![]() But here’s the deal: Everyone who watches that play sees the same thing. He watches games by listening to the radio call to get a mental picture and sits next to a friend who fills in the blanks.Īnd you might be wondering why I’ve asked a blind man to describe what would become one of the most controversial calls in NFL history. I should probably mention that Randy Pierce has been completely blind since Sept. And if I watched that play and could see it, I'd tell you it's a fumble/" "And I'll tell you the truth, all of us thought it was a fumble. The Patriots had just under two minutes to get within field goal range and tie the game. Ultimately Tom's got it with 2:06 when we take over," Randy says.īrady threw a 7-yard pass and then scrambled for five yards. "So now they punt the ball back, and we've got the ball back with very little time left. A couple of possessions later, the Raiders switched to their running game to eat up time, and the Patriots stopped them. ![]() "Some people are even leaving although, you know there's 60,000 people there, and 180,000 will tell you they never left that day, right? They did leave - not a lot, but there were some people who were leaving."īut in the fourth quarter, Brady scrambled for six yards and a touchdown, and the Patriots were within three again. So it starts to get a little unpleasant," Randy says. And that makes you start to feel it a little bit. The Patriots managed to keep the game within reach until late in the third quarter, when the Raiders kicked a 45-yard field goal to increase their lead to 13-3.įor some Patriots fans, infected by that culture of defeat and loss, a late-game, 10-point deficit - and the rising snow drifts - were just too much to take. He said, 'I sure hope our defenders can see them better than I can,'" Randy recalls. "And they're wearing white jerseys, and the guy sitting next to me says, 'You know, I can't even see their receivers because the white of their jersey.' And they had kinda silvery numbers, I guess - just got lost. But nobody could get any traction to run in the snow, and the Raiders were throwing the ball really well. Randy hoped the weather would encourage the running game, which might benefit the Patriots. This is the way good things happen for us.' "īy kickoff, the grounds crew was already using leaf blowers to try to keep the yard lines visible. That started making people think a little more, 'You know this isn't the way bad things happen for us. "And when you live in New England, snow just has this magical quality for the team. rolled around, I remember watching this snow fall," Randy says. Nobody gave Tom Brady and the Patriots much of a shot in that game against the Oakland Raiders - not even Randy. Randy Pierce and his friends arrived at their favorite tailgating spot across the street from the stadium at 2 p.m. No one could have known then that this game, and in particular a controversial call in the fourth quarter, would be the beginning of a Patriots’ dynasty - and that it would set the stage for a series of controversies that would turn the Patriots into the most hated team in the NFL. There really was a culture and a mindset of defeat and loss," Randy says.īut to almost everyone’s surprise, Foxboro Stadium was pressed into service one more time, for a divisional playoff game on Jan. "We are so caught up in this mindset of negativity, that we'd already made plans to have our stadium destroyed because, of course, there's no chance we could have another game. Randy says the team was so sure that the season wasn’t going anywhere that they had scheduled old Foxboro Stadium for demolition the day after the regular season ended. He was replaced by an unknown, second-year backup named Tom Brady. In September, their veteran quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, had been injured on a hit that had sheared an artery behind his ribs and could have killed him. They’d been to a couple Super Bowls but had never won. Randy’s dog, Autumn, sits patiently, a respectable distance from the door.īack in December of 2001, Randy was named New England Patriots fan of the year. The couches are arranged around a big screen TV. The walls, floor to ceiling, are covered in framed jerseys, signed photos and life-sized decals of Patriots players. ![]() Randy Pierce opens the door and invites me into his large living room. Facebook Email The tuck rule saved the Patriots from defeat in the 2002 divisional playoffs and has been debated ever since. ![]()
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