Team of destiny? Damn straight.

In case you were on Neptune or hiding in a cave outside of Kandahar for the last few weeks, the New England Patriots flipped the proverbial bird at the vast majority of football fans, media, and hangers-on by beating the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl 36 (or XXXVI for the purists). I've been waiting patiently for giant rifts to come forth from the earth, or for the fabric of space-time to be rent from whatever multidimensional frame it rests on.

When did the Pats win this game? Before they even went to toss the coin. When the Pats came out of the tunnel and passed on individual introductions so they could be introduced as a team, that to me sealed the deal. They've focused on the team identity all year, it became a major theme throughout the playoffs, and to not jettison it for some face time before the biggest game of the season illustrated that they were focused and ready to play some football.

Any variety of websites can give you better description or analysis of the game, so I'll leave it to them. I will note at this point that in my pick, the first thing I pointed to was the importance of getting the Rams to turn the ball over. Seventeen of the Pats' 20 points came from turnovers.

Tom Brady was named the game's MVP, a decent choice albeit a little surprising, as the MVP often is someone who puts up big numbers or makes a big play. Brady won for doing pretty much what he's done since taking over- being cool under pressure, throwing short passes accurately, and managing the offense to do just what's needed. Adam Vinatieri and Ty Law (8 tackles [7 solo] and an interception return for a TD) would have been more conventional choices. Part of me thinks the whole team should have gotten co-MVP honors. Everyone gets the Escalade for a week, and the excise taxes are made bearable by being split 53 ways.

There's not much more I can say about the holding call on Willie McGinest that negated Tebucky Jones' fumble return for a TD other than I hope he enjoys Houston.

But perhaps I'm being a little hard on him. Let's not forget that both Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy had interceptions in their hands prior to the fumble play, but couldn't hold on.

Nah, McGinest still screwed up royally. Maybe a third round choice and future considerations?

As for the non-game stuff, the ads were, as a whole, better than last year, but there weren't any that blew the group away. Bud had some good ones (Cedric as Cyrano and the bowing Clydesdales), Blockbuster's dancing rodents were cute, and the Barry Bonds/Hank Aaron ad was pretty funny. Pepsi needs a new angle; the Britney thing is kind of played out.

Also, if any of you switched over to see the Playmate Fear Factor, shame on you. Shame. On. You. You missed what might have been the most energetic Super Bowl halftime show ever, as U2 displayed a fire not seen since their performance at Live Aid. Thank God they've decided to be a rock band again. They also managed to balance energy and solemnity in a way I didn't think possible when they played an extra-long intro to Where the Streets Have No Name while a roll call of all the September 11 victims rolled on a huge screen backdrop.

The Rams showed an odd mix of frustration, anger, and respect in post-game, as Marshall Faulk went on at length about how the only team that could beat the Rams was the Rams, but later (after having some time to reflect) he managed to talk about how the Patriots made more plays than the Rams did. Much of what he said reminded me of BU's Frozen Four run back in, what, 1996, when they knocked off Michigan and Hobey winner Brendan Morrison whined in a post-game press conference that "sometime the better team doesn't win."

Note to Brendan, Marshall, and anyone else who's thinking that way: the best team is the one with the lead when time expires. Today (well, yesterday), that was the New England Patriots.

See you at the parade.