In January, Patriots' owner Robert Kraft brought in dynasty stalwart Mike Vrabel with one thing in mind: rejuvenating New England's winning ways. Bringing in Vrabel was one of many great offseason moves the Patriots made, and the last time Vrabel was brought in, it was in 2001 as a player.
We all remember what happened that season. The Patriots' surprising run to Super Bowl XXXVI and upset win over the Rams "Greatest Show on Turf" launched a two-decaded dynasty that resulted in six Lombardi Trophies, three of which were won with Vrabel as one of New England's linebackers.
Everyone in New England remembers where they were that February night, and for Kraft, that was the ultimate moment in one of many that he's had in three-plus decades of ownership.
Kraft recently told The Adam Schefter Podcast that the first Patriots' Super Bowl remains his greatest moment since being in charge of the Patriots.
“Well, there’s one thing about when you dream of owning a team, and then you want to win. When we went to the Super Bowl in the 2001 season, four months after 9/11, and the country was so messed up, and we were the largest underdog against ‘The Greatest Show on Turf’, the St. Louis Rams. I’ll never forget seeing the clock tick down as Adam Vinatieri makes the kick as time runs out, and we win the Super Bowl. It was just unbelievable."
The first moment is often the best moment
It's easy to see why that first Super Bowl is Kraft's favorite. All the circumstances leading up to it were a heck of a story, from the September 11 tragedy, offensive lineman Joe Andruzzi's three brothers serving as New York firemen and narrowly escaping with their lives, Tom Brady supplanting Drew Bledsoe, and the Snow Bowl kick from Vinatieri against the Raiders.
Raider fans can talk about the Tuck Rule all they want, but that was poetic justice for a bad call against Ray Hamilton in 1976 that went in Oakland's favor. Finally, something that didn't go Al Davis' way.
That magical day in New Orleans also marked the first championship for a Boston-area sports team since the 1986 Celtics. Near-misses and futility had marred the Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox, and Bruins between then and February 2002, and the Patriots finally had a championship team again.
Here's hoping that Drake Maye and Vrabel can create similar magic the way Brady and Bill Belichick did.