Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Tuck Rule: 10 Years Later


Depending on who you ask, the night of January 19, 2002 was either an extremely memorable night or just a frustrating night. One could argue that "The Tuck Rule Game" as it is famously known, sent the Patriots and Raiders in opposite directions and changed the course of their franchise forever. What if it was ruled that Tom Brady had fumbled on the play and it was not ruled incomplete? The Patriots would have never advanced to play the Rams in the Super Bowl and there would have been no 3 titles in 4 years. It could be argued that that game would have propelled the Raiders to the Super Bowl, pitting them against the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf. Maybe the Silver and Black would not have endured hard times ever since that game,with the exception of a Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers the following season. Would Tom Brady still have been the starting QB for the Patriots at the start of the 2002 season? Either way, it certainly makes for an interesting debate.

As previously mentioned, the play was ruled an incomplete pass and Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal to send the Patriots on the way to their 1st Super Bowl title. Little did people know at the time, that the win would essentially mark the start of a dynasty, as New England went on to win 3 titles in 4 years. The Patriots have amassed a record of 137-42 since that game, led by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick the whole way. The duo has more wins than any other Head Coach and QB combination in NFL history. At the time, Brady was a young gun filling in for the injured Drew Bledsoe. Now a days, he is an elite QB in football and has booked himself a place in Canton for when his playing days are over. He has become the equivalent of a cult hero in New England, someone adored by Patriots fans of all ages. #12 represents the link to the greatest era in franchise history.

On the other sideline in that game was the Oakland Raiders, a once-proud franchise that as mentioned before, has fallen on hard time. The regular season record of the Raiders since that game? 56-104. Not exactly the same good fortune as the Patriots. 14 different signal callers have lined up under center for Oakland since "The Tuck Rule Game". The list includes perennial busts JaMarcus Russell, Andrew Walter and Charlie Frye. There have also been 6 different head coaches, including the rather forgettable Lane Kiffin and Norv Turner eras. Vastly different from what the game meant to the Patriots, Raiders fans could think of a million different curse words when asked about the game. "The Tuck Rule Game" to them represents the beginning of one of the worst stretches in team history.

For those of us who are Pats fans, take a second to remember one of the best games in franchise and NFL history as we eagerly await the AFC Championship game on Sunday. For the Raiders fans out there, the team has looked better the past couple of seasons and seems to be on the way up.

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