The Cinderella Patriots capped one of the most exciting playoff runs in history with a huge upset over heavily favored St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI. Adam Vinatieri, whose clutch kicks in the "Tuck Rule" game are the stuff of legend in New England, kicked the winning 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Patriots their first Super Bowl win.

This might be hard for some of you kids to realize, but the "Family Guy" was canceled in 2002 after finding limited success after its debut in 1999. It was revived in 2005.

The U.S. Olympic hockey team knocked off Russia in the semifinals, 22 years after the "Miracle on Ice," but Team Canada won the gold medal. The Canadians were led by Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic and goaltender Martin Bordeur.

"The Osbournes" should be considered the apex of the reality TV genre, which has now been dragged down to the depths of television. "The Osbournes" focused on the home life of famed heavy-metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne.

Two well-regarded television series debuted in 2002 with "The Shield" -- an inside look at a group of rouge LAPD officers -- and "The Wire" -- which focused on the drug trade in Baltimore from the two different sides. Fans of the shows will heatedly contest which series was better, but we all know it's "The Shield."

One of the biggest wrestling matches of all-time occurred when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan in an Icon vs. Icon match at Wrestlemania X8. In a weird twist, the Canadian crowd in Toronto cheered Hogan, who entered as "The Heel." Hogan would have a full-fledged face turn after a post-match attack by Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.

Berry became the first African-American woman to win the Academy Award for best actress. Berry took the honor for her role as the wife of an executed murderer in "Monster's Ball."

Russell Crowe starred in this biography of John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and bouts of delusion. It defeated "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring."

Washington, the Oscar winner for best supporting actor in 1998, took home the award for best actor for his role as Detective Alonzo Harris in the movie "Training Day." Washington, of course, beat out Crowe for this award.

Yes, the perfect example of the bottom of reality TV, "The Bachelor" made its debut in 2002. Of course, for an NFL connection, former Giants QB Jesse Palmer appeared on the show in 2004.

The Texans used their first draft pick in club history to selected Carr out of Fresno State, one spot ahead of Julius Peppers who went No. 2 to the Panthers. The shaky offensive line of the expansion Texans hurt the development of Carr, who has gone on to find a place as a backup quarterback -- most notably for the defending Super Bowl champion Giants.

Eminem released "The Eminem Show," which featured the hit "Without Me," a song that takes aim at many high-profile people of the day including then-Vice President Dick Cheney and Limp Bizkit. "The Eminem Show" went on to be the best selling album of 2002. If that wasn't enough, Eminem made his movie debut in "8 Mile," which was about a white rapper growing up in Detroit and trying to make it in the industry. Although many believe it's a biopic, Eminem insists that's not the case.

"American Idol" also debuted in 2002 and its first winner was Kelly Clarkson. Since that time, the show has launched the careers of Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Katharine McPhee, Jennifer Hudson and that one guy with the gray hair.

The Los Angeles Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets, 4-0, to win a third consecutive NBA title. It was the first time since the Dodgers and Lakers won titles in 1988 that two teams from the same metropolitan area won the NBA and World Series titles in the same year. This would mark the beginning of the end of the Lakers' dynasty for the Shaq/Kobe era.

John Cena made his WWE television debut on June 27, 2002 when he answered the challenge of former Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. Cena, however, lost the hotly contested match but would go on to be a 10-time WWE champion and two-time world champion.

Brazil set a record for with its fifth world championship after it knocked off Germany, 2-0, in the finals.

Armstrong captured his fourth Tour de France, and was on his way to capturing seven titles all together.

One year after setting the home run record with 73 dingers (though, some dispute the means in which it occurred), Bonds led the Giants to the National League pennant and he was poised to win the 2002 World Series MVP award ...

... until Troy Glaus hit a two-run double in Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, as the Anaheim Angels overcame a 5-0 deficit to even up the series at 3-3. Garret Anderson would hit a bases loaded double in Game 7 as the Angels won the first World Series in club history.

Yamila Diaz-Rahi made her first appearance on the cover of the SI swimsuit edition. She would appear again in 2006 as part of an all-star cover.

Sherron Watkins of Enron, Coleen Rowley of the FBI and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom earned the prestigious Time Person of the Year title for whistle blowing.