And the hits just keep on comin' -- the countdown of
Mookie's Top Five All-Time Super Bowls continues....

Super Bowl XXXVI
Feb. 3, 2002
Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP: Tom Brady, QB, New England
St. Louis Rams 17
New England Patriots 20

Ahh, yes. The "Silence of the Rams". Forgive me if I enjoyed St. Lou's defeat a little too much -- maybe it was Rams receiver Torry Holt spouting off before the game that, "Today a dynasty is born!" You're right, Torry. That was the day that the Patriots' dynasty began. Dude, you have to win more than one Super Bowl before you can bust out the "D" word. The Pats at least waited 'til their third big-game win before we started hearing "dynasty" talk.

It's easy now to forget that back in January '02, the Rams looked like they would become the "Team of the Decade". Just two years removed from a Super Win, they had the number-one offense in the NFL, as well as one of the top defenses. The Patriots looked like this millennium's version of the 1970s Vikings -- one of those teams that makes a nice, cute little Super Bowl run every few years, only to get beaten in the big game like a rented, red-headed step-mule.

But this ain't yo' mama's New England Patriots -- a punishing defense that batters QBs and receivers, combined with a safe, ball-controlling O, run to perfection by Tom Brady ("Who IS this kid?"). A 17-3 fourth-quarter lead has visions of Namath's upset of the Colts dancing in our heads, until the Rams suddenly realize....oh yeah, they're the Rams. Two quick touchdowns in the final ten minutes ties the score, and it looks like we're destined for overtime.

New England ball, with just over a minute left, inside their own 20. Brady goes over to former-starter-turned-backup-and-mentor Drew Bledsoe and asks his sensei, "Should I play for OT, like the coaches are tellin' me? Or what?" Bledsoe's response: "Effin' sling it!" Except he doesn't say "effin". So Brady slings it -- half-a-dozen completions later, the Pats are at the Rams 30, Madden says he has goosebumps, and we have the first-ever, game-winning AND game-ending field goal, when Adam Vinatieri's 48-yarder splits the posts as time expires.

And a dynasty is born. Uhh, wrong one, Torry.