January 19, 2002 Foxboro, MA
The forecast called for light flurries with a game time temperature of around 32 degrees. I remember checking the weather to make sure how many layers I needed to stay warm. Kickoff was set for 8pm. A primetime game between the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots. Around 4, my cousin and I made our treck down route 1 to tailgate in the parking lot for a few hours. As we sat in bumper to bumper traffic the first sign of snowflakes began to fall. Little did we know the snow wouldn’t stop until the we hours of Sunday morning.
We met up with some people we knew and got the VIP parking treatment some 80 yards from the south endzone of Foxboro Stadium. Our parking location was right next to the little hill which would eventually become the Ebay water tower adjacent to Gillette Stadium. As the minutes passed and the snow began to intensify. One of the coolest memories from that night was to look over at Foxboro Stadium and see the lights on with all the snow falling around it. As a kid growing up in New England there is no better backdrop than a snowy playoff football game on a winter night in January.
Once we got to our seats and looked down at the field it was a surreal scene. Some 2-3 inches of snow blanketed the Foxboro Stadium landscape. At this point the snow showed no signs of slowing, if anything it was intensifying. The funny thing about that night is there was minimul wind and it felt warm. I know game time temperature was 28 degrees but for some reason it felt closer to 45.
The game was a back and forth affair. Both teams had trouble getting their offence going. I remember thinking to myself that the first team to score a TD would win. James Jett scored that first TD on 13 yard pass from Rich Gannon and they would take 7-0 lead into halftime. In the third quarter the Patriots get on the score board with a 23 yard Vinatieri field goal. Oakland would answer with a 2 Sebastian Janikowski field goals to give the Raiders a 13-3 leading heading into the 4th quarter. The Patriots chances of coming back looked bleak.
In the 4th quarter Brady would scramble into the endzone and give the Patriots their first touchdown of the day and cut the deficit to 3 at 13-10. The Raiders would get the ball back and punt to the Patriots. A clutch drive was needed from this kid named Brady. He began to dink and dunk his way down field. “Wait, we might actually comeback and win this,” I said to myself. Then at the 1:47 mark of the fourth quarter it happened.
Brady gets hit by Charles Woodson, the ball comes out and the Raiders recover. I tapped my cousin on the shoulder and said “lets get the fuck out of here.” We sat in the upper corner of the Stadium, this happened to be where all the Oakland fans sat. As we walked down the stairs fans were yelling shit at us, chanting in our faces. No other Pats fans in our section were moving, they all just stood there in shock. So many thoughts were running through my head… “Fuckin Boston sports, we never win shit… should of started Bledsoe, would have thrown 4 TDs with that arm in the snow… this is how the last game ever at Foxboro Stadium is going to end? Fitting cause this place is a dump.” Just before I was on the verge of a mental break down I grabbed my cousins arm and said “wait.” Referee Walt Coleman was apparently going to review the play.
Over the shitty speakers of Foxboro Stadium and song faintly could be heard… “I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord” There we were, standing shoulder to shoulder on the top of the stairs of the exit to our section with 5 inches of snow surrounding our feet, massive snow flakes pelting our eye lashes waiting to hear the Patriots fate while the voice of Phil Collins echoed into the Foxboro night. It seemed like it took an eternity to review the play. The ruling had to be a fumble. This is Boston, we don’t win big games, we lose them. This was just going to prolong the inevitable. Then Walt Coleman made his way out to the center of the field. Phil Collins was turned down and the referee's mic was turned up…
“After reviewing the play, the quarterbacks arm was going forward, it was an incomplete pass.”
No... fuckin... way...
My cousin and I shared the man hugs of all man hugs and then ran past all the Raider fans and went back to our seats. Later in the drive Vinatieri would set up for the game tying and season saving 45 yard field goal. The pressure and the elements made the task seem impossible. Our seats were parallel to the field goal posts so we had no angle to tell if the kick went in. As the snap was made and the kick went up I stared at the fans seated in the south end zone, they would let me know if the kick was good.
We couldn’t belive it. Did that kick really just go in? We still have a chance to win this? Is this real life? I was in a state of shock.
The game would go into overtime and the Patriots would win the coin toss. Brady drove the team down field, peppering the Raiders defense with check down passes and while getting a few big runs from Antoine Smith. This to set Vinatieri up for a game winning 23 yard field goal attempt. I remember looking up at the stadium scoreboard and it already read Raiders 13 Patriots 16. I thought to myself, "this fuckin scoreboard guy better not jinx the shit out of us." The Radiers called timeout to ice the kicker and the Patriots used that time to clear some snow away for holder Ken Walter to spot the ball. Seconds later long snapper Lonnie Paxton would be doing snow angles in the endzone.
The kick was god, the Patriots had accomplished the unfathomable. The place went nuts. We stormed out of the stadium into the parking lot. People were dancing on top of the row of winnebagos. Random fans were going up and hugging one another. All this going on while the snow continued to fall and Glory Days by Springsteen was heard echoing from Foxboro Stadium. The moment was so sureal it felt like you were living a scene from a movie. The dancing, drinking and celebrating would go on into the wee hours of Sunday morning... It would be the last game ever played at Foxboro Stadium and will forever be one of the greatest experiences in my life.
January 19th 2002, 11:30 PM.
The mental state of Boston sports fans began to shift. We didn’t expect to lose now, we expected to win and win we did. Since that night the Patriots have been to 4 Super Bowls won 3. The Celtics appeared in 2 NBA Finals winning 1, The Red Sox would win 2 titles ending a 86 year old drought and just recently the Boston Bruins won their first championship in 39 years.
Thats how we went from losers to winners. And it all started one snowy night in Foxboro.
