Saturday, October 2, 2010
Guilty before proven innocent?!
Guilty before proven innocent. This is what you have all done to me in the last week. You read an article from a report that was not factual or even investigated besides looking at my facebook page or blog of all things. Everyone jumps to conclusions. My family, my so-called friends, my colleagues, etc. you all took for granted the fundamental principle this country is based on; innocent until proven guilty. Well, let me set the record straight for all to see so there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind. So there will be no more messages of “OMG is this true or is that true?” I will make a clear and concise explanation of the real events without the sensationalist journalism one court reporter decided to make out of my case:
Over fifteen months ago my wife and I were sued by a man that we tried to purchase a gym from. Unfortunately this man did not fully disclose the debt this small gym had. He owed thousands of dollars to landlords, customers and leasing companies without ever disclosing the true amounts owed. I take full responsibility of financial affairs. I tried to build a net worth of several million dollars without keeping things simple. I bought a million dollar home, a ski house and several rental properties. I got into the real estate market after going to a seminar for investments. I was duped into buying several properties that had no real value and lost over five million dollars in equity. No one mentions that I was making over two hundred thousand a year for the past six years while paying, the best I could, my parents’ mortgage, five thousand dollars for their lawyer, one thousand dollars for their trip to California in September ’05, two trips to the Dominican Republic, the trip to Disney my wife and I paid for, the $6,000 I gave my mother when Dad was in the hospital. Not to mention the two HD TV’s I bought for my family, the $2,600 I gave my sister to get her car out of repossession, or the “loan” I gave her when her play company got a big Home Depot bill, and how about when my brother fished on my lake pretending to work as I handed him his paycheck for weeks as he told his wife he was worked, incensing my wife. Notwithstanding giving my parents my brand new 5 series BMW so they could go back and forth to Dana Farber. To be clear, I could never do enough for my parents. They loved me and I them. I owed them so much as they were always there for me. Over the last five years when they could no longer afford their football tickets, it was my wife and I who bought them to keep our family traditions alive. See the pattern here? Whether it was allowing my family use of my vacation home or giving money or a football ticket I have and always will step up to the plate without ever asking for anything in return. Do the math people and you can see the thousands and thousands I gave.
Sixteen months ago after being sued, frivolously I might add, I asked my parents to help me cash my rent checks because my bank accounts were frozen by the courts again without merit. My mother helped me out and unfortunately the bank cashed checks that should not have been cashed. All with my mother’s help, knowledge and insight. When the check did not go through, I immediately paid my mother. I received absolutely nothing, zero, nada and am absolutely enraged that I have been even accused of any wrong doing.
The real shame is how people have turned their backs on me. No one ever turned their backs when I was handing out free concert tickets, football tickets, money when people needed to borrow it, my cars, my homes, etc. No! People read one article by a bonehead reported and bam! I am at fault. I was able to live a comfortable and support my family. I was wrong and I had to embarrassingly need help. I was teaching at Northeastern University at the time as my best friend, whose daughter I am godfather to can attest to. He was my student and took Software Project Management and Database Design and Implementation in Dodge Hall. I keep in contact with several students and will give any reporter their names. If you did any research at all you would know, I also sold the largest software deal to the Department of justice in 2007. I have video interviews on DVD if anyone would like to watch them. I sold software to HBO, Turner, Carlye Group, Blackstone Group just to name a few. Whether you try or not, you cannot take away my accomplishments.
Being a person of faith and one who can be incredibly naïve at time has hurt me in so many different ways. As a victim of abuse at eleven, I have tremendous low self esteem. I lost a business eleven years ago and ended up in great debt, over $500,000. Every nickel of every penny was paid back. I have made over $100,000 a year in salary since 1995 and I always seem to be on the losing side of things. My ex-wife used me as a printing press. If I made $100,000 she spent $150,000. The more I made the more she spent until I was literally bankrupt. Without that I would never be in this position.
I work my tail off for my family. I have never taken a drug, nor do I have any substance issues. I am a pleaser. I tried to always be the guy who helped and yet when I needed help there was no one there, why? I will tell you why. People in today’s society are takers. There is no longer any sense of community. People are out to get you. No one ever stands up and says “I did wrong.” Well I blew my family’s finances by working hard and taking advice from the wrong people. Promises came and promises went and I bought into each and every one of them because I wanted to be someone. I wanted to go back to an age of innocence and go back and be what I should have been; a boy who was loved and well adjusted, not an abuse victim alone in the world. Over the last two years I have had contractors destroy my home and colleagues blackmail me for $100,000 with no repercussions for it. Yet, I am the one that needs to spend thousands on legal defense. If I added up the monies I have spent in legal defense this year it would exceed $150,000. Look what that has gotten me, real good for their economies and bad for mine. I legitimately owe people money and I owe people that I love deeply but did not tell of how deep a financial crisis the housing market put me in. I also had monies I was supposed to get and was promised so many times. I wish I had a dollar for every time something was promised to me.
My mother was dying, my wife was pregnant twice, the housing market was failing and I was getting sued by friend and foe alike. Did I try not to worry anyone? Of course, but I certainly had no malice in my heart and soul. I was trying to get out it the old fashioned way through hard work and determination. I know I let down people. I know I let down people where there just was not enough money to satisfy everyone. Cars, houses, babies were taking my $300,000 salary out of my pocket and then some. Is this a crime? People lose properties at an alarming rate every day does that mean they are bad people? When will the Bank of America’s in the world be sued for ruining the housing market and all of my income? When will people write things they have proof of instead of reading a piece of paper with more inaccuracies than Obama’s healthcare policies?
I have been accused of things that make no sense. When I got help it must be that I was having an affair. I lost the opportunity to see my son being born because I was trying to find a better job to support my family. Am I supposed to ever forgive people for taking my right as a father away? Obviously it is what people expect yet they offer no help in understanding the broken heart. People expect so much of me yet I expect so little of others. I will spend the rest of my life loving all and asking forgiveness for my indiscretions while others thumb their noses at me and see their meal ticket over. I lost my innocence at eleven and there is no way of getting that back. I can however, be better at being me. Before you criticize me on a half baked, half witted article know the real facts in the case. Do not assume and for those of you who did, you’re not real friends or family that cares. Trust me, this would never have happened if Mom was here, Never!
Over fifteen months ago my wife and I were sued by a man that we tried to purchase a gym from. Unfortunately this man did not fully disclose the debt this small gym had. He owed thousands of dollars to landlords, customers and leasing companies without ever disclosing the true amounts owed. I take full responsibility of financial affairs. I tried to build a net worth of several million dollars without keeping things simple. I bought a million dollar home, a ski house and several rental properties. I got into the real estate market after going to a seminar for investments. I was duped into buying several properties that had no real value and lost over five million dollars in equity. No one mentions that I was making over two hundred thousand a year for the past six years while paying, the best I could, my parents’ mortgage, five thousand dollars for their lawyer, one thousand dollars for their trip to California in September ’05, two trips to the Dominican Republic, the trip to Disney my wife and I paid for, the $6,000 I gave my mother when Dad was in the hospital. Not to mention the two HD TV’s I bought for my family, the $2,600 I gave my sister to get her car out of repossession, or the “loan” I gave her when her play company got a big Home Depot bill, and how about when my brother fished on my lake pretending to work as I handed him his paycheck for weeks as he told his wife he was worked, incensing my wife. Notwithstanding giving my parents my brand new 5 series BMW so they could go back and forth to Dana Farber. To be clear, I could never do enough for my parents. They loved me and I them. I owed them so much as they were always there for me. Over the last five years when they could no longer afford their football tickets, it was my wife and I who bought them to keep our family traditions alive. See the pattern here? Whether it was allowing my family use of my vacation home or giving money or a football ticket I have and always will step up to the plate without ever asking for anything in return. Do the math people and you can see the thousands and thousands I gave.
Sixteen months ago after being sued, frivolously I might add, I asked my parents to help me cash my rent checks because my bank accounts were frozen by the courts again without merit. My mother helped me out and unfortunately the bank cashed checks that should not have been cashed. All with my mother’s help, knowledge and insight. When the check did not go through, I immediately paid my mother. I received absolutely nothing, zero, nada and am absolutely enraged that I have been even accused of any wrong doing.
The real shame is how people have turned their backs on me. No one ever turned their backs when I was handing out free concert tickets, football tickets, money when people needed to borrow it, my cars, my homes, etc. No! People read one article by a bonehead reported and bam! I am at fault. I was able to live a comfortable and support my family. I was wrong and I had to embarrassingly need help. I was teaching at Northeastern University at the time as my best friend, whose daughter I am godfather to can attest to. He was my student and took Software Project Management and Database Design and Implementation in Dodge Hall. I keep in contact with several students and will give any reporter their names. If you did any research at all you would know, I also sold the largest software deal to the Department of justice in 2007. I have video interviews on DVD if anyone would like to watch them. I sold software to HBO, Turner, Carlye Group, Blackstone Group just to name a few. Whether you try or not, you cannot take away my accomplishments.
Being a person of faith and one who can be incredibly naïve at time has hurt me in so many different ways. As a victim of abuse at eleven, I have tremendous low self esteem. I lost a business eleven years ago and ended up in great debt, over $500,000. Every nickel of every penny was paid back. I have made over $100,000 a year in salary since 1995 and I always seem to be on the losing side of things. My ex-wife used me as a printing press. If I made $100,000 she spent $150,000. The more I made the more she spent until I was literally bankrupt. Without that I would never be in this position.
I work my tail off for my family. I have never taken a drug, nor do I have any substance issues. I am a pleaser. I tried to always be the guy who helped and yet when I needed help there was no one there, why? I will tell you why. People in today’s society are takers. There is no longer any sense of community. People are out to get you. No one ever stands up and says “I did wrong.” Well I blew my family’s finances by working hard and taking advice from the wrong people. Promises came and promises went and I bought into each and every one of them because I wanted to be someone. I wanted to go back to an age of innocence and go back and be what I should have been; a boy who was loved and well adjusted, not an abuse victim alone in the world. Over the last two years I have had contractors destroy my home and colleagues blackmail me for $100,000 with no repercussions for it. Yet, I am the one that needs to spend thousands on legal defense. If I added up the monies I have spent in legal defense this year it would exceed $150,000. Look what that has gotten me, real good for their economies and bad for mine. I legitimately owe people money and I owe people that I love deeply but did not tell of how deep a financial crisis the housing market put me in. I also had monies I was supposed to get and was promised so many times. I wish I had a dollar for every time something was promised to me.
My mother was dying, my wife was pregnant twice, the housing market was failing and I was getting sued by friend and foe alike. Did I try not to worry anyone? Of course, but I certainly had no malice in my heart and soul. I was trying to get out it the old fashioned way through hard work and determination. I know I let down people. I know I let down people where there just was not enough money to satisfy everyone. Cars, houses, babies were taking my $300,000 salary out of my pocket and then some. Is this a crime? People lose properties at an alarming rate every day does that mean they are bad people? When will the Bank of America’s in the world be sued for ruining the housing market and all of my income? When will people write things they have proof of instead of reading a piece of paper with more inaccuracies than Obama’s healthcare policies?
I have been accused of things that make no sense. When I got help it must be that I was having an affair. I lost the opportunity to see my son being born because I was trying to find a better job to support my family. Am I supposed to ever forgive people for taking my right as a father away? Obviously it is what people expect yet they offer no help in understanding the broken heart. People expect so much of me yet I expect so little of others. I will spend the rest of my life loving all and asking forgiveness for my indiscretions while others thumb their noses at me and see their meal ticket over. I lost my innocence at eleven and there is no way of getting that back. I can however, be better at being me. Before you criticize me on a half baked, half witted article know the real facts in the case. Do not assume and for those of you who did, you’re not real friends or family that cares. Trust me, this would never have happened if Mom was here, Never!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
I got fat
We as a country love to eat big and large and it only is getting worse and worse. Value meals keep getting bigger, all you can eat buffets are popping up everywhere and our ice cream cones at the ice cream parlor are getting extra scoops added to them. America is getting bigger and bigger and bigger waistlines because we are not just eating too much-but also sitting our ever expanding buttocks’ on the couch and watching too much rotten uninspiring television or playing video games until our eyes hurt. Drunk, fat and lazy is what we are all getting.
I have bad knees and it is absolutely no secret that my football and rugby days have beaten the hell out of my body. When my son was incubating, I had knee surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL. I tried to hold off the surgery as long as I could, until I was not even able to get my ever expanding waistline across the street. You see, I love food and I love to eat and eat and eat, however when you were glued to a gym for as many years as I was you had no worries about gaining weight. At forty one, your metabolism just doesn’t work like it used to when you were eighteen. You eat badly and those calories stick right to you.
When I got really fat, I was travelling a whole bunch and I was getting treated by my vendors to the finest restaurants in the world for breakfast, lunch and dinner. How many ex-football players eat salads at the best restaurants in the world? You are right, our survey as predicted said absolutely zero. Good food also meant some really good alcoholic beverages to wash down the steaks, lobsters, fried chicken, etc.; the best restaurants in the world also ironically enough serve the best booze in the world. Alcohol slows down your metabolism folks.
In December of 2008 I found out that my eating and drinking, well made me like a pig on a spigot. I started to feel like I was light headed all the time and I could not pass a bathroom without going in. I went to the doctor and I found out that I was a Type II diabetic. It scared me straighter than an arrow. I started to work out like I did when I was in college and I dropped eighty pounds of pure lard. I was so nervous that I would never see my son grow up that I started eating correctly and stopped all the Grey Goose and Cranberry Juice. I shed the fat clothes and went back to my skinny clothes.
I am proud to say I am in great shape and I have stopped all of the medicines I was on for my diabetes. I feel great, however I do have those urges to eat the whole dollar menu at McDonalds.
I wish more people would stop and think before they eat that double cheese burger with a side of fries and a shake to wash it down. Eating correctly makes you feel better and it obviously makes you much healthier.
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To receive a copy of the Hardcover or softcopy of the Well Thought out Thoughts and Opinions with a Bunch of Useless Information book, please send an e-mail to wellthoughtout@me.com
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
For the Love of My Locks
To us who are not inflicted with a disease or a treatment regimen that takes our hair, we spend an inordinate amount of time washing, conditioning, and coloring our beautiful locks. Unless we suffer from thinning hair (half of the men in the college class of 1991), we all just want to look good walking out the door every morning.
Bad hair days are a joke to some of us; however to others, they wish they could have that bad hair day. Children especially have a tough time adjusting to hair loss. The stigmatism associated with it at a young age causes all kinds of social issues. While children are generally more acceptable of things than adults, it only takes one person to make a crude remark and to hurt a child’s or even an adult’s feelings.
I was a young child in the nineteen seventies and my father was petrified of having a son with long hair. You see, my dad graduated high school in nineteen fifty six; he was of the crew cut generation and he did not want his first born son to be a hippie. Every three weeks, dear old dad would send me up the street to the beauty parlor no less, to get my magnificent hair chopped off. Well I say magnificent anyway, but what can you really get out of three weeks of growth? My friends thought I was in the military because of how many haircuts I used to get. Dad would proudly give me five dollars after every haircut I received as an, “allowance.” I know back then that five dollars every three weeks was pretty good allowance money and I took it with a big smile on my face, until I looked in the mirror of course.
In the mid eighties my hair made me look like a character out of the movie the Wedding Singer. I was known in my family as “mullet boy”. Everyone on my football team could be seen with their hair flowing out of their football helmets. Yes indeed, we were part of that mullet generation. It was the decade of no style. We all looked like the guy from the Flock of Seagulls. What on earth were we thinking?
Like the stock market the late eighties into the nineties proved to be a market correction or as we so here, a hair correction. My dad’s favorite haircut was back, the crew cut! Man was he ever happy about that. This time around I was not getting five dollars to cut my hair from dear dad, but I could tell he would have if I had asked for it.
I have literally kept the same style for twenty years. My hair is short, cropped, and it makes me pretty dashingly handsome to say the least. Ok, maybe not, but I am the writer of this column and I can dream I look good, right?
A few people I know, both male and female, have without fanfare have grown their hair to that ten inch mark to donate it to Locks of Love. I am so proud of them and I hope that their efforts will put a smile on someone’s face. I am sharing my experience in the hope that I can bring attention to this wonderful cause, even though I am returning to my eighties “mullet boy” persona. Hey, maybe I can get a part in The Wedding Singer II.
Look up locksoflove.org
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To receive a copy of the Hardcover or softcopy of the Well Thought out Thoughts and Opinions with a Bunch of Useless Information book, please send an e-mail to wellthoughtout@me.com
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Monday, August 23, 2010
New England Patriot Football
Professional football arrived in New England on Nov. 16, 1959, when a group of local businessmen, led by former public relations executive William H. "Billy" Sullivan Jr. was awarded the eighth and final franchise in the new American Football League. One week later, Northwestern University running back Ron Burton was selected as the franchise's first draft choice and Syracuse running back Gerhardt Schwedes was selected as the team's first territorial choice.
Three key personnel decisions were made in the winter of 1960. First, former Boston College head coach Mike Holovak was named director of player personnel. Ed McKeever was hired as the team's first general manager and he selected Lou Saban as the team's first head coach.
One of the first orders of business of the management group was giving the franchise a name and that was accomplished through a public contest. Thousands of entries were submitted to name the team and 74 fans suggested the winning name, the Boston Patriots. Shortly after the franchise name was chosen, Boston Globe artist Phil Bissell drew a cartoon of a Minuteman preparing to snap a football and owner Sullivan liked the drawing so much that he selected "Pat Patriot" as the team logo. On April 1, 1960, Boston University Field - the former home of the Boston Braves - was selected as the first home of the Boston Patriots.
The organization's first training camp opened on July 4, 1960 at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Approximately 350 players reported to the opening of camp, including a large contingent from Boston College. This group would be trimmed to 35 for the start of the regular season. The team's first preseason game was held on July 30 and the Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 28-7 at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo. Patriots defensive end Bob Dee recovered a fumble during the game and scored the AFL's first touchdown. The first "home" game was held two weeks later before 11,000 fans at Harvard Stadium and the Patriots lost 24-14 to the Dallas Texans. The team's regular season home opener came on Sept. 9 and 21,597 fans at Boston University field watched the team lose to the Denver Broncos 13-10.
The 1963 season saw the Patriots move to Fenway Park for home games, where they claimed their first division crown with a 7-6-1 record. The team lost the AFL title game, 51-10, to the San Diego Chargers. A number of Patriots players emerged as stars in the AFL during the 1960s, including wide receiver and kicker Gino Cappelletti, running back Jim Nance, quarterback Babe Parilli, linebacker Nick Buoniconti, defensive linemen Houston Antwine, Bob Dee, Larry Eisenhauer and Jim Lee Hunt and center Jon Morris.
In 1970, after a decade of playing at four different sites, including Boston University Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park and Boston College Alumni Stadium, the Patriots selected Foxborough as the new home of the team. In March 1971, the team was renamed the New England Patriots. On Aug. 15, 1971, the Patriots played their first game at Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, defeating the New York Giants 20-14 before a crowd of 60,423 in a preseason contest.
In 1976, the Patriots earned a wild-card playoff berth, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Oakland Raiders, 24-21. In 1978, the Patriots won their first outright division title in franchise history, but lost to the Houston Oilers on Dec. 31, 31-14, in the franchise's first home playoff game. During the 1970s, several Patriots were regarded to be among the most outstanding players in the league at their positions, including offensive tackle John Hannah, cornerback Mike Haynes and tight end Russ Francis.
In 1982, Schaefer Stadium was renamed Sullivan Stadium. In 1985, the Patriots gained a wild-card berth in the playoffs and went on to defeat the New York Jets, Los Angeles Raiders and the Miami Dolphins on the road to win their first AFC Championship and a trip to Super Bowl XX. Unfortunately, the Patriots faced one of the dominant teams of the '80s as the Chicago Bears rolled to a 46-10 Super Bowl victory. Following that season, Patriot greats John Hannah and Julius Adams retired.
On July 28, 1988, Remington Products, Inc. CEO Victor Kiam purchased the Patriots from the Sullivan family and retained the team for four years. On Nov. 23, 1988, Robert Kraft purchased Sullivan Stadium out of bankruptcy court.
In 1990, Sullivan Stadium was renamed Foxboro Stadium and the following season natural grass was installed in the stadium for the first time. On July 27 1991, Hannah became the first Patriot to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
In 1992, St. Louis businessman James B. Orthwein purchased controlling interest of the Patriots and made some dramatic changes, both on and off the field. In 1993, he hired former New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells and a new coaching staff. In addition, he also made some cosmetic changes that spring with the unveiling of a new Patriots logo and the change of primary color from red to blue.
On Jan. 21, 1994, Robert K. Kraft became the franchise's fourth owner when he purchased the team from Orthwein, saving the team from an impending move. That season, the Patriots closed out the season with a seven-game winning streak to qualify for their first playoff berth since 1985. In 1995, the Patriots became the first professional sports team to launch their own Web site - www.patriots.com.
The Patriots continued their rise during a memorable 1996 season, winning the AFC Championship and returning to the Super Bowl for the second time in team history. The Patriots finished 11-5 and scored two home playoff wins, 28-3 vs. Pittsburgh and 20-6 vs. Jacksonville, winning the AFC Championship in front of a sold out Foxboro Stadium crowd. The Patriots were defeated by the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, 35-21.
In 1997, the Patriots defended their AFC East division title with a 7-1 record in the division and a 10-6 overall record. It was the first time in team history that New England won back-to-back division titles.
The Patriots finished 9-7 in 1998 and qualified for the playoffs, marking the third consecutive season they qualified for the postseason - a team record.
A new era began in Patriots history in 2000 when the team unveiled designs for their new stadium. The new 68,436-seat facility opened in May, 2002 and celebrated its Grand Opening on Sept. 9, 2002.
When Kraft purchased the Patriots, he promised the fans of New England that he would bring home a championship, and in his first 10 years of ownership, he delivered not just one, but two titles to New England.
The Patriots began the most prosperous era in team history when Kraft hired Bill Belichick as the club's 14th head coach on Jan. 27, 2000. After taking a year to implement his system, Belichick molded the Patriots into one of the NFL's elite teams. He has led the Patriots to the best record in the league over a four-year span from 2001-04 (57-16), en route to winning three Super Bowl titles in those four seasons.
The Patriots capped off an 11-5 regular season in 2001 with three playoff wins for the ages and the first Super Bowl title in team history. In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Oakland Raiders 16-13 in overtime in a driving snowstorm in the final game at Foxboro Stadium. Adam Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the game late in regulation and then added a 23-yard kick in overtime to win, 16-13. The following week in Pittsburgh, the Patriots defeated the favored Steelers 24-17 in the AFC Championship Game to advance to their third Super Bowl.
In Super Bowl XXXVI at the Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 3, 2002, the Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams, 20-17, in one of the most dramatic Super Bowl finishes in history. After the Patriots took a 17-3 lead into the fourth quarter, St. Louis rallied to tie the game at 17. But quarterback Tom Brady marched the Patriots into Vinatieri's field goal range and his 48-yard kick sailed through the uprights as time expired to give New England its first NFL Championship. The Patriots were welcomed home with a rally in Boston attended by nearly 1.5 million people and took the Lombardi Trophy to rallies in all of the New England states.
In 2002, the Patriots celebrated the opening of their world-class new home, Gillette Stadium. In the Grand Opening on Sept. 9, the Super Bowl XXXVI banner was unveiled as the Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-14, before a national audience on Monday Night Football.
In 2003, just two seasons after winning its first Super Bowl, New England put together one of the finest seasons in pro football history, finishing with a 17-2 record and a victory in Super Bowl XXXVIII. After posting a 2-2 record in September, the Patriots became the first NFL team in 31 years to close the season with 15 consecutive wins, including three playoff victories. After fighting through a rash of injuries and finishing the regular-season with a franchisebest and league-leading 14-2 record, the Patriots produced another memorable three-game playoff run culminating in a championship.
In the divisional round of the 2003 playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans 17-14 in the first playoff game at Gillette Stadium in the coldest game in team history (four degrees at kickoff). The next week, New England hosted the AFC Championship Game for the second time in team history and dispatched the Indianapolis Colts and league co-MVP Peyton Manning, 24-14, to claim their third conference title in eight years and advance to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in team history.
Two years after winning Super Bowl XXXVI in dramatic fashion, the Patriots saw fit to thrill their fans in a similar way with a 32-29 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII on Feb. 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston Texas. In the game, New England built a 21-10 fourth-quarter lead, but Carolina rallied to take a 22-21 lead, then answered the Patriots' counterpunch by tying the game at 29 with just 1:08 left in the game. But Brady once again showed grace under pressure in driving the Patriots down the field and Vinatieri's clutch 41-yard boot with four seconds left gave the Patriots a 32-29 victory and their second title in three seasons.
The 2004 Patriots made history by becoming just the second team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span. New England remained in the spotlight throughout the year, beginning with the unveiling of the Super Bowl XXXVIII banner in front of a prime-time audience prior to the Patriots' season-opening victory over the Colts. The Patriots built on their 2003 season-ending 15-game winning streak with a six-game run to begin the 2004 season, setting the all-time pro football record with 21 consecutive wins, including playoff games. New England kept its focus down the stretch and continued its winning ways, finishing the regular season at 14-2 for the second consecutive year.
In their first two playoff games, the Patriots shut down the NFL's top scoring offense and solved the league's top ranked defense. In the divisional round, New England held Indianpolis' explosive offense to just a field goal in a 20-3 victory at Gillette Stadium, while in the AFC Championship Game the Patriots set a team playoff record with 41 points on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers' previously impregnable defense.
New England entered historic territory with its 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Patriots joined the Dallas Cowboys as the only teams to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span and became the seventh franchise to win back-to-back Super Bowls. With their third title, the Patriots now trail only Dallas (5), San Francisco (5) and Pittsburgh (4) for the most Super Bowl victories in history. New England's performance from 2003-04 constituted the most successful two-year run in the history of the NFL, with its 34 total victories setting an all-time NFL record.
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Please forward to your friends and colleagues to enjoy. The more readers I have, the more money that is raised for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
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