🏈🏈🏈🏈
It is one week since Super Bowl Sunday. Even the Eagles Super Bowl Parade in Philadelphia has already taken place. Another NFL season is fully over and in the history books now. All that is left are the memories.
However, I ran into this video. Not sure who the guy is who does this particular video, but he came up with a mixed bag when documenting the most disappointing and heartbreaking losses for each franchise in this video. I know, anyone can make videos like this, and often times, their opinions are ridiculous. Yet this guy actually did some research. Some iof the teams he got exactly right.
That said, there were also some teams which he seemed waaaay off on. How he could be so accurate with some teams, and then appear absolutely clueless with some others is beyond me.
Here are some examples: my New York Giants were one of the teams which I feel he got right. The most disappointing, heartbreaking loss as a Giants fan was indeed the Wildcard game against the San Francisco 49ers back in 2002-03. In the first half, the G-Men could do no wrong and looked unstoppable, jumping out to a 38-14 lead. Then in the second half, the Giants could do no right and completely self-destructed. Yet even then, they still had several chances, but something always went wrong. In the end, the 49ers managed one of the most remarkable playoff comebacks in NFL history at the expense of the Giants.
It feels like that one he probably got right.. Similarly, there are others which he got right. The Buffalo Bills with their "wide right" Super Bowl XXV loss, for example. The Minnesota Vikings in 1998 with a record-shattering offense taking a 20-7 lead in the NFC Championship Game, only to see the Atlanta Falcons come back and steal it from them. Speaking of the Falcons, their 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI, only to then blow it and be on the wrong side of the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. The Jacksonville Jaguars losing to the Titans in the '99 AFC title game sounds accurate, as well. The Steelers losing Super Bowl XLV to the Packers. The Cardinals falling just short in Super Bowl against the Steelers. Seattle's "2nd and 1" Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, robbing them of what seemed to be a sure thing at the rare back-to-back Super Bowl titles. Even the Raiders losing in the snow to the Patriots in the "Tuck Game."
All of that sounds mostly right.
Then there are some which feel a bit more debatable. Like the 49ers losing the Super Bowl to the Ravens. I have heard that their loss to the Giants in the 1990 NFC title game, which robbed them of their stated goal of achieving the "three-peat," was more disappointing, but it might not have been. Miami suffering a 62-7 loss to the Jaguars, which was the final game for two NFL legends, head coach Jimmy Johnson and quarterback Dan Marino, might have been the most disappointing loss for the franchise, although they also lost that Super Bowl to Washington in the early 1980's. Even the Colts losing to the Steelers in the 2005 season is, at best, debatable. After all, they were the most famous Super Bowl losers when they fell short against the New York Jets in January of 1969, one of the most famous games in NFL history.
But then there are some which feel like this guy just completely got wrong. I mean, he clearly and obviously botched some of these. The most blatant one was the New England Patriots. He picked as the most heartbreaking loss for the Patriots a pair of games where they got shut out in October. This for a team that has lost five Super Bowls, which included a humiliating blowout to the '85 Bears, and having their historical perfect season snatched away from them in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLII by the Giants. Nobody remembers two regular season games in October, as depressing and sobering as those surely were. Everyone - even casual sports fans - remembers how the Pats blew that perfect season in the final seconds of a Super Bowl. I mean, come on! Was this one supposed to be a joke?
Similarly, he seems purposely off with the Cincinnati Bengals. This is a team that has made three Super Bowl appearances in franchise history, and has lost those three Super Bowls by a total of 12 points. They very nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history against the 49ers back in the late 1980's. One sure interception by Joe Montana which was dropped by Bengals cornerback Lewis Billups would have iced it for Cincy. Instead, Montana eventually led the 49ers to a dramatic comeback to win the first modern Super Bowl with an exciting finish. Or more recently, the Bengals held a 20-16 lead over the Rams in Super Bowl LVI, before the Rams orchestrated an impressive drive that culminated in a touchdown in the final half minute or so for another dramatic comeback win, denying the Bengals their first Super Bowl title. Those feel like they would be far more heartbreaking than some playoff loss to the Steelers, even if Pittsburgh is a division rival.
There are some others which seemed questionable, at best. Like the Cowboys most heartbreaking loss being the divisional loss to the Packers, with that controversial catch that wasn't a catch. Heartbreaking, sure. But more heartbreaking than their tough loss to the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV? More heartbreaking than the loss to the same Packers team in the "Ice Bowl," a legendary game which is still remembered to this day, and which they lost on the final play? More heartbreaking than "The Catch" which allowed the 49ers to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at the expense of the Dallas Cowboys? Nope. Sorry, but I don't think so.
What's strange is that this guy even mentions at one point how the bigger the stakes (especially the Super Bowl, which was what he specified), the more heartbreaking the loss. So how does he pick a pair of regular season losses (he could not even narrow it down to one loss) for the Patriots in October seem to him somehow more devastating than a perfect season being ruined in the final seconds of the Super Bowl? How is it that he ignores the Bengals coming so agonizingly close to winning the Super Bowl (twice), only to see it snatched away from them in the final minute in both of those Super Bowls which I mentioned? And the Cowboys losses which I mentioned either were in the Super Bowl, or just kept them out of reaching the Super Bowl in the final seconds. How can that more recent Packers game be more heartbreaking than when Dallas was even closer to winning championships, only to fall just short at the end?
I don't know. It seems a little absurd to me. Sometimes, this guy makes some really good points and nails just how heartbreaking the losses were, and what made them stand out. Then, at other times, it seems like he is completely blind to the bigger, much more obviously crushing losses in the history of certain franchises.
Take a look and see what you think. As always, feel free to share your thoughts here.
Every NFL Teams most Heartbreaking Loss
No comments:
Post a Comment