Destiny's Team

David vs. Goliath, The Revolutionary War, Buster Douglas vs. Mike Tyson.

These are considered among the biggest upsets in history.

Now, you can add Patriots vs. Rams to that list, as New England pulled off a shocker (in the minds of everyone outside Massachusetts) and won Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans.

Before you start to realize what New England accomplished in this game, you have to go back to the past few years to really look at how much this team has comprised themselves into World Champions.

Take a look at their coach, Bill Belichick, whom owner Robert Kraft gave up a first-round pick to obtain.

They picked up players such as Bryan Cox, Antwain Smith, and Troy Brown, who was an undrafted wide receiver, to become instrumental role players.

The most amazing thing to think about this team is the man who led the Patriots to the championship, a man who wasn't even starting this season and almost comptemplated playing baseball instead.

Yes, I'm talking about Tom Brady, who was the 199th draft choice in the 2000 draft.

After franchise QB Drew Bledsoe went down in the third week and the team faced a 1-3 record, Brady took over and led this group of "role players" to the AFC East title.

However, what may be the most important thing to think about was the one man who didn't even play a down in this game -- Bledsoe.

He could've made some serious noise about wanting to play when he was healthy again, and he would've had some clout and support.

However, he displayed professionalism that isn't heard of these days and decided to stay pat (pardon the pun).

That helped this team become even better and make a run into the postseason.

Despite being the second seed in the AFC, people said they'd lose to Oakland. They came back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter of that playoff game and won in overtime.

Then they went up against a Pittsburgh team who had decided to wait until the Super Bowl to play.

However, they didn't make it there, as New England did everything right and won.

Despite their grit and reslience all season long, the instant they found out their opponent was the great St. Louis Rams, all the talk of destiny on their side would come to a screeching halt in the face of the Rams' offense and revamped defense.

The entire Super Bowl week went without any flair or fervor, which is the way it should've been. The only talk we heard was how much of a blowout the game was going to be, how "The Greatest Show on Turf" would show up in the end zone more often than Ja-Rule in an R&B song.

We heard all the stories about Marshall Faulk and cornerback Aeneas Williams coming home, the incredible offense led by the "genius" Mike Martz, and how awesome the defense had become by coordinator Lovie Smith.

The only thing we heard out of Patriot camp was Brady or Bledsoe, and we all knew what the right call would be.

However, going into the game, from the onset, you could feel something special was in the air when you saw how the Patriots came out onto the field.

Instead of coming out on either offense or defense, they came out as a team.

You knew that was the only way they would be able to win -- as a team.

This game was won, mainly, in part, because of the genius of Belichick on defense.

The New England defense held the Rams to just three points in the first half.

They hit the Rams receivers so many times that they could hear the New England secondary coming for them on every catch.

The pinnacle was when cornerback Ty Law picked off Rams QB Kurt Warner and took it back 47 yards to give them a 7-3 lead.

Brady played a conservative game and didn't make any mistakes, which was the key to winning the game.

His touchdown pass to David Patten in the second quarter after another turnover, gave the Patriots a 14-3 lead going into the half.

The Rams had been subdued, and everyone was recognizing that this wasn't going to be predictable or boring, and the fourth quarter was anything but.

The fourth quarter was one for the ages.

The Rams offense began to click, and before you knew it the game was tied at 17.

The game had all the look of an overtime finish, but once again Tom Brady and the Patriots proved us wrong as they had all year.

He drove the team down to the 30-yard line with no timeouts left and it came down to kicker Adam Vinatieri, the pride of Yankoma, South Dakota.

Having a chance to liveout a childhood dream, he didn't miss. He kicked it right through the uprights to enter the history books as only the second kicker to win a Super Bowl.

More importantly, the Patriots finally won the big one in New Orleans.

Their first two trips to the Superdome were super blowouts, however, this game had too many things go the Patriots way.

They won the turnover battle, they ran the ball for more yards than St. Louis had given up all year (92 yards), and Brady play solid football and didn't quiver under the light of the big game.

Of course, the MVP should've been the defense, no disrespect to Brady, who became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. They stuffed the Rams all day, and held their own in the midst of the comeback.

What to make of the Rams?

Belichick's defense made Martz look like a genius only in the Wile E. Coyote mold.

Why he didn't use the NFL's most dangerous weapon in Marshall Faulk more often will puzzle us for years to come.

The defense was kept in check, and this game was proof that it's not about who's the best team on paper, it's about who plays best when you step out on that field. On this Sunday, that was the Patriots.

But, this was more than just a game. This was about a nation coming together, a nation healing.

We have true patriots in our firefighters, policemen, and the soldiers who put their lives on the line for our freedom.

For a nation who had a part of their everyday lives taken away, this game had more security than any other in history.

When the tragic events of Sept. 11 occurred, football was the last thing on our minds. On Super Bowl Sunday, a nation was brought together because of a football game.

So was it ironic that the World Champions were named Patriots?

Maybe not. This team represented the spirit of America, able to fight against all odds.

They showed the true spirit in fighting to the end, as one.

Everyone thought they'd be a speed bump on the way to a Rams' championship, but something happened on the way to a Martz-led celebration. They overlooked the heart and spirit of the Patriots, and now they look to New England as the champs in what many must say was the greatest Super Bowl ever.

Brady won the MVP, but said that this was a team effort.

All season long, the Patriots defined the word "team" -- they played as a team, and they came out of the locker room for the Super Bowl as a team.

In Super Bowl XXXVI they became the true definition of champion.