Fellow Pats fans..whats your greatest Pats memory

[rabthepat]

Hm, would have to be Vinatieri's kick in the 2001 Superbowl. That was just unbelievable. I actually felt transported to another dimension.

Yes, I was on my knees pleading to the God of football for Adam to make it. I was certain we were dead meat if the game went to OT. When he made it I jumped up, grabbed my wife, kissed and danced with her for 15 minutes and then felt the pain of 23 years of Patriot fan suffering lift off my chest.

 

[F0nSY]

The Vinatieri's kick in 2001 superbowl...

 

[italian pat patriot]

as Vinatieri got ready to kick my entire Patriot watching life flashed before my eyes and I went over all the things that could go wrong. Bad snap, jumping offsides, bad handle, bad kick, blocked kick etc etc and even if it was good i knew there would still be 2 seconds left for the Rams to get the kickoff. So for me, the entire play went in slow motion. Just this one, Adam, i kept saying......
the snap, ok that went well.....the catch, the put down, BOOM!! goes the kick. Has there EVER been a more perfect kick?? Not only right down the middle, but it had such height too, ok, wheres the flag? wheres the flag? I kept looking for the flag...ok, theres no flag? , ok get those guys off the field we still have a kickoff!! The Rams are going to protest for a kickoff, its not over, its not over...
And then I saw Mike Martz walking off............................
WHAT????? Its really over??? The Patriots are the World Champions?????

I was stunned. Absolutely stunned. I just went to my knees and stared at the screen and felt like I was in a wonderful dream. And I knew instantly being a Boston sports fan would never be the same.

this all took about 10 seconds. Its never going to get better than that.

that was THE MOMENT too for me

but honestly i was 100% sure that Adam was going to do his job

it was night here and, alone, i had the best moment ever in my 'fan' sport life

happy like a kid

what a moment, what a beauty

we were NFL CHAMPIONS !!!

grandiosi Pats ! finally we were at the top !

i enjoied a lot also 1985 run (pratically only from the newspapers...)

i could not believed we won 3 games on the road on the play-offs

i was happy too-pity we lost bad against CHI (this is the reason why i still want the revenge with them)

 

[Patjew]

SB 36 for me, by a long shot.

Next I think would be seeing the 20-3 Colts playoff game live. Seats at the 50yard line, 4 rows... from the TOP. It was like standing on your kitchen table and staring down at your TV. I have never been so pumped as when the jet flew over the stadium before the game. Literally one of the best times in my life, and being there with my father made it all the sweeter. I'll always cherish that experience. I hope my son (and daughters) and I can share similar experiences someday.

 

[ironwasp]

I think for me it was the AFC CHampionship Game in 1986, beating the Dolphins on their patch. It just seemed so unlikely, even more than SB36. Other great memories are also the various AFC Championship games. I've always thought the thrill of "getting there" outstrips the winning once you're there. So the Colts in 04 and the Steelers in 05 also fondly recalled.

 

[RobertWeathers]

For me, both of Auto-Adam's kicks were the best (because they were). There. That was easy.

Honorable Mentions....

The 1985 defeats of NYJ, the Raiders and Miami are all up there.

 

[smg93]

Watching Adam Vinatieri kick in the winning field goal against the rams. Living outside the United States, it was such a thrill for me just to see New England play in a game. But to watch them win a Superbowl that so many people did not believe they had a chance in was something I'll always remember.

 

[3 to be 4]

If you are in your 40s like me theres no comparison - Yes that even means the 3 SBs we won don't compare to this.....

That game was the AFC Championship game against Miami in 1986 where we almost never won before and we were huge longshots to win that game but guts and glory got us out of the Orange Bowl with Super Bowl 20 ahead FINALLY THE PATRIOTS WERE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!

Of course the SB 20 game dissapointed but never was a game so great in Patriots history as that one IMO.

That is a VERY good point. Because when Mosi Tatupu took that ball into the end zone to ice the game the impossible sentence "The Patriots are going to the Super Bowl" became possible.

the difference for me is what John Madden always says, the biggest gap in sports is winning and losing the Super Bowl. 1985 put us on the map. 2001 changed EVERYTHING.

 

[Rob0729]

I was sitting in the endzone that Vinatieri kicked the game winner for the Super Bowl vs. the Rams so I would have to say that is the greatest so far. Besides, it was our first Super Bowl and you know the old saying that you always remember your first time more fondly than the rest.

 

[Hoodie]

I'd have to say it was the entire run to the SB in 2001. The Snowball game, of course, which I watched on TV through my fingers. And yeah, I turned the channel after "the tuck" convinced the season was over.

I remember leaving work to go to the rally at the State House before the team left for Pittsburgh because even though no one game them I chance, I felt I needed to say good luck and thanks. God it was cold that day. I was so sick during the Pittsburgh game that I was screaming (especially after the hit on Tommy) and nothing was coming out.

I remember sitting in one chair during the Super Bowl afraid to move for fear it might jinx them. I remember telling myself after the Rams had tied the scored that we still had a chance and of course I remember that parade. In the FREEZING cold. But what a glorious day it was.

 

[mgteich]

I know it is a matter of perspective, and I know that for some Boston fans, nothing other than Super Bowl wins mean anything. But for me, it was this "Squish the Fish" game that changed everything for the patriots. Squish the Fish tee shirts were everywhere. Everyone for a few short weeks were patriot fans. The media went nuts. The reactions to the Super Bowls was nowhere close in intensity. And, yes, I know it is hard for the under 40 crowd to believe.

The one moment was the snow plow kick. But the game, the event, was the "Squish the Fish" game. We had finally beaten Miami IN MIAMI, and were going to the Super Bowl to face the strongest team of all time.

That is a VERY good point. Because when Mosi Tatupu took that ball into the end zone to ice the game the impossible sentence "The Patriots are going to the Super Bowl" became possible.

the difference for me is what John Madden always says, the biggest gap in sports is winning and losing the Super Bowl. 1985 put us on the map. 2001 changed EVERYTHING.

 

[bbaptiste]

Squishing the Fish (1986) in the last NFL game at the Orange Bowl, a place that previously had been a symbol of futility and pain for diehard Pats fans...so sweet. Yes!!

 

[reflexblue]

Beating the fins 1986,we destroyed them. Before that everytime we played in Miami something would always happen and we'ed end up loseing, same as in Denver. I remember STEVE NELSON walk up to either Marino,or the Miami kicker slap them on the back and say something.That punctuated the game for me.

 

[Water Boy]

No comparison... SB 36. A great, great day.

A beautiful day.

 

[patsfan13]

It was not Joe Bellino, it was Bob Gladieux in 1970 at Harvard Stadium, opening day against the Dolphins.

I thought it was the first year preseason as Schaeffer stadium?

Anyone remember the Superfoot competition at the racdetrack as the stadium was being built??

We got J Smith out of a prank by the Sports Huddle guys. Andleman's finest moment.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

It is hard for me to pick just one...

1. My first Pats game, 1996 vs Jacksonville. OT win. Pats up big, Jags come back, and some rookie named Vinitieri, who had been struggling until then, kicked the game winner. I wonder what ever happened to that kicker...

2. The SB36 playoff run/super bowl. I was a grad student, finishing my coursework at UConn. There was a group of us from Massachusetts who all had been placed in the same dorm as undergrads and we met because we all wore pats jersey's every Sunday. We watched every pats game together for five years. We were about to head our seperate ways at the end of that semester. What a great way to end it all.

3. The first game I recall watching, the 1986 AFCCG against Miami. In my class we all made "Squish the Fish" t-shirts on Friday. I was very young and had no clue what was going on, other than the fact that the Pats were about to go to the super bowl.

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

My greatest memory was the Pats first superbowl victory.

 

[Peter Pat]

1) 1986 AFCC Squish the Fish. I was 11 at the time, not really into watching football yet. This was the game that made me the die hard Pats fan I am today. All I heard was how there was no way the Pats can win, 20 year losing streak at the orange bowl. Dan Marino best QB ever, etc etc.

2) AV's kick to beat the Rams, you always remember your 1st.

3) This one will suprise you. AFCC game vs Jax in 96. The feeling in that stadium was immense, we were going back to the SB, the tailgating all day and long after the game into the night, celebrating with friends. It was a great feeling. It was a great celebraion among Pats fans

You have to realise after going to 3 Sbs (96, 2003,2004) the SB is such a corp event, its not a game for the fans of the teams, who only split half the tickets, the rest go to the NFL an corp sponsers, so the atmosphere during the game s not like an AFCC game, thats the game when the Pats fans are togther and celebrating. It was like a Pats fan Woodstock.

The Pat have only won 2 AFCC at home, 96, and 2003. Both great memories. But 96 was my 1st. 2003 is a great memory also.

4) The snow bowl, most surreal atmosphere I have ever been at. Going from the lowest of the lows, to the highest of the highs. I can not describe the joy after the Pats pulled that game out. Last game ever at the old digs still an unreal memory.

 

[bbabin]

3) This one will suprise you. AFCC game vs Jax in 96. The feeling in that stadium was immense, we were going back to the SB, the tailgating all day and long after the game into the night, celebrating with friends. It was a great feeling. It was a great celebraion among Pats fans

I was at that game as well, though only 11 at the time. Am I right in remembering that the power went out at one point, leaving the stadium completely dark?

Coincidentally the only Pats' post season games I've attended were wins against Jacksonville.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Hm, would have to be Vinatieri's kick in the 2001 Superbowl. That was just unbelievable. I actually felt transported to another dimension.

Ditto. And, "transported to another dimension" is as good a way as any to describe how I felt for the first few minutes after the kick...