Massachusetts Grandmother, Japanese Man Form Unlikely Friendship Through Patriots

The New England Patriots are responsible for forming an unlikely friendship between a Massachusetts grandmother and a Japanese college student.

Leslie Prescott, is a wife, mom, and grandmother of 12. Yuto Uematsu, is a recent college graduate and engineer, who lives in Tokyo.

They have nothing in common, except their love of the Patriots.

In 2015, Uematsu flew to Boston to attend his first game. He wandered around the Gillette Stadium parking lot curious about what everyone was doing.

"In Japan, there is no culture to tailgate before a football game, so I wanted to watch, just watch the tailgate," said Uematsu.

Prescott, who was tailgating with her family, noticed the young man by himself and invited him to join in.

"I thought it was amazing that he flew over here by himself for the game. That’s why he came to the U.S. was for a Patriots game. I thought that’s amazing," said Prescott.

Uematsu said Prescott's family was so welcoming that he finally felt what he lacked in Japan -- friends to talk to about the Patriots.

The two remained friends through Facebook and when Uematsu saved up enough money to come back for his second game, even though Prescott and her family didn’t have tickets to the game, they invited him to stay with them.

The Patriots organization heard about Prescott's good deed and surprised her with a ticket when the two toured The Hall on Wednesday. Now Uematsu will get to experience another American tailgate Thursday before the season opener.

"We’re friends because of the Patriots. We met through a tailgate and it’ll be nice to send you back home with another tailgate" said Prescott.

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