Greatest Moment in Sports History!

[TheBostonStraggler]

Still makes me smile! Just got done watching the ESPN replay of the Patriots victory over the Rams. LOL, yea, take a knee and go into overtime. Epic failure of a call on Madden's part.....

 

[PATS16N0]

Yup. Still remember where I was and who I was with.

Great year. Great moment.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

In Madden's defense, he's like 98 years old

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Yup. Still remember where I was and who I was with.

No doubt. A night for the ages.

 

[PATS16N0]

Patriots-Rams 2001 final two minutes - YouTube

 

[PATS16N0]

We got to the 40 and stopped the clock. Madden kinda' likes what we're doing now.

Thanks, Madden!

 

[ausbacker]

I get as much enjoyment from that result as I do from the following;

 

[PATS16N0]

/filler

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Yep, it's a moment of "where were you when it happened". I was at a SB party with about 10 Patriot fans who had all lost their voices but it still got Rock Concert loud after "the kick".

There's A LOT of game balls that go around for that list drive. Brady of course. Troy! Jermaine! AV OF COURSE! The OL keeping the now Berserker like Ram's DL from killing Brady. But the unheralded moment I was reminded of that probably was the difference between the winning FG and going to OT (and probably losing) was JR Redmond's almost inhuman stretch to get out of bounds. He got out of bounds by the nose of the ball with a parallel to the ground dive (and after evading a tackler who by all rights should have tackled him in bounds). That was an incredibly heads up, super huge effort on his part (and he did more on that drive besides that).
JR Redmond, he certainly isn't a highly noted player in Patriot's history but he was THE MAN on that drive.

 

[midpack]

Truly epic moment in Patriots history... I love watching that drive

 

[TruthSeeker]

Greatest moment in Pats fans history. Two things I love about it as well, when Madden says "what Tom Brady is doing is giving me goose bumps", and Gil and Gino's call of the kick and Gil saying "it's good ! It's good !". Both personally give me chills.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Still makes me smile! Just got done watching the ESPN replay of the Patriots victory over the Rams. LOL, yea, take a knee and go into overtime. Epic failure of a call on Madden's part.....

My shout is still echoing in my living room from the moment Number Four's Kick sailed through the uprights.

But, lighten up on Madden. He ate crow on the spot and gave Brady full credit with his timeless "goosebumps" line. The Pats had just blown a 14 point lead and had the ball inside their own 20, so it wasn't an insane suggestion at the time.

Who knew at that time that we had a HOF Quarterback and Kicker on our sideline, waiting for their chance to go down in history, coached by a HOF HC?

 

[patchick]

But, lighten up on Madden. He ate crow on the spot and gave Brady full credit with his timeless "goosebumps" line. The Pats had just blown a 14 point lead and had the ball inside their own 20, so it wasn't an insane suggestion at the time.

Who knew at that time that we had a HOF Quarterback and Kicker on our sideline, waiting for their chance to go down in history, coached by a HOF HC?

Who knew indeed? Personally, I've always been grateful to Madden for making it extra clear for the ages what a gutsy move that winning drive was.

 

[fnordcircle]

But, lighten up on Madden. He ate crow on the spot and gave Brady full credit with his timeless "goosebumps" line. The Pats had just blown a 14 point lead and had the ball inside their own 20, so it wasn't an insane suggestion at the time.

Then in 2003 Madden was like 'OK I DEFINITELY AGREE WITH THE PATRIOTS HERE' when they started the final drive in what was an obvious bit of self-deprecating humor hearkening back to his analysis in the 2001 super bowl.

That's why I wish people would drop it. Madden ate crow on the spot and ate crow 2 years later. Do we still need to wag our fingers almost 11 years later?

 

[PatsSox363804]

My favorite piece of Patriots merch is the Superbowl 36 champs tshirt I got on Bourbon St after the game. It's completely torn up now from the fact that I think I wore it every day for about 6 months so it just sits in my top drawer as to not get totally ruined but I love the damn thing even though I can never wear it. Best night ever.

 

[sly24]

Still makes me smile! Just got done watching the ESPN replay of the Patriots victory over the Rams. LOL, yea, take a knee and go into overtime. Epic failure of a call on Madden's part.....

I don't get all the hate people give Madden for that call. Just before that last drive started, Brady had 81 passing yards for the ENTIRE game. The offense also only scored 10 for the whole game (the other 7 from Law's pick 6). None of us knew we had the GOAT at QB. Thank god BB went for it!

Fantastic memories!!

 

[brdmaverick]

Right after the spike to the kill the clock they cut to a video of Adam Vinatieri kicking a field goal in the pregame. The kick was right down the middle and Pat Summeral commentates "Well, he missed that one in pregame but he made most of them".

I suppose in his defense you could actually only see one goal post in the shot, so he must've mistook the goal post that was visible (the right or left).

 

[RodThePat]

I don't get all the hate people give Madden for that call. Just before that last drive started, Brady had 81 passing yards for the ENTIRE game. The offense also only scored 10 for the whole game (the other 7 from Law's pick 6). None of us knew we had the GOAT at QB. Thank god BB went for it!

Fantastic memories!!

In the first play of that drive a Rams defender grabs Brady's throwing arm momentarily, but then Tom steps up and fires the ball to Redmond. Had he fumbled there, the decision not to kneel on the ball and play for overtime would be forever engraved in Boston sports' lore. I guarantee you would hear people calling WEEI and mentioning it to this day. It looks like a no-brainer in hindsight, but taking into consideration the context of the game, the decision to put the ball on the hands of a 2nd year 6th round pick, on his own 16-yard line, with 1:21 remaining and no timeouts wasn't as cut and dry as it may seem now.

 

[brdmaverick]

I don't get all the hate people give Madden for that call. Just before that last drive started, Brady had 81 passing yards for the ENTIRE game. The offense also only scored 10 for the whole game (the other 7 from Law's pick 6). None of us knew we had the GOAT at QB. Thank god BB went for it!

Fantastic memories!!

I couldn't agree more. While I would have been very disppointed to see Brady take a knee, I do understand WHY Madden would say that. As you pointed out, the offense was NOT lighting it up that day (quite the opposite actually). The seven points that the offense did get credit for started with a forced fumble that gave them the ball on the Rams side of the field. Needing at least 45 yards with only 1:19 left and no timeouts, the odds actually were greater that the Pats would make a mistake that would cost them than executing a game ending drive that would result in no points.

This is hypothetical, but I imagine these to the be odds given the conditions.....
Pats score points, win game: 5%
Neither team scores: 85%
Mistake that leads to Rams score: 10%

The biggest reason why I give the defense the edge in this scenario is....

1.) Rams D also knows the Pats have no timeouts. So they need to pass and they need to pass to the sideline. Knowing this increases the chances of an interception or sack/fumble.

2.) Pats likely need to string together multiple well executed plays to get in FG range. it only takes one mistake to give the Rams the ball in scoring position.

 

[brdmaverick]

Let's put it this way....

There's a wheel that can land on any one of ten spaces. If only one of those spaces is a winning space (allowing you to double your money), would you play?

Your friend says he wants to play $100 on this game, but asks you if you think it's a good idea. You say 'no', but he plays anyway. He ends up winning.

Can he really turn around and call you an idiot?

I feel like that's what people do with Madden.