Remembering the GOAT's first Super Bowl win in 2002

 

Sometimes, to understand the significance of an event --- especially in sports – you have to go back to the beginning. That’s what should be done to completely appreciate what Tom Brady accomplished Sunday night after winning his seventh Super Bowl – his first as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer after winning six in nine tries with the New England Patriots from 2002 to 2019.
You have to go back to the beginning – Brady’s first Super Bowl win – to appreciate what a big deal that one was because Patriot fans younger than 30 or 40, who grew up knowing nothing but the unparalleled success of the Patriots, might not appreciate the enormity of Brady’s accomplishments.
Similarly, younger Red Sox fans who have become blasé about their success following the ending of the 86-year “Curse of the Bambino” in 2004 --- and their repeat World Series crowns in 2007, 2013 and 2018 --probably don’t recall the decades of frustrations that beset the team, starting in the 1940s, when the Sox narrowly missed a World Series win in 1946. Unsuccessful pennant races followed in 1948 and 1949, and the 1950s were a decade best forgotten, because the team wasted Ted Williams’ remaining great years, especially 1957, when “The Kid” had his best year at the plate since 1941.
That’s why older Red Sox fans still consider the “Impossible Dream” year of 1967 a success even though they lost the World Series. But the bitter disappointments of the World Series loss in 1975, the “Bucky Dent” playoff loss to the Yankees in 1978 and the 1986 Series loss to the Mets left Sox fans devastated.
In fact, after the Celtics’ won their 17^th World Championship in 1986, until Brady led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title on Feb. 2, 2002, New England fans hadn’t come close to a championship.
In fact, just the fact that the Patriots were back in the Super Bowl for only the third time in the team’s history in 2002 was a huge deal. To get a better idea of how big of a deal it was, I’d like to share the Super Bowl prediction that I, along with many Sun Chronicle staffers, made in the edition of Sunday, Feb. 2, 2002. And, then, I’ll share with you the column that I wrote on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2002.
Remember that at that time, no one could foresee the kind of football dynasty that followed Brady’s first win with the Patriots. Indeed, five more Vince Lombardi trophies followed in 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017 and 2019. And few expected Brady to lead the Bucs to the promised land in his first year with the team.
Like many Patriot fans, I was rooting hard for Brady – and am glad that he won, even if Patriot head coach Bill Belichick likely doesn’t share fans’ enthusiasm for Brady’s unprecedented seventh Super Bowl victory after failing to keep him when he became a free agent almost a year ago.

This prediction about Super Bowl XXXVI was published in The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2002:

Why will the Patriots win Super Bowl XXXVI? Because I have “ The Feeling,” something I have not had in a very long time.
“ The Feeling” dates back to the Red Sox season of 1967. I was an idealistic 15-year-old fan when I saw Tony Conigliaro get beaned by California Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton on Aug. 18 — an incident that could have knocked the Sox out of that summer's wild pennant race. But even after realizing Tony C would be lost for the season, “ The Feeling” would not go away. It was especially strong the last weekend of the season, when the Sox had to win two games against Minnesota and hope for the Tigers to lose a doubleheader to avoid a playoff game for the American League pennant.
Now, 35 years later, “ The Feeling” is back, and while it would seem the Patriots have exhausted their miracles, they'll win it all because the coaches have the team believing in themselves. Like the Cardiac Kids of '67, these Patriots have generated excitement and hope, and this time, New England's Impossible Dream will not be quashed by a team from St. Louis.
Prediction: Patriots 28, Rams 21

This column about the Patriots’ first Super Bowl win in 2002, was published Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2002 in The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA.

I am stunned beyond belief, in shock and exhilarated — all at the same time.
I am stunned because for the first time in 30 years, a team from New England other than the Boston Celtics has won a world championship.
I am shocked because for once, a team from New England did not fold in the clutch, although for a while on Sunday night, I thought the infamous holding call that wiped out a touchdown and would have given the Patriots a 24-3 lead against the St. Louis Rams, would wind up being the football equivalent of Bill Buckner's famous bobble in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.
Instead, I am happy to say that my fears were unfounded.
Instead of dealing with more “ could haves” and “ might have beens,” I am exhilarated beyond belief because a team from New England has become winners under the most extraordinary of circumstances.
I wish I could say I predicted the outcome of Sunday's Super Bowl XXXVI, but no one could have predicted the wild 20-17 victory, a win delivered as time expired on the toe of field goal kicker Adam Vinateri.
True, I did write “Patriots 28, Rams 21” in my prediction mini-column in Sunday's Opinion section of The Sun Chronicle. And it is true that I wrote I had a feeling that the Patriots would pull off an upset.
But as the kickoff grew nearer, I confess that I didn't have myself truly convinced of their success, mainly because professional sports teams from New England, with the exception of the Boston Celtics, have been justifiably stuck with the “loser” tag.
Indeed, the Patriots' amazing victory is the first world championship by a New England professional sports team since the Celtics last won the National Basketball Association title in 1986 and the first non-Celtics' title since the Boston Bruins last won the Stanley Cup 30 years ago.
Maybe that's why, even with the Patriots ahead 17-3 in the fourth quarter, I was praying that the team would not do what so many other teams from Boston had done when getting so close to winning a title: choking. And, when Kurt Warner tied the game at 17-17, with 2 minutes to go, I was not optimistic of a Patriots' win.
OK, to be honest, I was cursing at my TV set, figuring we'd once again have defeat snatched from victory. But then I sat numb in front of the TV as my wife and I made the pleasant discovery that this team is not the 1986 Red Sox, who came so close to a World Series title that their fans still know exactly where they were when the dream turned into a nightmare.
After Vinateri's field goal cleared the uprights, I was relieved that my initial feeling of confidence about this wild, wacky team of destiny was right: they made the plays when they had to, which means today a team from New England can be called world champions — as unbelievable as that sounds.
A remarkable ride
All New Englanders, whether they're sports fans or not, should thank the Patriots for a remarkable ride. Even if they hadn't won it all, they would have done enough simply by accomplishing so much more than anyone could have imagined.
Especially given the events of Sept. 11, their improbable stretch run to the playoffs and the wild wins against the Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, and now the Rams, gave New Englanders an uplifting distraction from the sad state of world affairs.
So, without any further delay, let me say this loud and clear: Congratulations, Patriots — and a million thanks for proving some cynical New England sports fans like myself — who had grown so accustomed to defeat that we couldn't believe in winning — wrong.
Indeed, the Patriots' ride to the Super Bowl really was an Impossible Dream, as I wrote in that Sunday prediction column, because like that unforgettable baseball season, it made all of us believe in the possibility of success through teamwork, and it made all of us root for a sports team with the innocence and idealism of a youngster.
The 1967 Red Sox and the 2001-02 Patriots had a lot in common: both had to overcome adversity, and both had a collection of veterans and rookies who meshed together.
Both teams also had unlikely players turn into heroes, and both also had players who had always done well, but who were just waiting to take their game to the next level. Troy Brown's incredible season, in which he arrived as a bona fide star in the eyes of professional football, and in which he always seemed to break a tremendous play at the precise moment when the team needed it most, could be compared to Carl Yastrzemski's magical Triple Crown season in 1967.
But unlike that Red Sox dream team, this squad turned the impossible and improbable into history.
Best of all, this team will be fondly remembered because it is by and large a likable team.
Unlike the bitter aftermaths of the 1986 and 1997 Super Bowls, fans won't have to worry about a drug scandal dominating the news, as it did 15 years ago. Nor will we have to worry about a defection by the coach to an arch-rival, as we did in 1997, when Bill Parcells left for the New York Jets, and didn't even bother flying home from New Orleans with that team.
Instead, we can look forward to honestly thanking everyone in the Patriots' organization for the thrills the team provided this season, and we can look forward to more success in the new CMGI Field.
The Patriots, giving the vicissitudes of the NFL, might not be in San Diego for Super Bowl XXXVII. But they are the defending Super Bowl Champions — and no one will ever be able to take that away from them.
That means it's time for New England sports fans to stop considering themselves losers, because we're not.
We're champions — finally!
LARRY KESSLER is a Sun Chronicle local news editor.