A local man won a trip to the Super Bowl.
By Kalle Oakes
Sports Editor

For most of us, Super Bowl preparation is as easy as making a shopping list.

Wings with mild sauce, hot sauce and are-you-kidding sauce? Check.

Chips and salsa? Check.

Ice and every domestic and imported beverage known to mankind? Check.

Put yourself in Stan Dumont’s sneakers, however, or maybe get away with hiding out in his luggage if you’re lucky, and Super Bowl XXXVIII takes on a thoroughly different flavor.

This guy’s checklist involves tucking three days worth of clothing, every piece of New England Patriots paraphernalia he owns and perhaps a camera.

Dumont, who would be known for the remainder of this column as Luckiest Dude Living or Working in Lewiston-Auburn if it wouldn’t take up so much space, left town Friday.

He’ll stay in a top-notch hotel, visit all the National Football League-sanctioned attractions, probably sample some of Houston’s nightlife, attend the Patriots-Panthers game and fly home the next day.

Four days, three nights, and none of it will cost him a dime.

Partial credit for that goes to the Second-Luckiest Dude Living or Working in Lewiston-Auburn. He answers to Dan Cunliffe II and manages Republic Jewelry & Collectibles.

Cunliffe’s store, located on Center Street in Auburn, seems to routinely win contests that send one or more of its customers to major sporting events. Cunliffe himself won a trip to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game two summers ago.

Dumont, a resident of Greene, won the latest NFL-promoted contest last January. His part of the equation was to answer eight Super Bowl trivia questions. Nobody’s saying how Dumont fared on the exam, although answering the questions correctly wasn’t a requirement.

From there, Republic was chosen in a lottery as a “lucky store” among all the shops participating in the promotion. Cunliffe then drew Dumont’s name from among the entry blanks at the store.

“I think there are only one of only one or two people in the country who won the contest,” Dumont said.

Quite an honor for such a small amount of competition.

“We didn’t really do anything to promote it in the newspaper or to anyone other than our regular customers,” Cunliffe said. “Stan’s odds were pretty good.”

Winning so far in advance certainly enhanced the entertainment value of this year’s NFL season.

Excited about the trip even it meant seeing another Oakland-Tampa Bay matchup (remember when that was considered even a remote possibility?), Dumont pulled harder for the Patriots to win the AFC East, then knock off Tennessee and Indianapolis than anyone you know.

“I’m a true fan. I was a fan all the years they were losing,” Dumont said. “I’m pretty excited.”

Pretty excited? OK, Dumont is an understated guy.

And in spite of his Super Fan status, Dumont considers going to any Patriots game a luxury. We’re not talking about a season-ticket holder or one of those guys who goes shirtless and buys every can of red, blue and silver paint at the local hardware store before driving to Foxboro four or five times a year.

“He told me he’s been to one other game in his life, and they won. So he has a perfect record,” Cunliffe said.

Having the Patriots in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years is an equally winning proposition for Cunliffe. The main display case visitors see when entering his store is loaded with special, limited-edition Patriots gear. He’ll move much of it this week and plenty more after the game, whether or not the Patriots win.

Dumont, whose tickets include a guest, took his girlfriend. He also packed one piece of memorabilia from Republic.

“We have some coins just like the one they flip before the game,” Cunliffe said. “The NFL makes a certain number of replicas and sells them, so we bought a few. Stan picked up one of those, and I think he’s taking it with him.”

Good-luck charm? Check.

Kalle Oakes is sports editor and can be reached by e-mail at koakes@sunjournal.com.

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