Mayb a thread for Patriots Moments to Remember?

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I sat in the end zone for this game and watched the hole open up that Herschel ran through for the game winner in OT. I remember being pissed at Grogan for the INT and then being mad at myself for being pissed when he went out with the injury. Like it was my fault he got hurt.
 
Still the greatest game I ever attended.

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I'll go with one from the distant past that, for me, marked the game where the Patriots officially arrived in the NFL despite the fact they had been in the merged league for 7 years or so.

September 26th, 1976 the Pats traveled to Three Rivers Stadium to play the mighty Steelers. They were mighty because they were coming off back-to-back Super Bowl wins and many, including the Rooney family and Jack Lambert thought that their '76 team was the best of them all. ESPN named that defense as the best D in NFL history.

So, we go to their place and win the game, which was shocking, but it was the way we did it that really made it noteworthy. We hung 30 points on a D that dominated everybody in a historical way. In the last 8 games of the regular season they gave up a total of 22 points with 5 shutouts. Think about that.

The stats weren't eye-popping by today's standards, but we rushed for 142 yards behind that great John Hannah-led Oline. We gave up zero sacks against the Steel Curtain in their absolute prime. Steve Grogan passed for two long second-half scores to Darryl Stingley and Russ Francis, but that's not what I remember.

There was a moment late in that game where anybody with any sense figured that Pittsburgh would wake up and take control but they simply could not stop us. We were knocking that great defensive front down and backwards. They appeared confused and started screaming at each other and pointing fingers over the entire course of that drive. They could not understand what was happening and it was not just a fluke. We were as good as they were. Maybe better. Gil Santos was amazed and his voice was electric as he described what I was watching on the tube and I got goosebumps listening to him. It was a moment of pure, unexpected euphoria.

I always think of that game as the day when the Pats grew up.
 
Hawg73 said:
I'll go with one from the distant past that, for me, marked the game where the Patriots officially arrived in the NFL despite the fact they had been in the merged league for 7 years or so.

September 26th, 1976 the Pats traveled to Three Rivers Stadium to play the mighty Steelers. They were mighty because they were coming off back-to-back Super Bowl wins and many, including the Rooney family and Jack Lambert thought that their '76 team was the best of them all. ESPN named that defense as the best D in NFL history.

So, we go to their place and win the game, which was shocking, but it was the way we did it that really made it noteworthy. We hung 30 points on a D that dominated everybody in a historical way. In the last 8 games of the regular season they gave up a total of 22 points with 5 shutouts. Think about that.

The stats weren't eye-popping by today's standards, but we rushed for 142 yards behind that great John Hannah-led Oline. We gave up zero sacks against the Steel Curtain in their absolute prime. Steve Grogan passed for two long second-half scores to Darryl Stingley and Russ Francis, but that's not what I remember.

There was a moment late in that game where anybody with any sense figured that Pittsburgh would wake up and take control but they simply could not stop us. We were knocking that great defensive front down and backwards. They appeared confused and started screaming at each other and pointing fingers over the entire course of that drive. They could not understand what was happening and it was not just a fluke. We were as good as they were. Maybe better. Gil Santos was amazed and his voice was electric as he described what I was watching on the tube and I got goosebumps listening to him. It was a moment of pure, unexpected euphoria.

I always think of that game as the day when the Pats grew up.
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That's an excellent choice. That was in the middle of a 3 game killer run. The previous week, they beat a very strong Miami team in Foxboro. I recall the crowd going crazy, waving white towels, which was Miami's home crowd thing back then. The week after Pitt was mighty Oakland. I was fortunate to be at that game and it was a complete and total annihilation (48-17) and Oakland's only loss that season. Winning 3 straight against those teams was hard to believe at the time.
 
Well, I'll always have a fond remembrance of the Pats vs Miami in Foxboro, December 5th, 1971.

It was also my first game in person.

That was Plunkett's rookie year.

Mercury Morris ran the kickoff back for a TD.

Plunkett engineered a drive and scored a TD.

On the next kickoff, Mercury Morris fumbled and the Pats recovered.

With a short field, they scored another TD.

Next kickoff Morris fumbled again, and again the Pats recovered.

This time they got a FG.

Next kickoff, Morris was on the bench and so before Griese et al, saw the field it was 17 - 7 and the Pats never looked back, winning 34-13.

By definition, 1971 was a successful season. Sure we only went 6-8, but we beat Miami once.

Back then that defined a successful season.

We're so frickin spoiled now.
 
I never had a NFL team that I rooted for until this happened:

bos_pats_draftpicks_02.jpg


Being the die-hard Michigan fan that I am, most assume I love the Pats because of Brady. It was Ty Law that started it all for me when I was 12 years old. The ride has been spectacular since then!
 
D2maine said:
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Wow. Just watched the whole video. Thanks D2. I was a 12 year old kid again for a half hour.

Loved that team. Randy Vataha. Andy Johnson. Don Calhoun. Ike Forte. Guys that weren't supposed to do anything played key roles that season.

Grogan rushing for all those TD's.

I loved those teams more than I love this current team. I used to read the box scores in the Monday morning paper.

Great memories.
 
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D2maine said:
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I also watched the whole thing and hadn't seen that in many years. It was really great. Thank you.

It triggered a lot of memories, but at about the 11:45 mark I got really excited because it showed Sam Hunt running an INT back and I was thinking "OMG! Is this the TD dance?" and, sure enough, he takes it to the house and does an awkward little dance and finishes it by squatting down and dropping the football out of his ass just like I remembered.

With apologies to Gronk and a few others, that right there was the most creative TD celebration in Patriots history.

Another random moment that was highly amusing was seeing O.J. viciously attacking big Mel Lunsford after the whistle. You wouldn't think that a swell guy like Simpson was capable of snapping like that.

:eek:
 
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