My ardent dedication to watching professional sports began in the tumultuous year of 2001. In a year plagued with fear resulting from the unforgettable attacks which occurred a mere four months prior to Super Bowl XXXVI, a team that seemed to be in a constant state of dormancy woke from its sleep and gave birth to the most powerful sports dynasty of the new century.

This team that arose from the panic and hysteria of the worst year in the history of our country would come to personify the resilient and unbending will of true American Patriots. The season started off just as any other New England Patriot season would. It began miserably. After beginning the season with two losses, the lone bright spot that had existed over the last decade for the Patriots, Drew Bledsoe, was gone.

The Pro-bowl quarter back suffered a sheared blood-vessel from a devastating hit during a week three game against the division rival New York Jets. His replacement would come in the form of a second year quarter back drafted the previous year in the sixth round, named Tom Brady. A backup quarterback who had only thrown three passes in the previous season.

Brady’s baptism by fire would prove to be a shaky one indeed as the Patriots stumbled to a five-hundred start through ten games. They began to look like a Super Bowl Team as they went on to run the table for the remainder of the regular season. A euphoric sense of pride swept through New England as this formerly abysmal franchise marched into the playoffs brimming with momentum.