February 3, 2002: Super Bowl XXXVI is played at the Superdome in New Orleans. Remember when the New England Patriots were considered plucky underdogs, and their opponents were arrogant swellheads? Never again.
The Patriots were founded as the Boston Patriots in 1960, with the American Football League. In 1963, they won the AFL Eastern Division title, but got clobbered by the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship Game. They bounced around from stadium to stadium, playing at Boston University's Nickerson Field, Boston College's Alumni Stadium, Harvard Stadium and Fenway Park.
In 1971, their 2nd season after the NFL merged with the AFL, they moved to suburban Foxborough, Massachusetts, a little closer to downtown Providence, Rhode Island than to downtown Boston. To tap into a regional identity -- something the Red Sox, the Celtics and the Bruins never found it necessary to do -- they changed their name to the New England Patriots.
In 1976, after 9 seasons seasons finishing .500 or less, they went 11-3, and won the AFC's Wild Card Playoff berth. But they lost the Divisional Playoff to the Oakland Raiders, in controversial fashion. In 1978, they won the AFC East, but lost the Divisional Playoff to the Houston Oilers. In 1982, they made the Playoffs, but lost to the Miami Dolphins in the 1st Round.
In the 1985 season, they did something no other NFL team had done: They won 3 Playoff games on the road to advance to the Super Bowl. (Only 1 team has done it since: The 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers.) They beat the New York Jets at the Meadowlands, the now-moved Raiders at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl. But they got slaughtered by the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX.
After a Division title and a Divisional Playoff loss to the Denver Broncos in the 1986 season, the Pats collapsed, falling into mediocrity on the field and disgrace off it. New ownership hired Bill Parcells to rebuild the team. He got them into the Playoffs in 1994, losing to the Cleveland Browns. In 1996, he got them to an AFC East title, and into Super Bowl XXXI, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers. This was followed by another Division title in 1997, and another Playoff berth in 1998.
In 2000, Bill Belichick was named head coach. He had been Parcells' defensive coordinator with the Patriots, and with both New York teams, the Giants and the Jets. But as a head coach, he had already failed with the Browns. But in just his 2nd season at the helm, he got them to 11-5 and the AFC East title.
The key game was the 2nd of the year. Mo Lewis of the Jets injured quarterback Drew Bledsoe on a tackle. In came Tom Brady, drafted in the 6th round, and not hyped much. After a 5-5 start, the Pats won their last 6 regular season games.
The Divisional Playoff was the last game played at Foxboro Stadium, as what became Gillette Stadium was being built next-door. In a blizzard, the "Tuck Rule" helped the Patriots beat the Oakland Raiders, 16-13, on an overtime field goal by Adam Vinatieri. The following week, they won away to the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning them a berth in Super Bowl XXXVI.
They would play the St. Louis Rams, whose passing attack, led by Kurt Warner, was known as "The Greatest Show On Turf." They had won the Super Bowl just 2 years earlier. They were 14-2, their only losses being by 3 at home to the New Orleans Saints, and by 7 at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They had beaten the Packers in the Divisional Round and the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.
They were talking big. They were talking dynasty. They were favored by 14 points, and they were talking like a team that deserved to be.
Boston had won 6 World Series, although none since 1918; 5 Stanley Cups, although none since 1972; and a record 16 NBA Championships, although none since 1986. The city had never won one in football. This was their chance to do so. Since the Celtics' 1986 title, Boston teams had gone 0-7 in finals, including the Patriots' loss in Super Bowl XXXI. New England needed a win.
The Rams' offensive starters were introduced first. Then the Patriots were introduced, collectively rather than individually. Trying to show that they were a team, rather than a collection of stars. Little did we know that one of them would become the biggest football star of their generation.
The Rams scored first, a 50-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins. But in the 2nd quarter, the Patriots were really pressuring Kurt Warner. And after a 3rd-down incompletion, I saw a look in Warner's eyes. I'd previously seen that look in the eyes of Dan Marino, Tony Eason, John Elway, Jim Kelly, Neil O'Donnell and Kerry Collins. It was the look of a quarterback who knew he was going to lose the Super Bowl. And the Rams were still winning at this point. They were forced to try another long field goal attempt by Wilkins, this time from 52 yards out. It was long enough, but wide left.
On their next drive, Warner was intercepted by Ty Law, who took it in 47 yards to give the Pats a 7-3 lead. A Warner pass to Ricky Proehl was turned into a fumble by Antwan Harris, and Terrell Buckley recovered it. Brady took over, and in the last minute of the half, threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to David Patten. It was 14-3 New England.
After an emotional halftime show by U2, the 3rd quarter was comparatively dull. But Otis Smith intercepted Warner to set up a 37-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri.
This was before social media: We had Internet chat rooms and message boards, but no Facebook or Twitter. Still, there seemed to be a feeling around the country that, the longer the Patriots held the lead over the heavily favored Rams, the more surprised people got. Not me: I was getting less and less surprised. The Patriots had dominated the game. Even while they were down 3-0, they looked like the better team.
Then came the kind of comeback that would, over the next 20 years, come to be expected from the Patriots and (and, later, or) Brady. The kind that, if it was the Patriots (and/or Brady), would make you wonder if they were cheating again. At this point, we had no reason to suspect the Patriots (and/or Brady) of cheating. In hindsight, maybe they were, but it stopped working.
The Rams got to the Patriots' 3-yard line. On 4th & goal, needing 2 touchdowns in the last 10 minutes, they decided to go for it. Warner couldn't find anyone open, and was hit by Roman Phifer, and fumbled. Tebucky Jones picked it up, and took it back 97 yards for a touchdown. But the main reason no one was open was that Willie McGinest had committed a holding penalty on Marshall Faulk, preventing him from becoming an eligible receiver. The Rams got a new set of downs, and Warner scored on a quarterback sneak. The Rams were within 17-10 with 9:31.
With 1:51 left, the Rams had one more drive, starting on their own 45. Warner threw 18 yards to Az-Zahir Hakim, 11 to Yo Murphy, and 26 yards to Proehl for a touchdown. With 1:30 left in regulation, it was 17-17.
The question now was, How would the less experienced Patriots respond to blowing a 2-touchdown 4th quarter lead, with no timeouts left? The answer turned out to be, "Very well." Brady got the Patriots a little closer, a little closer, and a little closer. The key play was a 23-yard pass to Troy Brown. With 7 seconds left, they were in position for Vinatieri to kick a 48-yard field goal.
Three weeks earlier, in the cold, snow and wind of Foxboro Stadium, Vinatieri had made a game-winning field goal in overtime. This time, he was inside the Superdome, with no weather at all. If he failed, it was overtime. If he succeeded, he was a New England hero forever.
The kick was perfect. Final score: New England 20, St. Louis 17. The Patriots were World Champions for the 1st time. And, except in the St. Louis area, hardly anybody begrudged them this. They were the plucky underdogs that everybody could like.
Just like the University of Miami football team was in the 1984 Orange Bowl. Just like the Duke basketball team was in the 1991 Final Four. Just like the Atlanta Braves were in the 1991 baseball postseason. Just like Manchester United were in the 1992-93 Premier League season. Just like the Yankees were in the 1996 baseball postseason. Just like the Boston Red Sox were in the 2004 baseball postseason. Just like the Houston Astros were in the 2017 baseball postseason. Just like the Kansas City Chiefs were in Super Bowl LIV. Things change.
Brady was named the game's Most Valuable Player. As had been custom since Super Bowl XXI, the Super Bowl MVP was invited to do an "I'm going to Disney World!" commercial and participate in a parade at Walt Disney World. First, Brady had to get Belichick's permission to miss the team flight back home, and instead fly from New Orleans to Orlando.
Belichick looked at Brady as if he'd just heard the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. As if he was going to tell Brady, "No, practice is tomorrow in Foxborough, at 9 AM." Finally, he said, "Of course, you can go. How many times do you win the Super Bowl?"
If they only knew.
When the Patriots got back to Boston, there was a celebration at City Hall. And Larry Izzo, a backup linebacker who didn't have much more to do with the win than Mayor Tom Menino did, picked up the Vince Lombardi Trophy, held it up, and started a chant, which the crowd picked up: "Yankees suck! Yankees suck! Yankees suck!"
The Patriots did not beat the Yankees -- or any other New York team.
Seeing this, Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy wrote, "I guarantee you: If the Giants win the Super Bowl, nobody is going to be saying, 'Boston sucks!'"
Six years later, after 2 more Patriot Super Bowl wins, and an epic Red Sox Playoff win over the Yankees, when the New York Giants took on an 18-0 Patriots team in Super Bowl XLII, and won, Shaughnessy was proven wrong.
Years later, after "Deflategate," there was an accusation that the Patriots had illegally taped the Rams in this game, published in the Boston Herald, suggesting that the Patriots had been cheating from the beginning of their dynasty. The Herald got sued, and later issued a retraction.
But think of it this way: We have more investigated-and-proven instances of Belichick and/or Brady cheating, and the other benefiting from that cheating, than we have investigated-and-proven instances of them not cheating. So which is more likely: That these were the only times they cheated, or that they cheated in many more games?
In 2019, a poll ranked this game 20th on a list of the 100 Greatest Games of the NFL's 1st 100 years.
UPDATE: The Patriots have a team Hall of Fame. From their 2000s dynasty: Quarterback Tom Brady, running back Kevin Faulk, receiver Troy Brown, tackle Matt Light, defensive end Richard Seymour, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork; linebackers Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest and Mike Vrabel; cornerback Ty Law, safety Rodney Harrison; assistant coach Dante Scarnecchia, cheerleading director Tracy Sormanti; and broadcasters Cappelletti and Santos.
Bill Belichick, who coached the Patriots to all 6 Super Bowl wins, is not yet in this Hall of Fame. Vrabel returned to coach the Patriots to the 2025 AFC Championship, but lost Super Bowl LX.
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February 3, 2002 was a Sunday. The Super Bowl was the only football game played that day. Baseball was out of season. And the NHL held its All-Star Game the day before, at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. A North America team (4 Americans and 17 Canadians) captained by Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche lost to a "World" team (all 21 were Europeans, captained by Mats Sundin of Sweden), 8-5.
The NBA went against their usual policy of caving in to the long hours of Super Bowl programming, and only scheduling 1 or 2 games, usually involving a rivalry, and instead scheduled 9 games:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Miami Heat, 94-83 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 104-91 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.
* The Washington Wizards beat the Indiana Pacers, 109-89 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Orlando Magic, 105-98 at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando.
* The Charlotte Hornets beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 97-79 at the Great American Pyramid in Memphis.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 101-94 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
* The Sacramento Kings beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 112-107 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 98-97 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named The Arena in Oakland).
* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Chicago Bulls, 101-96 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland.
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