Lonie Paxton's snow angels, 'The Tuck,' Automatic Adam in the playoffs, Tedy Bruschi's big plays, Mark Henderson's snow blower, Brady-to-Moss … the list is endless. Over the years, the Patriots have given many, many reasons for Pats fans to cheer, but starting last week and lasting through the end of the season, the franchise is going to assemble the Top 10 moments in franchise history in celebration of its 50th season.
A nomination committee took on the difficult task of narrowing them
down to a collection of 50 snapshots of Patriots history. Fans had the
final say, creating their own “Top 10 Moments” list on Patriots.com by
sorting and ranking their favorite Patriots moments from the larger
list. The No. 9 moment will be revealed Friday night as the rest of results of the fan vote will be revealed weekly through the end of the season on Patriots All Access on Fridays at 7 p.m. on WBZ-TV and immediately following on Patriots.com.
Last week, the Number 10 moment in Patriots history, as voted by the fans, was announced. Fans selected the famous “Squish the Fish” game against the Miami Dolphins in the 1985 AFC Championship, a win that capped off the Patriots’ improbable run to Super Bowl XX and broke the Patriots’ 18-game losing streak in the Orange Bowl. The decisive win sent the Patriots organization to its first Super Bowl, and left the lasting image of head coach Raymond Berry being carried off the field on the shoulders of his players.
“That game was our destiny,” NFL and Patriots Hall of Famer Andre Tippett told Patriots All Access. “That was supposed to happen. It was a game that we were not going to lose.”
During the offseason and throughout the 2009 regular season, Patriots fans have also been able to join the debate and cast their votes in a series of 20 “Top 10 All-Time” lists on Patriots.com. As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, the lists have chronicled all aspects of Patriots history. Fans can still vote for the remaining Top 10 lists at top10.patriots.com.
