Adam Vinatieri (4) celebrates after kicking the game-winning 48-yard field goal. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        NEW ORLEANS — In an NFL season interrupted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and with a wave of patriotism sweeping the country, it was fitting the Super Bowl was won by a team called the Patriots.

        For the first time in 36 Super Bowls, the winning score came on the final play of the game. New England kicker Adam Vinatieri made a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Patriots a 20-17 upset.

        “That's one of the things we all dream about as young kickers,” Vinatieri said.

        The Patriots were a 14-point underdog.

        “We shocked the world. We didn't shock ourselves,” said New England quarterback Tom Brady, who was voted the game's most valuable player after leading the Patriots on the winning 53-yard drive.

        With the United States still recovering from Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Super Bowl followed the lead of Major League Baseball and turned its championship into a celebration of all things American.

        At halftime, Irish rockers U2 helped pay tribute to the victims of the attacks. While the band played “Where the Streets Have No Name,” the name of each victim was projected on a screen behind the stage.

        Before the game, the Boston Pops played Aaron Copland's “Lincoln Portrait,” which was narrated on videotape by former Presidents Ford, Carter, Bush and Clinton, and former first lady Nancy Reagan.

        Paul McCartney, the former Beatle, performed the song “Freedom,” which he wrote Sept.13. Police officers, firefighters and military personnel displayed U.S. flags.

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