5 super memories of 5 Patriots championships
Chad Finn: Willie McGinest, Matt Light, Matt Chatham, Rob Ninkovich, and James White share their memories of winning the Super Bowl.
Five Super Bowl victories, five memories from those who helped make them happen:
Willie McGinest
Super Bowl XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17
Even before he kicked the winning 48-yard field goal in the final seconds to secure the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory, Adam Vinatieri had long since won the faith of his teammates.
“The thing about Adam was, a lot of people call him cocky, but he exudes a confidence like no other,’’ said Willie McGinest, who played with Vinatieri from 1996 through 2005. “He wasn’t just a kicker in our locker room. He was one of the guys. So we had all the confidence in the world in him. We had just seen it before, against the Raiders.’’
Vinatieri, of course, had nailed an instant-classic 45-yard field goal in a scene straight out of a snow globe to tie the AFC divisional-round matchup with the Raiders two weeks previous, as well as the winning field goal in overtime.
But as Vinatieri lined up a 48-yarder to win the Super Bowl, McGinest did something he acknowledges now was unusual given his trust in his teammate.
“Have to admit, though, I couldn’t watch it,’’ he said. “I didn’t look at it. I looked away. I don’t know, I didn’t want to jinx him or something.
“That game was a little different than just a regular-season game or a playoff game. We had the confidence, but I still didn’t look. It was like, ‘Let me know when it goes through and I’m good.’
“You have to stay focused, no matter the circumstances, and I figured we were going to continue to play the game. When Adam was lining it up, I was like, ‘I’m ready to continue this game.’ When he made it, I was like, ‘Thank god.’ ’’
Two years later, in Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Panthers, Vinatieri found himself in an almost identical circumstance — a few seconds on the clock, and a chance to win the game with a field goal. Vinatieri drilled the 41-yarder, and the Patriots had their second Super Bowl.
For that one, McGinest changed his routine.
“Nah, I was good that time,’’ said McGinest. “I watched that one. I knew Adam wasn’t going to be jinxed. He was jinx-proof.’’
Matt Light
Super Bowl XXXVIII: Patriots 32, Panthers 29
Light was a rookie tackle on the Patriots’ first Super Bowl championship team in 2001.
“You’re pretty wide-eyed about everything as a rookie, not knowing what to expect, even if you’re not in the playoffs or a Super Bowl,’’ he said. “And I was wide-eyed. Dante [Scarnecchia] used to tell me I didn’t know if the football was blown up or stuffed.’’
But two years later, when the Patriots returned to the Super Bowl, Light was an established young veteran, one who had become a core Patriot as the protector of Tom Brady’s blind side. He also had acquired by then a veteran’s appreciation for what matters, especially in moments of professional triumph.
“It was about family,’’ said Light. “Football is not a family sport. There’s not a lot of time to be a normal dad, a normal husband. It’s just not going to happen during the season because of the commitment.
“But I had learned by the second one that when you get to the Super Bowl, and your family is all there, and you win it and don’t have to play a game the next week, that’s what it’s all about. That’s the ultimate goal, to win it and be able to share it with the family.’’
But sometimes, in those moments after the game, when confetti falls and happy chaos ensues, it’s not always easy to get to the family right away. Light said that was the case after the Patriots’ win over the Panthers at NRG Stadium in Houston.
“You want to get the family on the field with you, to share in that moment,’’ said Light. “The first thing I did after all [three Super Bowl wins during his time as a Patriot] was to look for my wife. But the logistics aren’t always in your favor, and they weren’t after that one [in Houston].
“I think the wall was like a 10-foot drop, and you could see babies being lowered down onto the field in all of these awkward ways. You could do a whole story on the weird ways people get onto the field after the wins.’’
Matt Chatham
Super Bowl XXXIX: Patriots 24, Eagles 21
Chatham, a special teams ace who collected three championship rings with the Patriots, is best remembered for leveling a streaker who ran on the field during the Super Bowl win over the Panthers. That’s a lasting highlight in its own silly way.
But what sticks with Chatham is not any strange quirk from one Super Bowl or another, but the realization after beating the Eagles and winning that third ring in 2004 that he was playing with some extraordinary players.
“Time gives you an amount of perspective on stuff,’’ said Chatham. “You’re caught up in the middle of it sometimes I’m not sure you’re aware of all the blessings. But after we got our third [championship] in four years, I looked around and realized how much talent we really had, and really just appreciated the quality of defensive players that I got to play with every day.’’
Chatham said it’s something he’s thought about more as the years have passed.
“Looking back at our group of defensive players, it’s amazing the amount of talent we had. Richard Seymour, and Willie [McGinest] and Ty Law, and Rodney [Harrison] after Lawyer [Milloy], and Tedy Bruschi, and Ted Johnson, and Mike Vrabel, and Roman Phifer, a guy who could do anything you wanted. That was a such a high-level group of guys, and for a linebacker from a small school like I was, it was amazing company.’’
Rob Ninkovich reacts after Malcolm Butler helped deliver Super Bowl XLIX to the Patriots on Feb. 1, 2015.
Rob Ninkovich
Super Bowl XLIX: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24
The sports photo most likely to be found in a Boston sports bar or fan shrine has to be the iconic shot of Bobby Orr soaring through the air after his Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1970.
But the first runner-up might not be Ted Williams doing this or Larry Bird doing that, but a more recent photo: Malcolm Butler catching his goal-line interception to save what would become the Patriots’ fourth Super Bowl championship.
Ninkovich is familiar with the shot, but his Kodak memory of one of the greatest clutch plays in football history comes from a different perspective: His own, as the play originated in front of him, then culminated out of his sight.
“Man, the throw pretty much sailed right over my head,’’ said Ninkovich. “There was chaos behind me, and you could tell something crazy had happened. I didn’t know what right away. Then I looked over and everyone was on top of Malcolm on the ground and I put my hand in the air. But I was still nervous because it was such a bang-bang play. Then when they called it [an interception] I was like, ‘Wow, it’s over. It’s over.’
“Then you realize what’s going on, and Julian [Edelman] is out running around on the field, and we still had to take a knee to run out the last few seconds . . . it was almost overwhelming. It was a blur. I had to take a knee on the sideline just to let it calm down for a little bit.
“It was so emotional because the Patriots book has all of these different chapters, and that ’14 team created this new chapter, but we’re still carrying the torch from those first championship teams. We ended that nine-year stretch without winning one, and it was just incredible how it happened.
“Oh, and it was my birthday. Winning the Super Bowl on my birthday. That’s not a bad day.’’
James White breaks the plane to secure a fifth Super Bowl title for the Patriots in Houston on Feb. 5, 2017.
James White
Super Bowl LI: Patriots 38, Falcons 34
For Patriots whose careers are still in the present tense, introspection is not part of the job description. There’s no time to look back and appreciate what has already been accomplished when there are more accomplishments to be had.
White, a five-year pro, is in his prime. He will turn 27 in four days — yes, on Super Bowl Sunday, when he will try to help the Patriots to that sixth championship, and third of his career.
But he already has achieved something extraordinary as a professional. In Super Bowl LI, he caught 14 passes, scored three touchdowns and a 2-point conversion, and ran in for the winning TD in the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.
He had the game of his life in the biggest game of his life. He can’t talk about it in detail now, because that’s the Patriot way. But he can say all he needs to say to effectively explain its impact.
“It didn’t seem real then,’’ said White. “And it still doesn’t seem real. Maybe it will when I’m done playing someday. But even then, it will probably still feel like a dream.’’
