Cugel
02-01-2013, 10:11 PM
Strange as it may seem, there really IS such a thing as "the Super-Bowl loser's curse." Teams that lose the SB suffer real psychological trauma.
Like Sisyphus the Patriots last year pushed that boulder all the way to the top of the hill, only to see the stone roll back on them. There's a psychological impact from that that lasts for years. And, true to form, they choked in the AFC Championship Game and lost to the Ravens, thus perpetuating the SB Loser's curse for another season.
Fun Facts about Super-Bowl Losers that Show What A Long Time It Takes Teams To Recover From Losing:
1. The last team to make it back to the SB the year after losing was the Buffalo Bills teams of the early 90's that lost 4 straight. (Of course the Broncos lost 3 times back in the '80s but we'll pass over that in silence in order not to open old wounds that will never really heal (at least for me)).
2. The last time a SB loser came back to win the next year was the 1973 Miami Dolphins (beaten by the Cowboys, they came back to win 2 straight SBs over the Redskins and Vikings).
3. The quickest amount of time it has taken a SB loser to get back and win the SB since the Dolphins in '73? The '78 Cowboys team that beat the Broncos (Boo!) 2 years after losing to the Steelers.
4. The 80's was a vastly different era, since the SB hype has grown larger and larger as football has become more and more popular. If you just count the 80's-2011 era, the fastest any team has rebounded from SB ignominy to win is FIVE years!
The Patriots lost to the Packers in Jan. '97, and beat the Rams in 2002. The Broncos of course took 8 years between losing to the '49ers and beating the Packers.
5. The fastest any team has gotten back to the SB after losing in the last 25 years? 4 years. The Patriots losers to the Giants in 2008 lost to them again in 2012.
6. Teams that have not managed to return to the SB after losing and the amount of time it's been?
Dolphins lost in '85, Dan Marino's rookie year. (28 years).
Bengals lost in '89, (24 years).
Bills lost in '94, (19 years).
Chargers lost in '95 (18 years).
Titans lost in 2000, (13 years)
Rams, lost in 2001 (12 years).
Raiders, lost in 2003 (10 years).
7. No team that has lost in the last 10 years other than the Patriots has been back: Panthers, Eagles, Seahawks, Bears, Cardinals, Colts, Steelers.
It's MUCH better psychologically for a team to fold in the playoffs than it is to make it all the way to the big game and then choke. The Broncos teams of the 1980's that did it 3 times are an example.
If the Ravens were to lose the big game, history suggests that they would be finished. They might never get back, or it might take them years to rebuild their team.
That would make it BOTH the Patriots AND Ravens under the SB loser's curse, which would certainly give the Broncos an advantage next season!
You can say there's no such thing, but history don't lie! :beer:
Like Sisyphus the Patriots last year pushed that boulder all the way to the top of the hill, only to see the stone roll back on them. There's a psychological impact from that that lasts for years. And, true to form, they choked in the AFC Championship Game and lost to the Ravens, thus perpetuating the SB Loser's curse for another season.
Fun Facts about Super-Bowl Losers that Show What A Long Time It Takes Teams To Recover From Losing:
1. The last team to make it back to the SB the year after losing was the Buffalo Bills teams of the early 90's that lost 4 straight. (Of course the Broncos lost 3 times back in the '80s but we'll pass over that in silence in order not to open old wounds that will never really heal (at least for me)).
2. The last time a SB loser came back to win the next year was the 1973 Miami Dolphins (beaten by the Cowboys, they came back to win 2 straight SBs over the Redskins and Vikings).
3. The quickest amount of time it has taken a SB loser to get back and win the SB since the Dolphins in '73? The '78 Cowboys team that beat the Broncos (Boo!) 2 years after losing to the Steelers.
4. The 80's was a vastly different era, since the SB hype has grown larger and larger as football has become more and more popular. If you just count the 80's-2011 era, the fastest any team has rebounded from SB ignominy to win is FIVE years!
The Patriots lost to the Packers in Jan. '97, and beat the Rams in 2002. The Broncos of course took 8 years between losing to the '49ers and beating the Packers.
5. The fastest any team has gotten back to the SB after losing in the last 25 years? 4 years. The Patriots losers to the Giants in 2008 lost to them again in 2012.
6. Teams that have not managed to return to the SB after losing and the amount of time it's been?
Dolphins lost in '85, Dan Marino's rookie year. (28 years).
Bengals lost in '89, (24 years).
Bills lost in '94, (19 years).
Chargers lost in '95 (18 years).
Titans lost in 2000, (13 years)
Rams, lost in 2001 (12 years).
Raiders, lost in 2003 (10 years).
7. No team that has lost in the last 10 years other than the Patriots has been back: Panthers, Eagles, Seahawks, Bears, Cardinals, Colts, Steelers.
It's MUCH better psychologically for a team to fold in the playoffs than it is to make it all the way to the big game and then choke. The Broncos teams of the 1980's that did it 3 times are an example.
If the Ravens were to lose the big game, history suggests that they would be finished. They might never get back, or it might take them years to rebuild their team.
That would make it BOTH the Patriots AND Ravens under the SB loser's curse, which would certainly give the Broncos an advantage next season!
You can say there's no such thing, but history don't lie! :beer: