As Tom Brady and the Buccaneers prepare for Super Bowl LV, reminisce about his first appearance (and win) with the Patriots.
Tom Brady, 43, is the only player to appear in 10 Super Bowls. No other quarterback has started in more than five.
His first one came in 2002 as the New England Patriots faced off against "The Greatest Show on Turf" (aka St. Louis Rams) in Super Bowl XXXVI.
At that time, George W. Bush was president. The iPod was created the previous year (and selling for roughly $399), and the biggest movies included "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Black Hawk Down". "A Beautiful Mind" went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards the following month.
U2 performed at halftime, and as Bono sang “Where the Streets Have No Name,’’ names of 9/11 victims ran across a screen behind the stage.
With a defense ranked sixth in the league in scoring, Brady secured the Patriots' first-ever Super Bowl title in just his second season in the NFL.
The young quarterback, who would eventually be debated as potentially the greatest athlete ever, only tallied one touchdown pass that game, an eight-yarder to David Patten in the second quarter.
The only other New England scores came from a pick-six by cornerback Ty Law and field goals from Adam Vinatieri, who hit the 48-yard game-winner in the final seconds.
The Patriots topped the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, 20-17. Brady went 16-for-27 for 145 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions that game.
Now, 19 years later, Brady is leading a different franchise to its Super Bowl appearance since the 2002-03 season, when Tampa Bay won the title over the Oakland Raiders.
Could it be another Cinderella story for Brady and the Buccaneers against the defending champions Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV?