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Separating fact from fiction on ‘Spygate’ and Super Bowl XXXVI

The last Patriots-Rams Super Bowl produced a historic upset, a dramatic ending, the culmination of a backup quarterback’s meteoric rise, and the beginning of the greatest dynasty in the post-merger NFL.

It also produced the circumstances from which some players and fans would come to regularly accuse that same dynasty of cheating.

“Spygate,” as it became known, initially had nothing to do with Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 (a game in which the Patriots defeated the Rams, 20-17). Yet it’s been repeatedly brought up – occasionally by former Rams players – when discussing the Patriots.