t even remember. My first NFL game was a preseason game (in Atlanta). I remember that. I thought it was a real game. It was my first NFL game ever, the first one I ever went to, so I was so excited for that.”

•Ellis Hobbs, first game Sept. 8, 2005, vs. Oakland — “My very first game? You know, I was just so tired and bored of going through the stuff leading to the game that I was almost just relieved that a real game was here. My emotions were so high anyway, just from rookie year, to camp to preseason, it was just ‘Thank goodness it’s here.’ It was more of a relief; finally we’re playing for something — playing for your paycheck, playing for the standings and all that stuff.”

•Kelley Washington, first game Sept. 7, 2003, Cincinnati vs. Denver — “I was brought up by my grandmother [Frances] and she passed away in ’99, and me making it to the NFL and her not being there to experience it and seeing me out there playing, it was just an emotional week leading up to the regular-season game. It was an emotional time for me. … I told her I was going to make it big one day and get a chance to play on TV, and it’s just unfortunate that she wasn’t there to see me make it to the NFL. It was just an emotional week; it’s still emotional, every game, as far as her not being here.” (Washington keeps a T-shirt hanging in his locker with Frances’ picture on it.)

•Jabar Gaffney, first game Sept. 8, 2002, Houston vs. Dallas — “That was a real exciting time for me, my first NFL game and the first game of the Houston Texans. It was all the buildup and we were playing the Cowboys. There was a lot of hype going on, from the fans, from the media. It made for a great atmosphere.”

•Tedy Bruschi, first game Sept. 1, 1996, at Miami — “My first regular-season game, the biggest difference I noticed was the week of preparation, how the veterans were sort of different than they were during the preseason. And also the intensity on game day and how it was different in terms of the previous games. I had Bruce Armstrong, Ben Coates, Keith Byars, Chris Slade here, and all of a sudden I could look at those veterans and say, ‘This is for real.’ … I think it was Jimmy Johnson’s first game as (Dolphins) head coach. I remember the heat there, I remember a good hit Zach Thomas put on Shawn Jefferson — he might have knocked him out on that play, the ball came out.”

Do you still get excited or nervous for season openers?

•Bill Belichick, first game Sept. 21, 1975, Baltimore Colts at Chicago — “Definitely. More so on Sunday, but every year I walk out on the field before the game and I think, ‘This will be a little better this year’ and it never is. I think everybody has (butterflies), and then the ball is kicked off, you start playing and you kind of settle into it. It’s good to get that first play over with and just get into the game. But the buildup, the anxiety and the butterflies … that’s the perfect word for it because that’s what they are (butterflies).”

•Gaffney — “Oh yeah, definitely. It’s always the start of the season, so you want to get off to a good start personally and as a team. You want to get that good rhythm going and hope that carries throughout the whole season.”

•Hobbs — “No question. I think if you don’t get excited your time’s up. I mean, even sometimes taking notes in (the meeting room), your palms get a little sweaty, get a little lump in your throat, you just know that it’s here and it’s go-time now. It’s not like it used to be in the sense of you know how to control that and you know what to expect, but you still get excited because it’s here.”

smanza@projo.com