Super Bowl XXXIX Preview
Fifteen to twenty years from now, some Hollywood writer is going to strike it rich creating a movie based on the New England Patriots. It will have the emotion of "Rudy", the national pride of "Miracle, the high jinx of "Major League", and an underdog story that could go head to head with "Rocky" any day. And the crazy part about it all is that it will be 100% true. On February 6th, the New England Patriots will have the opportunity to create the perfect story book ending to the most miraculous four seasons in sports history. No words could possibly begin to describe the incredible rollercoaster ride that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have taken us on. But that's precisely what I would like to do now, as the team's third Super Bowl appearance in four years approaches.
The story of the New England Patriots really begins on September 11th, 2001. As Patriots fans mourned the tragic loss of life, they were also forced to mourn for quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who had sustained a life threatening injury in a loss to the Jets just days after the attack. Coming off an 0-2 start, Bledsoe's replacement, Tom Brady prepared to lead the team against the Colts who had absolutely smoked their previous two opponents. To the shock of the entire world, Brady upset Peyton Manning's team. Talk about a sign of things to come...
The Patriots struggled, but climbed to over .500, only to face the "Greatest Show on Turf" in a Sunday night game. I told several friends that beating the Rams would be like winning the Super Bowl. (How's that for irony!) The Pats lost, but Mike Martz saw their potential telling the media that the New England was a Super Bowl caliber team. The Patriots would not lose again that season.
At 11-5, the Patriots clinched a bye-week, and met the Raiders in the divisional round. The game would be the final one played in Foxboro Stadium, and it would play out in the middle of a blizzard. The "tuck rule" and Adam Vinatieri's two field goals will go down in NFL history. The AFC Championship was played in Heinz field, against an overly confident Steelers team who were already making plans to go to New Orleans. Bill Belichick's defensive scheme knocked the wheels off "The Bus" and left Kordell Stewart's head spinning. The underdogs shocked the world again, and would head into the Super Bowl playing that role stronger than ever as they were on the receiving end of a 14 point spread against St. Louis.
I knew the Patriots could win the game. I just wasn't expecting it. I had experienced a Super Bowl with this team, in this stadium before, and the memory was all too clear. I was happy they made it that far, and I would have been content simply watching them play on the world's biggest stage. The Patriots were not content. They hit the Rams hard, and then hit them again harder, running up the score to a 14 point lead. The Rams fought back, and in what was perhaps the most frightening moment in my entire sports life, they tied the game with under two minutes to go. The Patriots drive into field goal range has to go down as one of the most clutch performances in NFL History. Adam Vinatieri's kick as the clock wound down might be one of the few things to rival it. In a season where America was hurting, a team named the Patriots came through and healed us all for a few hours that night.
Expectations were high, and the number of doubters were even higher as the Patriots began their defense of the title. The off-season was highlighted by Bill Belichick made a questionable decision, trading Drew Bledsoe within the division. But the loss of the most popular player in franchise history didn't stop the Pats. They thundered out of the gate, going 3-0 including a win over Pittsburgh. Then things began to head south...quickly. Tom Brady learned the hard way that women will bring a star crashing down to earth in a heartbeat. I still blame his fling with Tara Reid for the four game losing streak that followed a great start. The pressure mounted, and the team tried its best to respond. As part two of this movie series, the 2002 season would be the one where the champion struggles to define himself in the midst of success. Everybody wanted a piece of the Patriots, mostly for all the wrong reasons, and they tore the team apart. Week 17 gave the Patriots one final shot at the playoffs. A victory over the Dolphins, and a Jets loss to Green Bay would earn them a trip to the post-season. The Patriots made an 11 point comeback with four minutes to play to send the game into overtime. For the second consecutive year, the season ended on a game winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri. The excitement from that victory would be short lived as the Jets blew out the Packers hours later. Even in defeat, the Patriots still managed to be dramatic.
Bill Belichick certainly doesn't mind getting rid of big names in the off-season. The Patriots 2003 season began with the mastermind cutting team captain, Lawyer Milloy just days before the start. He was immediately picked up by the Bills, who happened to be the Patriots' first opponent of the year. A 31-0 drubbing by their two former stars left the Patriots shell-shocked and looking for direction. A mediocre 2-2 start, coupled with a mile long list of injured players, left fans thinking that their hopes of capturing another title this season were going to fall short. But the Patriots didn't know how to quit. They played some of the best defense that this league has ever seen on the way to a 12 game regular season winning streak. I won't go into too much detail, but "80 yard touchdown pass in OT", "intentional safety", and "1st and Goal on the 2 yard line" should bring back some memories of an incredible stretch of games.
The reward for those great performances? Back to back playoff match ups with the NFL Co-MVP's Steve McNair and Peyton Manning. You can't make this stuff up! Both games were played in terrible conditions, just not as terrible as the condition that the Patriots left their opponents in. The Patriots went on to Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston to face... themselves. Ok, so it was really the Carolina Panthers. But the similarities between that Panthers team and the 2001 Patriots was eerie. Both had come out of nowhere. Both had a former assistant who had blossomed into a genius coach. Both had a QB with little experience, but lots of guts. And both had gotten no respect coming into their Super Bowl matchup. What ensued was, in my opinion, the greatest game in NFL history. A 32-29 Patriots victory where anything could happen, and pretty much everything did. There was defense in the first half, followed by a nipple and a streaker, followed by an explosive second half, and capped off by, yes, again, a game winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri.
By winning two out of the last three Super Bowls, the Patriots had been proclaimed by many to be a modern day dynasty. For myself, that title would only hold true if the Patriots managed to match the Dallas Cowboys' record of three titles in four years. Growing up, my sister was a Cowboys fan. I watched her team accomplish what I could only dream of, as my team lingered in the cellar. I hated it. To think that my team could actually match that feat with one more win, blows my mind. The fact that someday a person will be saying, "My sister was a Patriots fan when I was growing up, and it drove me nuts!", seems impossible knowing where this team started out. Nobody saw this coming when Tom Brady took that first snap against the Colts in 2001. But everyone saw the Patriots coming as a title contender when the 2004 season began.
The Patriots 15 game winning streak was on the line in the season opener against the Colts. The streak moved to 16 when kicker Mike Vanderjerk missed a field goal that would've sent the game into overtime. Five wins in a row would move the streak to an unprecidented 21 games, when the Pats caught the injury bug once again. Corey Dillion and Deion Branch were both inactive for the Halloween day game against Pittsburgh. Remove two defensive linemen from the equation, and then subtract Ty Law early in the game, and you've got a formula for taking down the Patriots. The Steelers steamrolled New England for a victory that would ultimately determine the site for the AFC Championship. The Patriots dealt with injury in the most unlikely fashion possible - by having your offense play defense, and your defense play offense. Suddenly Mike Vrabel's TD catch in Super Bowl XXXVIII didn't seem like such a gimmick. Troy Brown played lock down defense throughout the season, and Richard Seymour occasionally took on the role of lead blocker during short yardage situations. The Patriots finished at 14-2 for the second consecutive year and earned a first-round bye.
Peyton Manning and the Colts had the league's best offense. Manning had set the single season record for touchdown throws, and was assumed by many to absolutely destroy the Patriots' patch-work secondary. The Patriots responded by holding the Colts to 3 points on the day. Rodney Harrison summed it up best - "We weren't supposed to do this! We're just a bunch of replacements!" The replacements headed next to the place where their winning streak died to face a team on a 15 game streak of their own and an undefeated QB. Tom Brady's dismal performance in Week 8 was quickly forgotten as he played what was perhaps the best game of his career in a 41 point performance against the league's best defense.
Which brings the Patriots to where they are now. One game. One opponent. One date with Dynasty. They also face perhaps their toughest challenge in their last three Super Bowls, the Philadelphia Eagles. Unlike the Rams, this team is well coached. Unlike the Panthers, this team has proven that they're a force to be reckoned with. Over the past four seasons, the only team that deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as the Patriots are these Eagles. They have been to four consecutive NFC Championships, and they are hungry for a title after finally winning one. They have the toughest quarterback in the league. They have the league's most outrageous star. And they have millions of crazed fans backing them up. If Apollo was the Rams and Clubber Lang was the Panthers, the Eagles are Drago. They're ready to break the Patriots.
I hate the Yankees, cause I like the Orioles. I hate the Lakers and Nuggets because I like the Timberwolves. I hate the Eagles because I hate the Eagles. Add that hatred to the already enormous stakes, and February 6th becomes the biggest day in my life as a sports fan. I know I've already received enough from this team to last a lifetime. But I'm asking for just one more win. With Charlie and Romeo skipping town the day after Jacksonville, who's to say if we'll ever be in this situation again. You don't get many chances to make history.
The past four years have been like living a movie. When I first walked into the theatre in 2001, I couldn't have expected the incredible ride that this team would take me on. There's been twists and bumps, and far more highs than lows. And I can't think of a better way to end it than with another game winning kick by Adam Vinatieri. But no matter how the season comes to a finish, I'd just like to say thank you to the New England Patriots. It's been a story that I'll never forget.
