Thuney family enjoys another Super Bowl win
Is going to the Super Bowl getting old yet for the Thuney family?
Hardly.
Of course winning makes it even better — even if the real world calls too soon. Mike Thuney was back at work Tuesday in Kettering, where he is a family physician, less than 48 hours after watching his son, Joe, help pave the way for the New England Patriots’ 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
The Super Bowl LIII win makes two in three years for the guard from Alter High School, who became the first player to start three Super Bowls in his first three seasons in the league. This time he played a central role by helping to keep talented Rams tackles Aaron Donald and Ndamokung Suh bottled up most of the night. Thuney, 26, has started every game in his career since being drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the 2016 draft from North Carolina State.
“He felt like he did his job,” Mike Thuney said of his son’s impression of his performance. “Watching the game, obviously Los Angeles’ scheme was I think designed to take away our running attack and we still ran for over 150 yards.”
If the elder Thuney was still a little road weary from a trip to Atlanta, he certainly had no complaints.
“It was exciting, you know? Coming away with two Super Bowl wins in the last three years is pretty cool,” he said. “We drove back and forth to Atlanta so we had a chance to listen to talk radio and sort of re-evaluate the game. Yeah, it was sort of mind-blowing. It was awesome.”
His wife, Beth, son Eric and daughter Monica joined Joe on the field celebrating when it was all over.
“They just had a great time,” Mike Thuney said. “The confetti was flying and just tears of joy at that point to be done with everything and taking it all in, absorbing the camaraderie and intensity. It’s almost too much to explain.”
He described his son as satisfied with his role in holding Donald, the NFL defensive player of the year, and Suh to a combined seven tackles (two solos) and two quarterback hits.
“Joseph was very happy after the game,” Mike Thuney said. “He didn’t talk specifics, but I think he felt like he did his job and the whole O-line did a nice job. “He just was glad to be done. Of course after every game he’s a little bit beat up, but he was just excited to go enjoy the festivities and the Super Bowl party.”
They all took in the postgame party, where the performers included Old Dominion, Snoop Dogg and the Chainsmokers. “(Patriots owner Bob) Kraft does a great job,” Mike Thuney said. “They had all the food and drink you could want, a nice cigar bar. It was just tons of space and thousands of people. This was the busiest postgame party I’ve ever been to.
“It was just great fun.”