As of 2019, the New England Patriots have now won six Super Bowls, a string of Championships that have established the Pats as pro football’s most dominant force in history. This incredible run of Super Bowl victories all have two things, or rather individuals, in common: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Since first playing together in 2000, the head coach and quarterback have formed a rock-solid alliance that brought championship football to a franchise that had never tasted the fruits of Super Bowl glory. And the first Super Bowl won by this dynamic pair was XXXVI following the 2001 season.
Belichick and Brady had gone 11-5 to win the AFC East division, then beat the Raiders in a memorable, blizzard-swept game at Foxboro that gave us the “Tuck Rule” and featured two clutch Adam Vinatieri field goals in the snow. Next, the Pats knocked off the heavily favored Steelers to gain entry to their first Super Bowl appearance. Facing the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” at the Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 3, 2002, the game was a seesaw affair, with New England dominating the first half, then the Rams making a 4th quarter comeback. Once again, it all came down to Adam Vinatieri, who nailed another game winning 48-yard field goal as the clock expired. In the next 18 years, Belichick and Brady would win 5 more Super Bowls - but this ball was used during their very first — 2002’s Super Bowl XXXVI.
The Wilson official game ball has the special Super Bowl XXXVI logo on a top panel along with the Commissioner Paul Tagliabue stamp and Wilson. The other top panel has the league, Super Bowl opponents, site and date of the famous game. The ball shows obvious game use with reddish staining on the white laces and a few abrasions on the surface. A nice keepsake from the Patriots’ first Championship. Includes COA from PSA/DNA confirming its use in the game.