He's the Patriots' Tedy Ballgame
HOUSTON -- Thus far, it is the signature moment of the Patriots' supernova season. It leads the highlight packages, provokes millions of smiles, and stands as the play that best demonstrates the winning ways of the most beloved local sports team since the 1967 Cinderella Red Sox.
It's Tedy Bruschi on his knees, sliding across the end zone, cradling the football as 45,378 snow-loving fans prepare to celebrate by tossing the packed powder skyward to the tune of Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2." Bruschi's 5-yard interception return of Miami's Jay Fiedler gave the Patriots an insurmountable 10-0 lead with 8:55 left and effectively clinched the AFC East title for New England.
What do you think? Is it Bobby Orr flying through the air after scoring to win the Stanley Cup? Is it Havlicek stealing the ball, or Carlton Fisk's October moondance in 1975?
Not quite. Not yet. But Bruschi's snowdance is atop the next tier of local memorable sports moments. And it has come to signify the stunning success of the 2003-04 Patriots.
Everything you need to know about the Patriots is in that one play. It's a touchdown by the defense, which is typical. It's part of a shutout of the Dolphins in a season in which they recorded three shutouts. It's a TD by a hard-working, non-star who typifies the spirit and work ethic of the team. And it's witnessed by thousands of happy people who plowed through 2 feet of game-day snow, endured hideous traffic and parking woes, then sat on snowbanks and cheered their team to victory. It's the play that'll be immortalized in the next Patriot commemorative snow globe.
The shutout of the Fish was consecutive-win No. 9 and guaranteed a home playoff game. It also made the Patriots the best bad-weather team since Vince Lombardi's titletown Packers.
The veteran inside linebacker strained his calf in the AFC Championship game but is expected to play Sunday. En route to his third Super Bowl with the Patriots, he took time this week to walk us through the play that culminated with the season's primo photo-op:
"We come out of the huddle and I see Ricky Williams," he said. "I got Ricky Williams in man-to-man coverage. There's sort of a play-action fake, but they didn't really show play-action on that play, so Ricky Williams is really in protection. So I'm still looking at Ricky Williams. He doesn't look like he's coming out to run a route. So my eyes go back to Jay Fiedler. I happened to be about 7 yards from Jay Fiedler, so my eyes go back to him -- up and to the left. I got to jump up and to the left, put my hands on the ball, come down with it and take it 5 yards.
"It gets weird. When you make a big play like that all sound just goes out of your helmet so you don't hear anything. I ended up on my knees at the end of the play and I said to myself, `Holy Smoke, that's four in a row.' That was my fourth interception in a row for a touchdown and everybody had been telling me that I had three in a row.
"When [linebacker Matt] Chatham hit me on the back of my head it was like the sound came back in my helmet and the crowd all of a sudden was throwing snow up in the air."
Bruschi's got a photo of the play in his home, but said he's keeping it in the closet for now.
"It was one of the plays I'll remember, especially the post-play reaction," he said.
There's something appropriate about a player named Bruschi (pronounced Brew-ski) representing all that is good about this Patriot team. Patriots fans traditionally have consumed the nectar of the gods in great quantities to enhance their game-day experience, but this year's team seems to have somewhat tamed Patriot Nation. No longer inebriated and angry, most Patriot fans were happy and hearty as they enjoyed the magic ride to another Super Bowl. They complained about almost nothing, not even the ridiculous conditions on the day of the Miami game.
"I guess we're providing a little bit of warmth to the New England area," said Bruschi. "They had something to look forward to these last two weeks. It's nice to know that we can provide a little bit of enjoyment."
But can they heal the wound the Red Sox inflicted on the region? Can the feel-good Patriots erase the pain left behind by the Hub's Hardball boys of bummer?
"I hope so," he answered. "I know the whole region was disappointed by the whole seventh game fiasco and everything that happened after that. It seems like that's been the Red Sox history. Hopefully, we can make 'em forget, and give 'em hope that next year the Sox can put it together like we have the last few years."
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com.
