I've been tailgating at New England Patriots games from 1987 to present day. What a difference a couple of decades make! These tales from the tailgate include everything from the soul-sucking feeling of a 1-15 season to the unexpected thrills of Super Bowl titles. I often hear people say that Pats fans are spoiled and arrogant. Not all of us. Some, like me, still can't believe Vinatieri's kick was good.
The first good news came out of the Pats camp this week. No. Not that Gronk's ankle sprain is feeling better. Although hopefully that is the case. No. The good news -- the really good news -- is that coach Bill Belichick, a.k.a. the Hooded One, will NOT be wearing the red hoodie that he donned in that last Super Bowl against the NY Giants.
I remember my family gathering at my parent's house in February of '08 as we did for the three previous Super Bowls. (All victories). We had the same foods. Same drinks. Same $2 Super Bowl squares pool. Same seats on the couch. Everything had to be the same. And then the Pats walked out on to the field in Arizona to complete their perfect season and there was a picture of Belichick walking on the sideline in his hoodie. But not his usual tattered gray hoodie. It was some new, bright red hoodie.
"What the hell is he wearing?" all 12 of us said at the same time. Apparently Belichick forgot that you couldn't do anything differently from the previous three Super Bowls. (All victories.) I'm not really superstitious. But even I know you don't break out a new, bright red hoodie for the Super Bowl. Every time Brady got sacked or something else bad happened, which was often, someone in the room would yell "Get rid of that hoodie!" Well, it took four years. But the red hoodie is gone.
This is what I'm expecting to see come next Sunday...
When the team you root for is in the Super Bowl, the first of the two weeks before kickoff is a long week. There's a lot of chatter in the blabosphere but not a lot of information or analysis. There's lots of dead time. Time for one's mind to wander...
It's not good when the NFL Network shows their top five plays from last weekend's championship games and the two that are from the Pats-Ravens game is the pick by the Ravens in the end zone and the great touchdown catch and run by the Ravens' Torrey Smith. Not one good Pats play. They were really lucky to get out of there with a victory.
I heard Jim Irsay, owner of the Colts, say that he was disappointed that his soon-to-be-former franchise quarterback spoke out about his frustration with all the staff changes since the team's impressive 2-12 season ended. "I don't think it's in the best interest to paint the horseshoe in a negative light. The horseshoe always comes first." The horseshoe? I could understand if he said "the team" always comes first. Or "the franchise." Or "all my millions." Something like that. But the horseshoe? And people hate Belichick? And that kind of talk coming from the guy whose family packed up the horseshoe in the middle of the night and drove it out of its sacred Baltimore and took it to Indianapolis. Ya, the horseshoe comes first... if it's wrapped in money.
Watching a replay of the Week 9 game between the Pats and the Giants at Gillette did not fill me with confidence. With just two minutes to go in the third quarter the Patriots offense had three points and just as many bad turnovers. Brady, to quote him, "sucked." The offense had more punts than first downs. It's not pretty to watch. And then Brady, Welker, Gronk, and Hernandez caught fire and the Pats would score 17 points in the final quarter to take a lead with just more than a minute to play. Then little Manning attacked our shaky defense and pulled out another last-second victory. I can't take another one of those.
The Jets implosion just keeps getting better and better. After team "leader" LT blamed everyone else for the Jets missing the playoffs amid a storm of tantrums and arguments, actual leader Darrelle Revis came out and said that coach Rex Ryan had no idea of the turmoil that was bubbling through the locker room all year. The coach who keeps predicting he's so good he will take his team to every Super Bowl played on this planet had no idea that his players were abandoning ship? Well, there might be another ring on Belichick's hand that he didn't come to NY to kiss.
The Globe's Greg Bedard, one of the best football writers the city has had in years, says that people are being too hard on Brady's AFC title game performance. Two picks (should have been three), no touchdown passes. He said Brady got the job done when he had too. True enough. But I think he's going a little too easy on #12. Brady has passed Neely as the player I have had the most fun watching, but it hasn't been that much fun in the playoffs the last few years. And it's not just because things come harder and defenses get better in the playoffs. Brady made several unforced errors last week. He wouldn't have made it through the first round at the Australian Open. I'm counting on that not happening two games in a row.
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Patriots 23, Ravens 20 (1/22/'12): Don't let anyone tell you that the Pats don't have a strong home-field advantage. Not after yesterday's AFC title game.
My throat is a little sore from yelling for three straight hours (sorry woman in front of me). My legs are a little tired from standing from 10:30 in the morning till 8:30 at night. In the parking lot and inside Gillette, I didn't sit in my seat once. Not too many people did yesterday. It was that kind of a day. So the next time the fans are enjoying their buzz as the Pats are playing the mediocre Redskins on a beautiful September afternoon, the Sports Blabosphere can give all this "the crowd at Gillette is spoiled and lame" stuff a rest.
The crowd arrived with a playoff energy and helped set the tone for the game early on. That's an even bigger accomplishment when you consider most of us were still trying to get the sound of Steven Tyler singing the national anthem out of our heads. Or maybe that's why the crowd was so loud. We were trying to drown out the screech of "... home of the brave!"
The defense then set the tone on the first play of the game. The Ravens -- like they did to start their playoff romp two years ago -- handed the ball to Ray Rice. Two years ago Rice took the ball to the house. This time he ran into one. Brandon Deaderick and the rest of the D line. It was one play but it was a statement by the defense. "This isn't 2009." The Ravens went three and out. The Pats went three and out. The Ravens went three and out. It became clear to everyone in the crowd that points were going to be of a premium and that every play -- offense and defense -- was huge. The crowd stood as one for every play and the defense seemed to feed off of it.
It was a great game to be at because of that. Every play was preceded by anticipation. It felt like the Pats were always one big play on offense away from taking the game over. But Brady just couldn't seem to get that play. On the other side of the ball, the defense kept Rice and the Raven running game bottled up. The teams traded field goals near the end of the first quarter. Stalemate. The biggest play to that point was a play not made. The Pats drove down to the Ravens 22-yard line and on second down Gronk shed a block at the line and broke free down the middle. The whole stadium saw him rumbling wide open towards the goal line. Brady threw a bullet Gronk's way but he missed him by a few too many yards. A Gronk touchdown spike would have sent Gillette into a frenzy. Instead of a spike there was just a loud groan. The first of several misses/mistakes by Brady that kept the game closer than it could have been.
That made for a true nail-biting finish.
The half ended with the Pats up 13-10. Me, Mark, Toph, and Matt loaded up on a round of margaritas and beers. One half. Four guys. Eight drinks. We knew we wouldn't want to miss a play in the second half. With four minutes to go in the third quarter the lead was 16-10 but the Ravens were driving inside the Pats' 30. Flacco threw a quick out to Torrey Smith on a 3rd-and-3. Sterling Moore closed on Smith and had a chance to tackle him short of the first down. But Smith spun around and Moore missed the tackle, allowing him to race down the far sideline for a touchdown. Ravens 17-16.
Then the fun really started.
Woody fielded the kickoff in his end zone and found some daylight, but as he crossed the 30 he was hit and lost the ball. The Ravens pounced on it. First down Baltimore at the Pats' 28.
"Oh no," I said to Mark. I would say that a few more times.
The defense made a big stand, with Ninko and Ihedigbo sacking Flacco on third down from the Pats 8-yard line. Billy Cundiff came in and hit a 39-yarder and as the third quarter expired the Pats were suddenly down 20-16. Woodhead took the kickoff in his end zone and -- again -- took it out. He made a great return, setting the Pats up at their own 37. Great response to his fumble. It was time for Brady and the offense to respond as well. He hit Gronk for a big gain to the Baltimore 40. The crowd roared with encouragement till we all noticed that Gronk wasn't getting up. He stayed on the field after being tackled, twisting on the ground in obvious pain. He got up and started limping to the sideline as the stadium chanted "Gronk! Gronk! Gronk!"
"I think he's fine," I said. Then the replay showed Gronk's left ankle getting badly twisted on the tackle. "Oh, no. Maybe not." The Pats are down, Gronk is out. What to do? That's right. Throw the ball to Welker. #83 made a couple of big plays to keep the drive alive and the Pats moved the ball down to the 1-yard line on a 1st-and-goal run by Woody. Brady then got stuffed on the sneak (after review) and then BenJarvus was stuffed on third down. Fourth and goal, down by four, with less than twelve minutes left in the AFC Championship.
Gronk came back on the field to the roar of the crowd. But the biggest play of the year wasn't going to Gronk. Or Welker. Or Hernandez. Nope. Brady took the snap and lunged over the top of the pack, breaking the goal line just before Ray Lewis came in and tried to break his back. Touchdown! Brady got up, spiked the ball, and turned to the crowd with a fist-pump and a roar. We all roared back. Pats 23-20.
"Ten minutes to the Super Bowl," Toph and I said at the same time. What a ten minutes it was.
Flacco led the Ravens to the Pats' 46 with just more than seven minutes to play. First and 10. The Ravens were pounding the ball. The much, much, much-maligned Pats D looked like it was about to bend and break once again. Flacco dropped back to pass, fired a dart across the middle to the tight end ... intercepted! Brandon Spikes, one of the good draft picks on defense from the past few years, stepped in front of the pass, snagged it with one hand, and took the ball back to midfield. Gillette erupted. It was the biggest defensive play for the Pats in years. The music blasted and everyone celebrated. "Let's eat up some clock," Mark said. Ya. Let's eat up some clock. The crowd was still high-fiving the pick when Brady took the snap on first down. He took a deep drop and turned and fired a bomb right down the middle of the field. Did Randy Moss just join the team? Who's he throwing a bomb too? Matthew Slater. The ball was tipped by the safety Pollard (yes, that one) and intercepted in the end zone by Ravens rookie Smith. Slater fell down or something. He was nowhere in the picture. Smith got up and took the ball back to the Raven 37-yard line because all the Patriots players -- like the crowd -- were too stunned to react.
"Oh no."
One second the Pats seemed like they had made the play to put the game away. The next, the Ravens were at midfield and driving with under five minutes left to play.
"Oh no."
The Ravens had a 3rd-and-3 at the Pats 30 with 3:30 to go. The ball was going to Ray Rice. Everyone knew it. Two years ago it didn't matter that everyone knew it. He was getting the first down. This defense is different. Maybe not much better. But different. Rice took the handoff on a draw (bad call) and was met instantly by Big Vince. No gain. Fourth down. Baltimore decided to go for it instead of trying a 50-yard field goal to tie. Big Vince took matters into his own hands again and bulled his way through his man and right at Flacco, forcing a throw out of bounds.
Pats ball with under three minutes to go. One first down and the Ravens are on life support. Two first downs and they are done. Brady hit Branch for 7 yards but Bennie lost a yard on second as the two minute warning hit. People in the crowd just looked at each other without a word. We were all thinking the same thing. It was third and four at the Pats' 39. I watched as Hernandez came open right at the first down mark, right in front of me. Brady threw a perfect strike to Hernandez's outside shoulder away from the safety. But that safety was Ed Reed. The best to ever play the position. Reed closed quickly and somehow undercut the pass and was just able to deflect it away. Fourth down. Punt.
The Ravens are going to get the ball back. "Oh no."
Zoltan hit a solid 44-yard punt, forcing Baltimore to start from its own 21. The way the D was playing I wasn't worried. Throughout the ups and downs of the game I never felt like that Pats would lose. That feeling changed a few plays later when Flacco hit Bolden on 3rd-and-1 at midfield and Boldin danced down the sideline all the way to the Pats' 23 with just 49 seconds to play. "The Pats could lose this game," I thought for the first time. Two plays later I thought they had.
The Ravens had a 2nd-and-1 just inside the 15 with now just 29 seconds left. At least that's what it said on the field. On the scoreboard it read first down. Not too many people noticed. Things were happening so fast it was tough to digest but I remember Matt saying "Watch out for a shot at the end zone here" just as Flacco let the ball go towards the right corner of the end zone. The play was across the field from where we were sitting and all I could see was the ball disappear behind two Pats defenders and what looked like right into the lap of the Ravens' receiver.
"Oh no." There was an audible gasp throughout the stadium. Touchdown Baltimore? "Oh no." Then I saw the ball rolling on the ground and the ref waiving his arms for an incomplete pass. I looked at the replay and saw that Sterling Moore -- the goat on the Ravens' touchdown -- had knocked the ball loose at the last possible second. It was a great play. And a lucky one.
Third down. That's what the down marker on the field said. But the scoreboard now only read second down. "What down is it?" I asked Mark. "Third," he said pointing to the marker. "The scoreboard has it as second," I said. "That's wrong. Definitely third. We just have to stop them here."
Flacco took the snap and had to scramble. Ninko made a dash for him, forcing a hasty throw that Moore knocked to the ground. Fourth down. Third if you -- like Billy Cundiff -- use the scoreboard to keep track of what down it is.
Me, Mark, Toph, and Matt all looked at each other. Overtime.
The crowd was busy talking about the new overtime rules as the Ravens set up for the game-tying 32-yarder. There wasn't any of the "this is a tough kick" talk that precedes kicks of 45 yards or kicks in bad weather. This one was automatic. We were headed to overtime.
Cundiff came running out on the field with only about 12 seconds left on the play clock. A few people -- in Ravens' jerseys -- started calling for a timeout. I looked at Belichick to see if he was going to try to ice the kicker. He wasn't. The ball was snapped and the kick just went straight... to the far left of the stadium.
No good! The Pats win! The stadium rocked and rolled as the Ravens walked stunned off the field. I may have yelled "See ya next year T Sizzle!" or something like that. Confetti started to fly.
Championship weekend. The Patriots are back in it. All is -- temporarily -- right with the football world.
The title games always have potential to go down in NFL history. This year's games really have that potential. In the AFC it's the #1 (Pats) vs. #2 (Ravens). A classic offense against defense matchup. In the NFC it's #4 (Giants) vs. #2 (Niners). The Saints and the Packers -- the two teams I thought would be playing -- and their explosive offenses are gone. Left standing are two defensive-centered teams. It should be old-school football at its best.
The Globe's Chris Gasper says the Pats are left with three pretty easy teams standing between them and their fourth Lombardi. "This playoff field is as soft as a pair of Brady's UGG boots." Soft? The Ravens, Niners, and Giants? Hmmm. The Ravens were clearly the biggest threat to the Pats in the AFC all season. That's why they are the #2 seed. They are anything but soft. And here they come. And on the other side, either the Niners or Giants would be a huge challenge. Especially the battle-tested Giants. No elite QBs left? Tell that to Eli.
They say defenses win championships. If that's the case the Pats don't stand a chance against any of the three other teams in the final four. I just don't think that really is the case anymore. Just ask the Colts, Saints, and Packers ... all offensive-minded champions in the past few years.
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP Baltimore (13-4) at New England (14-3): A win Sunday at Gillette -- now matter how ugly -- will be one of the biggest in the Belichick-Brady era. Why? Because the Ravens pose a challenge on the level of the Colts and the Steelers in '03 and '04. The Patriots haven't won a playoff game of this level of difficulty in many years. They've won some big games -- last week's playoff blowout for instance -- but they haven't won a playoff game against a great team in many years. It feels like it's time. But that's not enough against the team that is as loud as its uniforms.
The Ravens are a very good defense. They were a great defense, but age is showing. I've seen many Ravens games during the past few years when the veteran D looked gassed in the fourth quarter, literally gasping for air. They were gasping last week against Houston till TJ Yates resuscitated them with a few very bad throws. Can the Ravens D slow down Brady, Gronk, Welker and the gang? Lots of talk has been made about how the Pats haven't played many winning teams this season. Well, the vaunted Baltimore D has only faced two top 10 offenses this year. Two. How did they do? They shut down San Fran but got smoked by Phillip Rivers and the Chargers. Two years ago the Ravens D caused havoc all over the Gillette field. The Pats didn't have Welker, Gronk, Hernandez, or Branch that day. If the line can keep Suggs off of Brady then things should be different this time. That's a big if.
Then there is the Pats defense. Oh, the Pats defense. They held the league's best rushing attack in check last week and didn't give up much in the air either. There were no late garbage-time drives allowed. No bad penalties. Not too many missed tackles. All good signs. They have enough playmakers (Wilfork, Anderson, Mayo, Spikes, Chung) to get turnovers, something they did very well again this year. Even McCourty is looking better now that he's playing some safety. The Ravens offense doesn't offer much more of a challenge than the Tebow attack of Denver. It's an offense the Pats D should be able to hold below 30 points. That should be good enough.
The Pats looked locked and loaded against the Broncos. But for many of the Broncos it was their first look at the big stage of an NFL road playoff game. They were not ready. The Ravens will be ready. It should make for a great battle. The game will come down to the same two factors evenly-matched playoff games always come down to: protecting the ball and tackling. The basics. The Pats have not taken care of the basics in the playoffs the last two years. This time they will.
PICK: Patriots 27, Ravens 17
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP New York (11-7) at San Francisco (14-3): Yes, yes. It feels like '07 all over again. Little Manning making improbable throws and his receivers making even more improbable catches. (A Hail Mary touchdown to end the half in Green Bay?) Old man Coughlin standing there with his face freezing off. The Giants pass rush destroying everything in its path. Even though the Giants finished the regular season at an unimpressive 9-7, they are better all around than that title team. But I don't think they make it to the Super Bowl this time. Why? Because Brett Favre won't be on the other side of the field to hand the G-Men the game with his patented stupid interception.
The red-hot, upstart Giants are the story right now. But it's the Niners who have been quietly winning games all year. While the NFC spotlight shined on the defending champs and their run at a 16-0 season, or the brash Lions and their nasty D, or the revived Saints and their record-setting offense, Jim Harbaugh's Niners have been on a workman-like march towards the Super Bowl. Workman-like. Just like their rookie coach who will be the unanimous coach of the year. The Niners don't do anything flashy. They pound Frank Gore on offense and sprinkle in enough Alex Smith passes. Tight end Vernon Davis has returned to stud status. It's your basic "here we come, try to stop us" approach. On defense the Niners are a beast. They were first against the run, fourth against the pass, and held opponents to just more than 14 points per game. They feature LB Patrick Willis and the Smith brothers (Justin and Aldon. They're not really brothers). The Niners forced five turnovers last week against New Orleans. They will need to do that again.
Speaking of turnovers, the Giants D forced four last week against Green Bay. They bring the fearsome foursome of Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Dave Tollefson. They are all about the pass rush. They have been since '07. The key battle will be the Niners offensive line vs. the Giants defensive line. If San Fran can't hold 'em back it's going to be a long day for Mr. Gore and Mr. Smith. A very long day.
And if the Niners have trouble scoring that will be trouble because the Giants offense has been a surprise this season. Little Manning started the year saying he should be considered an elite quarterback ... eliciting a lot of snickering. Then he went out and proved that he was right. Receivers Cruz, Nicks, and Manningham give little Manning as good a set of weapons as there are in the league. Add to that bruisers Jacobs and Bradshaw and the Giants can flash you or smash you. Whatever works.
I watched the replay of the Niners-Saints game and the hitting was brutal. It was great playoff football. The hitting in this one should go to 11. I like the Niners in a game like that.
OK, I've actually watched movies that were not made in the 1970s. Here's one. "Wedding Crashers." Vince Vaughn at his best. Classic Christopher Walken performance. And one of the funniest football scenes ever filmed.
It's a great look at both backyard football and eccentric, dysfunctional upper class families. Both are so much fun to watch. It's the best touch football scene in movie history along with the one from "The Big Chill.'' One has Rachel McAdams, the other has Meg Tilly. That's a toss-up.
Bradley Cooper became a star in this scene. Unfortunately I couldn't find a clip that had the entire football game so here's the best line from the movie uttered by one of the funniest actors I've seen. Crabcakes and football. That's what Maryland does. OK, Ravenstown, Md. Let's see what you've got.
TALES FROM THE TAILGATE Patriots 16, Raiders 13 OT (1/19/'02): Today is the tenth anniversary of the greatest day in the history of Foxborough, Massachusetts -- a.k.a. KraftWorld.
The tenth anniversary of the greatest event I was fortunate enough to have a ticket for. (Sorry Bono. Sorry Bruce).
No chronicle of the past 25 years of tailgating would be complete without the last game ever played at Foxboro Stadium. Pats' fans know it as "The Snow Bowl." Most other football fans know it as "The Tuck Rule Game.'' Raiders' fans know it as the "Game We Got Screwed!" This was the start of an incredible change in the team's fortunes and when Mark and I arrived in the lot that day ten years ago we had no idea how different being a Patriots fan was about to become.
The team, in its second year with Bill Belichick as head coach, had won eight of their last nine games of the regular season -- often in fantastical fashion -- to unexpectedly win their division and qualify for the playoffs. And with sixth-round draft pick Tom Brady leading the way. You don't get more famous than Brady is right now. GQ cover boy. Gisele. Hair. But back in the winter of '02 he was just some little-known skinny guy from Michigan who came off the bench for an injured Bledsoe in Week 2. And he hasn't left the field since. I can still hear my friend Shep yelling "Tom Bra-dy! Yes! Tom Bra-dy!" with a mix of delight and disbelief game after glorious game.
The Raiders -- among the teams Pats fans love to hate the most -- won their wild-card game, sending the silver and black to Foxborough. The two teams had staged some memorable playoff games before. The forecast leading up to the division-round playoff clash was for snow. Possibly heavy. And the game was pushed back to 8 p.m. for television -- when the storm was supposed to be at its height. I remember as a kid sitting on my couch under a pile of blankets drinking hot chocolate watching playoff games from Baltimore, Cleveland, or Green Bay in driving snowstorms and thinking how great it would be to go to one of those games.
It lived up to my imagination.
Mark and I arrived at the lot around 4 p.m. under a gray but snowless sky. You could feel the anticipation for the game -- and the storm. We kicked into set-up mode with the tables, chairs, coolers, and grills and were sitting there with our first drink in hand as Shep joined us. "Maybe the snow's gonna miss us," Shep said. No sooner had those words left his mouth than the first flakes started falling. And they kept falling. Within a half hour everything was coated in snow and shortly after that we were pretty much in white-out conditions. It could not have been more fun.
There were large mounds of dirt in the parking lot from the nearby construction of the new stadium. Soon those mounds were covered in snow and men and women were sledding down them (without sleds) like school kids on a snow day. After a while the snow became worn down and it was more dirt than snow ... but that didn't stop the sledding. And the laughing. It was a great atmosphere. Billy and Bergs got stuck in the traffic caused by the storm and arrived later than their usual six hours before the game. But it did not take them long to catch up in the celebrating. Billy in particular made quick work of his Raspberry-flavored Stolis (some tailgates would ban a guy for bringing fruit-flavored booze but we're a tolerant crowd). Maybe too quick. By the time we were getting ready to make our way through the snow to the stadium he was more unsteady than usual. But there was a big playoff game to see so why worry about that? As we walked away from our parking space I made my usual mental note of landmarks and rows to remember where the car was.
We got to our seats and I turned and looked at the field. For some reason I was expecting to see a mostly plowed field with some light snow cover. It was my first snow game so what did I know? Not much. The field was covered in three inches of snow with the only spots of green being long squiggly lines where the grounds crew had used leaf blowers to clear away the yard lines. "This is gonna be great!" Mark said as we cleared the snow off our aluminum bench. And great it was.
The game was close the whole way with both teams struggling to make any plays in the snow. Brady was getting knocked around and the offense couldn't get going. The Raiders took a 7-0 lead into halftime. The crowd was covered in snow and quietly concerned. We loaded up on beers for the second half and stood there in the cold and snow drinking and talking about what the Pats should do to get on the scoreboard. It's too hard to pass. Brady is getting killed. They should run more. That was the conclusion we came to. It seems that in the Pats' locker room they came to a different conclusion (maybe because they weren't drinking). Brady and the Pats came out throwing. Brady ended up throwing 52 times in the game. 52! That's a lot for a dry, sunny day. It's crazy for a blizzard.
The Pats trailed 13-3 entering the fourth quarter but they were moving the ball. Brady completed nine straight passes to lead them inside the 10-yard line. He dropped back to pass but there were no open receivers. So, just like he had all year, he found a way to make a play. He took off for the end zone, putting a move on a Raider defender who slipped in the snow, and dived across the goal line. Touchdown! Pats are back in it! Brady staggered to his feet and slammed the ball to the ground and he followed it, tumbling head-over-heels into the snow. All I remember is jumping out into the aisle, slipping, and sliding down about five steps. Laughing all the way. Just like Brady.
The Pats got the ball back trailing by three with just a few minutes left in the game. One more score and they would go to the AFC title game. "We're winning this game," Bergs said. Of course he always says that but this time I totally agreed with him. The Pats were winning this game. They moved across midfield with just under two minutes to go. Brady dropped back one more time to pass. He raised his arm. Raider cornerback Charles Woodson came out of the snow and nailed him. The ball fell out of Brady's hand and for a few eternal seconds bobbled along the frosty turf. A Raider fell on it and the whistle blew. Raiders' ball. Brady got up and looked dazed. We were all dazed. A Raider took the ball and kicked it high into the air to punctuate the moment. What just happened? Fumble? The Raiders began celebrating in the snow. The fans stood there in silence, all thinking the same thing. "We lost? How could that happen? Not this time. Not with Brady."
And then the replay flashed on the not-so-big scoreboard screen. "Hold on!" Bergs said. "That could be an incomplete pass." Notice that he didn't say "That was an incomplete pass!" He said it could be. That's the beauty of replay. Anything is possible. By the 10th replay the crowd was convinced it was an incomplete pass. Just as Brady was hit his arm was moving forward to pass and then he started to "tuck" the ball back into his body. A tuck looks just like the motion of a forward pass. Although it clearly isn't. But rules are rules. As the crowd waited nervously to hear if the play would be reversed, "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins played over the loudspeakers. It was the perfect soundtrack. The ref walked to the middle of the field and began " After reviewing the play, the quarterback's arm was going forward..." I couldn't hear the rest above the roar of the crowd. I'm not sure if he explained the "tuck rule" or not. I didn't care.
The old stadium shook as the fans began stomping on the aluminum benches. The Pats were alive again. "We're winning this game!" Bergs yelled. Now I was sure of it. The Pats drove the ball into field goal position, with Brady and the receivers making a few more great plays. Adam Vinatieri walked calmly onto the field with 27 seconds left. Everything seemed peaceful in the swirling snow. A 45-yard field goal in horrible conditions. Is it possible? We all looked around at each other nervously. Will this surprisingly fantastic season come to an end right here?
The ball was snapped. Vinatieri swung his leg and as the ball passed over the line of scrimmage it began wobbling. It looked bad. I dropped my head thinking it was going to be short. The next thing I remember I was at the bottom of a pile of Mark, Bergs, Toph, Shep, and what seemed like the entire 309 section. Maybe it was good? It was! The kick (as I saw on the replay) just made its way over the crossbar and the game was tied. It's the greatest kick in NFL history. Period. Vinatieri would make his second memorable kick not too long after that. This one a 23-yarder with eight minutes to go in overtime. The last game at the stadium that saw so many heartbreaks ended with one of the most memorable games in NFL history. And this time my team won. I stood there as the stands emptied out and took one last look at the place where I had made a lot of lifelong friends and memories. Like the old Garden, the place was a pit and sometimes I miss it.
Heading into the parking lot I remembered that it had been snowing hard the last four hours. Every car looked the same. Every row looked the same. Everything looked the same. So much for my mental notes. Where the hell are we parked? "I think we're over by that dirt pile," Mark said. "Or maybe that one. Or that one?" Me, Mark, and thousands of lost souls wandered around the lot looking for our cars. Billy had brought a guy he called Cousin Benny with him. Cousin Benny was a huge Raiders fan. I'm not sure if Cousin Benny was actually Billy's cousin. Cousin Benny was among those lost souls. It was his first time at a Patriots game. He got separated from us in the post-game celebration and started wandering down Route 1 looking for the south lot we were in. Trouble was... he was walking north. For about two miles. By the time some stranger finally helped Benny figure out he was going in the wrong direction we were all long gone. I haven't seen him since. Whenever I'm driving near the stadium I still keep an eye out for Cousin Benny.
Mark and I finally found where we parked. Bergs was already there when we arrived. And Shep. But no Billy. Where was Billy? "You'll never believe it," Bergs said. Turns out Billy felt sick in the first quarter and walked outside the stadium to get some air. At an outdoor stadium. And he couldn't get back in. So he went back to his car and turned the game on the radio and "fell asleep." That's passed out to you and me. "When I finally found the car," Bergs said. "It was locked. I scraped away the snow and could see Billy sleeping in there." Bergs knocked and knocked and finally woke Billy up. He opened his eyes and rolled down the window. "What happened?'' he asked. "Did they win? Was it a good game?" Yes, Billy. It was a really good game.
The first in what would be a decade of really good games.
I came across this video from the tuck rule moment... it is just like I remember it.
