The Impossible Team: The Worst to First Patriots' Super Bowl Season [Hardcover]

Nick Cafardo (Author), Troy Brown (Introduction), Adam Vinatieri (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

It was a season for the New England Patriots that resembled nothing more than a plot from "Mission Impossible:" from 70-1 odds at the beginning of the season to finishing as 14-point underdogs one fateful day in February. The 48-yard field goal off the leg of Adam Vinatieri sailed through the uprights. For one unforgettable suspended moment, Vinatieri’s arms were raised, then the Patriots standing on the sidelines came crashing onto the Superdome turf, culminating in some of the most intense and heartfelt emotion football has ever known.

Relive the historical significance of this improbable 20-17 win over the St. Louis Rams, a win that brought tears to the eyes of players, coaches, and fans alike. This book will tell how the Patriots became one of the most surprising teams ever to win a Super Bowl, how they perfected their line-up and worked together as a team to achieve their goals and steal the title from the heavily favored Rams.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Boston Globe sportswriter Cafardo has probably been waiting his whole life to write this book. It shows: the level of detail he gives for every event of the entire 2001-02 season (and preseason, for that matter) is matched only by the access he seems to have had to the Patriots' organization. From the front office and owner Bob Kraft to the competition between the second- and third-string quarterbacks, Cafardo does not leave out a single second of the Patriots' championship series. There are good sections on the media's refusal to see the Patriots as real contenders as well as a very detailed section about troubled receiver Terry Glenn. This is not recommended for academic libraries, as students and researchers probably will not need Cafardo's encyclopedic rendering of the season, but public libraries with strong patron interest in the NFL or the Patriots themselves should strongly consider.
James Miller, Springfield Coll. Lib., MA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

When the 2001 NFL season began, the chronically mediocre New England Patriots faced 70-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. When their improbable season ended, however, they had done just that, a buzzer-beating field goal by Adam Vinatieri providing the winning margin. Cafardo, who covers the team for the Boston Globe, presents a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the personalities and talent that meshed into a unit that was certainly better than the sum of its parts. His focus is on the quarterback controversy that developed after a life-threatening injury to longtime starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Youngster Tom Brady stepped in, and the team started winning. Even after Bledsoe healed, head coach Bill Belichick stayed with Brady. Cafardo sticks with the typical formula for championship-season recaps, with game summaries dominating, but he adds a measure of intelligence and understanding uncommon in the genre. A must for New England but enjoyable reading for anyone who follows the NFL. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books; 1ST edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572434945
• ISBN-13: 978-1572434943
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,339,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pats were Great, Cafardo is terrible, February 5, 2004

By 

Richard Carreiro (MA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Impossible Team: The Worst to First Patriots' Super Bowl Season (Hardcover)

If you want to relive the magical 2001 season, spend your money on Pepper Johnson's "Won for All" or the Herald's recap of the season, or the "Patriots United" coffee-table book.

Nick Cafardo, a Boston Globe sportswriter, has never shown much talent as a columnist, and his lack of ability is amplified in a work the length of a book. Even worse, in a book that's supposed to be about the 2001 team's march to the title, he couldn't help but continue carrying water for two of his favorites -- Terry Glenn and Drew Bledsoe, constantly making excuses for them. For example, out of nowhere and out of context, he inserts a laughable screed against anyone who dares to criticize Bledsoe. It's bizarre! It's as if he had this whole rant built up and couldn't figure out where to put it and then couldn't contain it anymore and had to stick it wherever he happened to be in the book.

Save your money and go elsewhere. Or if you do feel compelled to read it, use a library.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor writing distracts an otherwise interesting book, September 3, 2002

By 

Derek B. Jackson "kraagenskul" (Methuen, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Impossible Team: The Worst to First Patriots' Super Bowl Season (Hardcover)

The book has dozens of interesting tidbits, such as the source of the Faulk pass to Brady. It has some great quotes from both Patriots and their opponents. Unfortunately, much of it is lost in a writing style worthy of a sixth grade essay. It almost seems like Nick Cafardo read conversations into a tape recorder and then just wrote them out verbatim. He also has the odd habit of disecting individual games during the Patriots' run backwards. He will discuss second half tactics first, and then go onto the first half. Disconcerting to say the least.
In my opinion, this book was poorly put together and then rushed out the door so it would be out while the Patriots Superbowl win was still fresh on New Englander's minds and they would pick up the book. Well, they got me. Don't let them get you.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother, December 24, 2002

By 

jake duhaime (Gillette Stadium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Impossible Team: The Worst to First Patriots' Super Bowl Season (Hardcover)

Who let Cafardo write this book

To truly understand how magical the Pats title was...one would have had to believe.

Cafardo didn't

Heck, as much as I hate The Curly Haired Boyfriend Dan Shaugnessey....he would have given this team it's proper poetic justice