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Nov. 14--LAWRENCE -- Call it their 16 seconds of fame.
City firefighters Patrick Driscoll and Lt. Graeme Millar are featured in a new Dunkin' Donuts commercial that adeptly combines their love of coffee and well-known reputations as die-hard New England Patriots fans.
The duo, veteran firefighters and friends, are shown holding coffee cups and proclaiming their love for Dunkin's in the 16-second commercial break that's already aired during Pats and Boston Bruins games and recent episodes of the Simpsons on Fox 25.
"Every time it's on, I always get about 10 text messages and five phone calls," said Driscoll.
Last January, as Driscoll, 50, and Millar, 48, were steeped in pre-Pats tailgating before a home game against the Jets, a production crew approached them and asked them if they wanted to be in a Dunkin' Donuts commercial.
"We said, 'Gladly,'" Millar recalled.
Now, keep in mind, these two aren't just ordinary-looking Pats fans with team shirts and season tickets.
They wear old firefighting helmets repainted with the Patriots gray, blue and red colors. The front of the helmet is emblazoned with the words "Lawrence" and "GMT," the acronym for their group, "Graeme Millar's Tailgaters."
"The helmets were put of service by the Lawrence fire department many years ago. We redesigned them to show our pride of being a firefighter and also incorporate our love of the New England Patriots," Driscoll explained.
Both are asked to be in pictures with other Pats fans from both near and far and even posed with Patriots' owner Robert Kraft. Millar has been a Pats season ticket holder for 19 years and Driscoll for the past decade.
The two spent about 25 minutes last January with the camera crew, over and over again professing their love for Dunkin' Donuts coffee while Gillette Stadium served as the backdrop for each cut.
"I wouldn't drink anything else but Dunkin's," Driscoll says.
"Regular coffee until kick-off," Millar follows.
They signed some waivers and were told the commercial would run at some time in the near future.
Fast forward nine months and the two are in Florida, with other GMT members, readying for the Sept. 12 Pats game against the Miami Dolphins. Driscoll gets an e-mail that the commercial will soon be aired and runs downstairs to the hotel pool to share the news with his wife Pamela Driscoll, Millar and other tailgating friends.
Come the first week of October, Driscoll and Millar finally hit the big screen. The commercial can now run anytime through 2013.
While now recognized on television, don't expect either Driscoll or Millar to be swapping their civil service jobs for Screen Actors Guild memberships.
The two only receive a small royalty each every time the commercial airs. They were also each given a coupon for a free coffee that day the commercial was taped.
