Crazy Patriot Guy
In the Starting Line-Up
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2004
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I know it's a little off topic for this time of the offseason but today I was thinking back to Super Bowl 36, reminding myself of how important the Pats are to me.
February 3, 2002. It's a day I'll never forget. The main reason Ill never forget it though is because the day before, February 2, I lost my granny to bone cancer. I was 22 at the time and she was the first person I was really close to that I lost.
I spent that Sunday at the funeral home for visitation. I really had no intention of watching the game that night, I wasn't going to leave my mother or grandpa. About an hour before kickoff though, my mom told me to head back to my grandpa's house to watch it. So I did.
As the game first started, I really wasn't into it. I can't say that I didn't care, just that I really had no emotion one way or the other. That changed when Ty Law took the INT to the house. It was game on after that and I was fully into it.
Late in the game, I was just as stressed as I'm sure a lot of fans were, especially after the penalty negated the Jones fumble return.
One thing I'll never forget though. As soon as that extra point that tied the game was good and I saw how much time was left on the clock, a tremendous peace came over me. I knew. I knew Brady would take us down the field, and I knew Vinatieri wouldn't miss. In my heart, I knew we were about to be Super Bowl champs.
When the kick went through, I just remember being down on the carpet on my hands and knees, laughing. I just couldn't stop laughing. It was perfect. Nothing else mattered at that moment. The pain I was feeling over my granny was gone for a little while.
It only got better when my family made it back to the house. They had gotten into the car to head home about 20 seconds before the kick so they heard it. When they walked in, seeing the smile on my grandpa's face is something I would never trade for anything in this world. He had just lost the love of his life, but he was so happy for me, it made him forget for a little while too. I just wish he could have made it another 2 and half years so he could have seen his Saints win it all.
I can't watch that game and not feel something. I can't hear "Where the Streets Have No Name" and not think about my granny and smile. Because of what surrounded that day and that game, losing her the day before and laying her to rest the day after, it will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life.
That's what the Patriots mean to me.
February 3, 2002. It's a day I'll never forget. The main reason Ill never forget it though is because the day before, February 2, I lost my granny to bone cancer. I was 22 at the time and she was the first person I was really close to that I lost.
I spent that Sunday at the funeral home for visitation. I really had no intention of watching the game that night, I wasn't going to leave my mother or grandpa. About an hour before kickoff though, my mom told me to head back to my grandpa's house to watch it. So I did.
As the game first started, I really wasn't into it. I can't say that I didn't care, just that I really had no emotion one way or the other. That changed when Ty Law took the INT to the house. It was game on after that and I was fully into it.
Late in the game, I was just as stressed as I'm sure a lot of fans were, especially after the penalty negated the Jones fumble return.
One thing I'll never forget though. As soon as that extra point that tied the game was good and I saw how much time was left on the clock, a tremendous peace came over me. I knew. I knew Brady would take us down the field, and I knew Vinatieri wouldn't miss. In my heart, I knew we were about to be Super Bowl champs.
When the kick went through, I just remember being down on the carpet on my hands and knees, laughing. I just couldn't stop laughing. It was perfect. Nothing else mattered at that moment. The pain I was feeling over my granny was gone for a little while.
It only got better when my family made it back to the house. They had gotten into the car to head home about 20 seconds before the kick so they heard it. When they walked in, seeing the smile on my grandpa's face is something I would never trade for anything in this world. He had just lost the love of his life, but he was so happy for me, it made him forget for a little while too. I just wish he could have made it another 2 and half years so he could have seen his Saints win it all.
I can't watch that game and not feel something. I can't hear "Where the Streets Have No Name" and not think about my granny and smile. Because of what surrounded that day and that game, losing her the day before and laying her to rest the day after, it will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life.
That's what the Patriots mean to me.