February 3, 2002
New Orleans
My college housemate, Brian Curran and I,along with several other friends decided to go to Super Bowl XXXVI to see our beloved Patriots face the highly touted Rams. Brian and I have been Pats season ticket holders since 1993. I have since travelled to see the Patriots play in 4 more Super Bowls and 27 years worth of home games but this game was my most memorable. Why?
Well, this was the 1st Super Bowl that I saw live. This game was played less than 5 months after the 9-11 attacks on the US. I still recall the very eerie and cautiously excited feeling walking into the heavily guarded Superdome. We entered the stadium 5 hours before kickoff to avoid the long delays expected from the high security protocol. We found our seats in Section 123 and walked down to the front row to find one person standing there talking to Tedy Bruschi stretching about 15 yards away on the field. It was Ray Bourque, my favorite Boston Bruin of all time. We chatted with him for probably a half hour and he later signed my Super Bowl ticket. Then, the remarkable game seeing our new QB Tom Brady lead us to victory over the highly favored Greatest Show on Turf. Let’s not forget NFL HOF’r Ty Law’s dramatic Pick Six or Adam Vinatieri’s clutch game winning kick. Little did I know, this was the start of a 20 year dynasty led by the GOAT’s, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. This remains my most memorable Patriots game of all time.
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