By Bill Griffith, Globe Staff, 2/4/2002

atriotism was the theme of yesterday's Super Bowl pregame show. But the folks at the Fox network, who concentrate on televising NFC games all season, couldn't have realized that the upstart Patriots from the AFC intended to make it the story of Super Bowl XXXVI, too.

As retiring Fox play-by-play man Pat Summerall said during the third quarter, ''The Patriots came out of the tunnel as a team, and have played that way ever since.''

It was the final game that Summerall worked with analyst John Madden, and they capped their 21 years together by calling one of the greatest Super Bowls.

The early-to-work mandate that required everyone to be in place at the Superdome hours before game time left Summerall and Madden looking haggard before the game. Afterward, they were looking younger, flying on an adrenaline rush.

''What Tom Brady just did gives me goose bumps,'' said Madden as Adam Vinatieri came onto the field to kick the decisive 48-yard field goal.

After St. Louis tied the game, 17-17, Madden was advising the Patriots to run out the last 1:30 of regulation and take their chances in overtime.

Fox put up a graphic that said no Super Bowl game had gone into overtime. They were anticipating a first. But anticipating anything other than a Patriot victory this season has been dicey.

The biggest concern before the game was that this would be a blowout, leading the audience to say a premature goodbye. Indeed, Madden quoted Patriots coach Bill Belichick as saying, ''The thing I worry about is [surviving] the first five minutes.''

It was soon clear that there was no danger. As Madden noted, the first five Ram possessions resulted in punt, field goal, missed field goal, interception (for Patriots TD), and punt.

Instead of worries about losing the audience early, the story line became ''Can St. Louis come back to win?'' A Fox instant poll at halftime showed that only 51 percent of the national audience thought it could. As the Rams scored a pair of fourth-quarter TDs to tie it, a great finish loomed.

Fox may get a blowout after all - when the overnight ratings come out today.

Summerall was fooled by Brady's fake on a direct snap to Kevin Faulk that set up Vinatieri's 37-yard field goal that made it 17-3 with 1:18 left in the third quarter.

Replays showed hard hitting by the Patriots, including good early licks by Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Je'Rod Cherry, and Roman Phifer (unfortunately, his knocked out teammate Terrance Shaw). Antwan Harris's fumble-causing hit on Ram receiver Ricky Proehl was yet another.

Fox didn't waste time picking out the many celebrities in the crowd. Ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani got a cameo, as did NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the Andruzzi brothers, and the Krafts (including an encore of the family hugging in joy at the game's end).

Early in the second quarter, Madden said, ''The Patriots are disrupting Kurt Warner's rhythm by hitting the receivers hard, by covering them so long that Warner has to hold the ball longer than he wants, and tipping balls. The Rams are moving the ball up and down the field but only have 3 points, but the Patriots are winning the battles.''

''Letting them [the Patriots] hang around can come back to haunt you,'' said Summerall.

Madden talks so much that you can overlook the nuggets, such as illustrating the Rams' blocking breakdown that allowed Mike Vrabel a free shot to pressure Warner, leading to Law's interception and runback for a TD.

Sideline reporter Ron Pitts quickly reported that St. Louis right tackle Rod Jones, who had blocked down to the inside on that play instead of picking up Vrabel, was out of the game with a reinjured groin. ''He might have hurt it spinning around [to watch Vrabel],'' said Madden.

In the second half, Pitts came back with more news. He reported that some of the Patriots were jubilant in the locker room with a 14-3 lead at halftime until the veterans made it clear the job was only halfway done. Pitts also caught up with Rams coach Mike Martz, who said his team had a ''complete protection breakdown'' and had to hold onto the ball and make plays in the second half.

A Fox graphic showed that the team leading at halftime was 27-7 in past Super Bowls. And analyst Terry Bradshaw noted that no team had ever come back from an 11-point halftime deficit.

''The Patriots are playing cover-2 defense, the most difficult defense to pass against,'' said analyst Cris Collinsworth. ''The safeties are laying back, then coming up to make big hits on the Rams' receivers.''

At the start of the fourth quarter, Madden made mention of the end of his alliance with Summerall. ''It's the start of our last fourth quarter,'' said Madden. ''Thanks for the memories of a lot of quarters. It's been special, and you've made it special.''

''So have you,'' replied Summerall.

But, for all, the best was yet to come. Even though Madden questioned the strategy, he had nothing but praise for the Patriots' winning drive.

''This was one of great coaching performances in history,'' said Fox studio analyst Howie Long. ''Bill Belichick's team pulled three of the great upsets in history by beating Oakland, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.''

As a warmup act, the pregame show was pretty good, but it didn't rock the Superdome anywhere near as much as U2 did at halftime, belting through ''Beautiful Day'' and ''Where The Streets Have No Name,'' with the names of Sept. 11 victims names scrolling. Of course, the Patriots did a pretty good job of jolting folks themselves for 30 minutes.

After a week of hype, the 31/2-hour pregame show had a distinct lack of hijinks, the trademark of the usual ''Fox NFL Sunday'' crew. Instead, the time was devoted to ''Heroes, Hope and Homeland,'' celebrating patriotism wrapped into America's unofficial football holiday.

The Fox team's position - on the Superdome floor instead of atop a float wending its way through the streets of New Orleans, as originally planned - was a signal that this would be a down-to-earth and back-to-basics approach. But it turned out to be a plus for viewers, who could feel the tension build as the Superdome was filled and rocking by 5 p.m.

Bill Griffith's e-mail address is griffith@globe.com

This story ran on page C13 of the Boston Globe on 2/4/2002.
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