New England Patriots: Growing up with the NFL’s premier dynasty
By Paul Liacos
The New England Patriots two decades of excellent has been extra special for fans who grew up in this era of winning.
Seventeen years ago this week this New England Patriots fan celebrated his 11th birthday. It was your typical elementary school birthday party that included 12 pre-pubescent boys hopped up on birthday cake and caffeine. It was a sleepover party in the middle of a New England nor’easter and almost certainly had my parents contemplating how they ever agreed to this.
It wasn’t very different from other birthdays I had previously, except for the fact that our hometown football team the New England Patriots were actually playing in an important playoff game. It was a Divisional Round matchup in the middle of a blizzard against the Oakland Raiders, in what would be the last ever game held in Foxboro Stadium.
We all know the story of that game, I fondly refer to it as the “Snow Bowl,” but many Patriots haters and those outside New England refer to it as the “Tuck Rule Game.”
Until that point in my short life, I had never seen any of my beloved New England teams have any real postseason success, never mind winning a championship. I can still vividly remember the excitement among my friends and I when Adam Vinatieri kicked the game winning field goal in overtime. It was pure joy that we had never experience before.
Many consider that game, despite its controversy, to be the moment that started the greatest dynasty we have ever seen.
Fast forward 17 years later, I just turned 28 years old and here we are, still going. While the players and stadium have changed, three things remain: Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and a dynasty.