- Patriots Capture First Super Bowl,

Bono Becomes American Citizen? by Adam GAUTHIER

Like many sports fans I was glued to my television last Sunday as

the New England Patriots met the

heavily favored St. Louis Rams at Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans. A capacity crowd of 72,922 people from all over the country flocked into the Super Dome through one metal- detected gate to see these two combat- ants beat each other senseless to earn the Vince Lombardy Trophy.

Going into the game the Patriots were predicted as fourteen point underdogs to the strong Rams offense led by NFL MVP quarterback Kurt Warner and_ running-back Marshal Faulk. The Patriots would counter with their young second-year QB Tom Brady, who has had the start- ing job since veteran starter Drew Bledsoe went down with an injury ear- lier this season.

The biggest story in the week leading up to Sunday’s game was who the starting QB would be for the Patriots (Bledsoe is now healthy and finished the AFC Championship. for Brady who went down with an ankle injury last week) and how much the Rams would win by. Many believed the Patriots to be a team of destiny because of their miraculous wins in the playoffs over the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders. Could they do it again against the juggernaut Rams team?

Just as I was getting ready to watch the game I was bombarded with more images of American patriotism

in the wake of the September jith attacks. The pre-game show was full of American flags with people dressed up as the Statue of Liberty. I’m sorry to any American’s who may be read- ing this article but for God’s sake, give it a rest. I know that the attacks were horrible and that many families were devastated by the losses all over the world, but this is too much. I’m sure that many of the families affected by this are seeing just how commercial their loss has been made by the media

and entertainment organizations. CNN blasts this stuff in our face everyday

with their updates on the “War on>

Terrorism” and Back.”

When people go to a sporting

event they try forget about all the ter- rible and horrible things that may be going on in their lives or in the world around them. They are there to have a good time. They are there to cheer for their favorite team. They are there to escape from reality. The problem with these media and entertainment groups is they will not let people move on. They continuous- ly bombard us, thinking we might have forgotten about the terrorist attacks. For God’s Sake we are never going to forget two jumbo jets plow- ing into the World Trade Center. This is another Pearl Harbor, D-Day, and JFK assassination; it will never be for- gotten.

These were my _ thoughts before the game began. It got worse at half-time.

The Patriots were up 14-3 at the half thanks to two touchdowns coming from interceptions by Kurt Warner. This was shocking in itself, that the Patriots were actually winning the game. I could just feel the sweat rolling down the backs of the high rollers in Vegas.

The half-time show was per- formed by Irish rockers U2. The stage was in the shape of a giant heart. Lead singer Bono ran around the stage belt- ing out the band’s hits. It seemed like a normal show until a giant canvas rose from behind the stage climbing to the rafters of the dome. Then the names of the victims of September 11th began to scroll upward. Lest we forget, again. Then the canvas fell to the ground in much the same fashion as the twin towers did on that fateful day, which was very eery. At the end of the song Bono opened his leather jacket to reveal an American flag stitched into the inner fabric. I gasped

“America Fights

when I saw this. Bono has been the

epitome of anti-capitalism/ anti-glob- alism for as long as I can remember. Perhaps he was doing this in honor of the victims of the attacks, but I was surprised, to say the least.

In the third quarter the Patriots increased their lead with a 37 yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri. Then, in the fourth, the Rams began to fight back with a touchdown by Warner to cut the lead to seven. They completed the comeback with a touchdown pass

by Warner to Proehl with 1:30 remain- ing.

Tom Brady then got his team organized and marched them up field within field-goal range leaving the game in the hands of kicker Vinatieri. With seven seconds left and from 48 yards out he kicked it down the center of the uprights, giving the Patriots their, first , ever. Super .. Bowl Championship. Brady was -named MVP of the game and is the youngest QB to ever lead his team to a victory in the Super Bowl (24yrs 6mths).

When all was said and done, it did seem rather fitting that a team called the Patriots would win ‘the biggest prize in professional football in this year of patriotism. I can hon- estly say that I was happy for the team from New England. There were no real superstars on the team. They played as one which was evident when, during pre-game introductions, they ran out on to the field as a group. In this world of large salaries and huge egos it’s good to see a group leave all that on the back burner and work to achieve the ultimate goal.

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