Monday, February 2nd, 2026 | Edition 05
GOOD MORNING, WARWICK. Happy Super Bowl week! Start looking for your lucky Super Bowl socks, those pants with the forgiving waistband, and some cold hard cash to bet on how many times your father asks “Who the hell is this Bad Bunny guy?” (over/under is officially set at 3.5 in our house and we’re taking the over!). The Pats have landed in San Fran, the General Tso’s chicken bites are stocked on the shelves, and your entire backyard is serving as the beer cooler. No better time than the present... to call in 'sick' Monday and blame the guac-coma.
Here's what's goin’ on in the wiggidy-wack.
Super Bowl Week is Here
🏈 The Pats are SO Back
The New England Patriots took off from Warwick’s TF Green Airport Sunday en route to their 12th Super Bowl appearance, this time in Santa Clara, CA
If you had "Patriots in the Super Bowl" on your 2025 bingo card, congratulations — you're either a psychic or a liar. After back-to-back 4-13 seasons, the Pats are heading to Santa Clara to face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8th (6:30 pm, NBC).
The turnaround is historic. Mike Vrabel came home as head coach and delivered a 14-3 record — a 10-win improvement that ties the best single-season turnaround in NFL history. The Patriots are the first team ever to reach the Super Bowl with a first-year coach after winning four or fewer games the prior season. Still not as impressive as successfully navigating the Apponaug rotaries on a Friday at 5pm though.
👋Super Bowl Salutations
One die-hard Pats fan off West Shore Road turned last weekend’s blizzard bounty into a frozen masterpiece: A massive snow sculpture spelling "G-O-P-A-T-S" in bold, frosty glory. The kicker? Their house sits smack in the Patriots' team plane takeoff path from TF Green Airport—talk about prime real estate for aerial fandom. If you missed the Gillette Stadium send-off party yesterday, hopefully you crashed this homeowner's impromptu tailgate to wave, scream, and wish the team luck from ground zero. With Drake Maye topping the league in pass completion percentage this year, his eagle eyes probably spotted it from seat 1A on his ascent.
The view from West Shore Road of the “Go Pats” snow sculpture
💰 America's About to Bet $1.76 Billion on One Game
The American Gaming Association projects a record $1.76 billion in legal Super Bowl bets this year — up 27% from last year. The biggest single wager so far? A Houston furniture salesman who put $2 million on the Patriots. They call him “Mattress Mack” and this isn’t the first time he’s placed a king-sized bet on a sports championship game - he won a whopping $75 million in 2022 when he correctly selected the Houston Astros to win the World Series. That’s enough coin to buy every pothole in Warwick its own personal repair crew and still have money left over for two or three weiners “all the way” from the Wein-O-Rama… sorry but the dogs at Cosmic and Timmy’s just don’t hit the same…
Prop bets might be more fun than the game itself — coin toss, anthem length, Gatorade color, first touchdown scorer. More money is now bet on props than on the actual outcome. Here in RI, standard betting is only legal through Sportsbook Rhode Island. No FanDuel. No DraftKings. Just a glitchy app and a brutal sign-up process that requires an in-person trip to the casino. Here’s a safe bet: the odds are 10-to-1 you leave Bally’s Twin River smelling like ciggies and mild desperation.
By the Numbers: Super Bowl Sunday is the second-biggest eating day of the year. Americans will consume 1.25 billion wings, 139 million pounds of avocados, and 11.2 million pounds of chips. Antacid sales spike 20% the next day. 6% of workers call in sick Monday. Plan your excuse now.
Reminder: Hurry up and place your Super Bowl catering order before it’s too late! Support your community market and order through Dave’s Marketplace catering for the big game today!
What else is Going on?
Chaos on East Avenue
If you’ve driven down Route 2 on a Saturday afternoon before, you know how painful it can be. Red lights galore, accidents about, and drivers glued to their “For You” page instead of the road. The past two years have been especially frustrating for anyone commuting on East Avenue, where RIDOT has been stationed for the Warwick Corridor Bridge 97 construction project. When it’s finally complete, the project will bring a reconfigured bridge corridor over I-95, new paving, sidewalk upgrades, and a host of safety improvements.
Traffic backed up on Saturday afternoon due to a rollover crash alongside the I-95 South bound entry ramp
The bridge, located a few tenths of a mile east of the CCRI Knight Campus carries nearly 33,000 vehicles each day. These days, the bridge is confined to just one lane in either direction, multiple closed or augmented exit/entry ramps, and a confusing hodgepodge of cones and signs.
On Saturday, the confusing setup appeared to contribute to another unfortunate accident, leaving a vehicle flipped upside down near the I-95 southbound exit ramp. There have been no reports on the condition of the driver, but one thing is clear: Route 113’s facelift can’t come soon enough.
Warwick Home Set Ablaze
A house near Oakland Beach caught fire Saturday night and basically ate itself — the second floor collapsed into the first, and the first floor dropped into the basement. Flames were shooting out of every window when firefighters arrived. They fought it entirely from outside. Nobody was home, no injuries, but six people are now displaced. Cause still under investigation. Yikes. Prayers in the chat.
Final Reminder: School Bond Vote Tomorrow (Feb 3rd)
Warwick holds a special election Tuesday on a $50 million additional bond for the new Pilgrim and Toll Gate high schools. The original $350M bond passed in 2022, but construction costs have ballooned. Best case: $13M over budget. Worst case: $23M. If voters reject it, the schools get built but the athletic fields don't. Mayor Picozzi says leftover funds could go toward recreational facilities like Mickey Stevens. Some taxpayers are pushing back hard. Now is your chance to have your voice heard — not voting in a local election is like skipping leg day — you think nobody notices, but everyone can tell. For more information on the special election, click here.
The vision of the new and improved Toll Gate high school - construction is currently in motion
QUICK HITS
☃️The Bitter Cold Continues: The bitter cold is squatting in Warwick like a freeloading cousin who "just needs a few more days"—temps glued just under freezing all week, turning us into human popsicles. Check out this week’s freezing forecast here. Upside? That pesky ice/snow tumor lodged in your tire? It will be there for you every morning to kick with pure childlike satisfaction. Don’t lie, you love doing that too.
💥Rollover Crash on Airport Rd: Warwick Police are investigating an accident that ended with a car flipped upside down on Airport Rd Friday night. WPD is investigating whether the accident was caused by DUI.
🦫Groundhog Day! Today, Punxsutawney Phil — a groundhog who has somehow held the same job since 1887 — will tell us what we already know: it's cold and it's going to stay cold. Phil has a career accuracy rate of about 40%, which honestly still makes him more reliable than most weather apps and the majority of sports bettors. Tune into the live stream here to find out our fate.
That's it for today. Got a tip, a Super Bowl prop bet “lock”, or just want to complain about your husband’s inability to respond to “honey” the first time you call for him? Hit reply. See you Friday.
Stay warm, Warwick ☕
The Warwick Wake Up | Keeping Warwick in the know in 10 minutes or less.
This newsletter is and always will be free. Interested in advertising? Reply to this email. [email protected]