Fans to decide Patriots' greatest moments.

[Mark Farinella]

This coming season, as we've noted several times already, is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the American Football League and its original franchises, including the Patriots. As part of that celebration, the folks in Foxboro have come up with another way to get fans involved in the festivities.

This time, the Patriots are asking their fans to determine the top 10 moments in the team's history via an online vote. Reporters and others were asked to submit their lists to the Patriots' PR department, who whittled those suggestions down to 50 nominees. From those, fans will choose their top 10 and the results will be revealed starting in October.

Here's where you can find the list of nominations.

I've reviewed them, and they seem fairly legit. The expected "moments" are there, including Adam Vinatieri's game-winning kicks in the 2001 playoffs, the Tuck Rule Call, the Snowplow Game against Miami (as pictured to the left), Willie McGinest's game-saving tackle in Indianapolis, "Squish the Fish," and so on.

Most of the game-action nominations are top-heavy of the Belichick Era and I'm not so sure Robert Kraft's purchase of the team needs to be listed twice (once under the premise that it spurred a rush by fans to the ticket office; so did Bill Parcells' hiring by Jim Orthwein, but that didn't get two listings). And, of course, given that these are supposed to be "greatest" moments, there are no mentions of Willie McDonough's decking of Raymond Clayborn in the locker room, the aftermath of the Michael Jackson Victory Tour, Victor Kiam, the Lisa Olson harassment, Spygate, the 46-10 loss to the Bears in the Patriots' first Super Bowl or Tom Brady's relationships with Bridget Moynahan and Gisele Bündchen. I could go on and on there ... maybe the team should also come up with a vote for the 50 most outrageous moments in Patriots' history. About the closest to a recognized "negative" is the opening of Schaefer Stadium in 1971, but of course, there is no mention of the massive traffic jam that paralyzed Route 1 and environs after the game.

But it's all in good fun, and another reminder that it's good that this star-crossed team finally has enough "greatest moments" to warrant such a vote.

Here's the press release from the team. At some point, I will have my own Top 10 lists -- from those nominations, and from my own experiences.

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FANS TO DECIDE THE TOP 10 MOMENTS IN PATRIOTS HISTORY WITH ONLINE VOTE AT PATRIOTS.COM

FOXBORO – Football may be a game of inches, but it is defined in moments.

Starting today, Patriots fans can define the “Top 10 Moments in Franchise History” at Patriots.com.

There have been many memorable moments in the Patriots’ first half century of play and – in celebration of the franchise’s 50th anniversary season – a nomination committee took on the task of pooling together a collection of 50 snapshots in time that will take fans on a stroll down memory lane.

Fans will have the final say, creating their “Top 10 Moments” list by sorting and ranking their favorite moments from that list. Voting begins today and closes on Aug. 1.

The results will be announced starting in October with a series of features on “Patriots All Access” and in the pages of Patriots Football Weekly.

During the offseason and throughout the 2009 regular season, Patriots fans have been invited to discuss, debate and cast their votes in a series of 20 “Top 10 All-Time” lists on Patriots.com as part of the 50th anniversary celebration. The lists have chronicled all aspects of Patriots history, including the most recent “Top 10 Opponents of All-Time” list.

Now, focus shifts to capturing the most significant moments in the last 50 years. Some may have come with a kick, like Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI, or with the spinning wheels of a tractor, like Mark Henderson clearing the path to victory in the “Snow Plow Game.” It might only have been one moment, but the memories can last a lifetime.