If you woke me, or for that matter any New England Patriots fan, up on January 19, 2002 and said this game you will watch tonight is the pivotal game in franchise history. This game will determine the next ten years of the franchise I, as well as those other fans, would have laughed in your face.
If you told me on that day that the kid running the offense and wearing #12 would become not only the “Greatest Patriot” but one of the greatest NFL players to ever wear a uniform, I would have laughed in your face.
If on that day in January you said the place kicker Adam Vinatieri would kick not one, but two, field goals in a driving snow storm. That those field goals would not only tie, but also win the game in overtime, and that he would become the greatest clutch kicker in NFL history I would have laughed in your face.
If you were to say to me that day would propel that team, that coach and those players into the territory of becoming a NFL Dynasty, I would have laughed in your face.
If you said that a little known rule on the NFL books would save that game, the season and push a team towards being the team of the decade, I would have laughed in your face.
That play in the snow in Foxboro pushed New England into the conference championship game were they beat Pittsburgh, 24-17, on the road and into the franchises third Super Bowl appearance.
I remember saying to friends on “Super Sunday” as the team prepared to take the field against the St. Louis Rams, “why is it when we make the Super Bowl we always seem to play the team of the year?”
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In the past the Patriots played the Chicago Bears and were embarrassed in Super Bowl XX and then the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI and had a tough game. Now standing before them were the Rams who had already won a Super Bowl two years earlier and were on the verge of being one the great teams in the NFL.
Their opponent, the New England Patriots, who as all the pundits thought, were there to be served up to slaughter as the Rams were awaiting coronation. Even St. Louis players in the pregame moments were all talking of dynasty and the “Greatest Show on Turf”.
But New England fans saw with their own eyes what a bunch of rag tag NFL players all pulling in one direction could accomplish. They beat the crap out of anything wearing a St. Louis uniform. Marshall Faulk, the games greatest all purpose running back at that time, was chipped, chucked and thrown to the grown. MVP QB Kurt Warner was abused anytime a New England defender was in reach getting hit, chipped and sacked.
After a tight affair it looked like we were going to have our first ever overtime Super Bowl game. In fact Hall of Fame coach John Madden, who was calling the game for Fox Sports, said if he were coaching he’d play for overtime and not risk a turnover.
But Patriots coach Bill Belichick, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and QB Tom Brady had different thoughts. After a stirring drive to get into field goal range Vinatieri kicked the winning field goal as time expired and the improbable had happened the New England Patriots were Super Bowl Champions.
In the next ten seasons Patriots fans would be a witness to history. Three Super Bowl titles in four appearances, the first team to go 16-0 in the regular season, Brady would win two NFL MVP awards, they would set records for points and every thing else in 2007. They overcame the ACL injury to Brady and continued to make the playoffs and this season they are appearing in their 6th conference championship game since the Tuck Rule game.
In those ten years we’ve seen a new stadium open, a new team Hall of Fame open, a new shopping center open and have experienced the loss of Myra Kraft, for whom this season is dedicated.
Since the Tuck Rule game the New England Patriots have become a NFL Dynasty, one of the greatest franchises in NFL history. They are now mentioned in the same breath as the Steelers, Bears, Cowboys, Niners and Packers. Teams in other sports come to see how they are run. Their employees are sought after for the leading jobs with other NFL and college teams. Their head coach is a sure fire Hall of Famer, as is the owner, the quarterback and a few others who have played in their Sunday football in Foxboro.
It has been an amazing ten years since the Tuck Rule game. I am truly afraid that I have been asleep all this time like Rip Van Winkle and that there is no Tom Brady or Bill Belichick or Adam Vinatieri. That the three Super Bowl titles don’t exist, nor does the stadium, the Hall or the Kraft family and that the great and amazing plays I have witnessed this past decade are all just a dream.
What ever you do though please don’t wake me up, I’m too busy laughing.
Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII
Photo credit: Getty Images
