The New England Patriots changed the NFL’s biggest game in more ways than one.
The Patriots Hall of Fame on Sunday pointed out how New England started a Super Bowl tradition, which has been going strong for 20 years and counting. The NFL used to announce both teams’ starting players individually prior to kickoff, and they’d take the field one-by-one to fans’ applause. However, on Feb. 3, 2002, the Patriots opted to be announced and enter the field as a team, and that has been the way of the world on Super Bowl Sunday ever since.
“We love that since the @Patriots were announced as a team at the 2001 Super Bowl, every team has been announced that way at every Super Bowl,” The Hall wrote in a tweet.
The Patriots beat the Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI. That upset started the Patriots dynasty, and other teams have played a game of copy-cat in order to match their super success.
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