Soccer is interesting when you look at it this way. In other he three major sports, history is history. In baseball, we recognize the “modern” era, which usually refers to the period after 1900, but it helps that 1901 was also the birth of the American League. That makes sense. The NHL dates back to 1917 and the NBA goes back to 1946. Random or not, there is no delineation.
In the NFL? October 3, 1920, the day the Dayton Triangles defeated the Columbus Panhandles 14-0 in the first game of what was then called the American Professional Football Association, and the Green Bay Packers’ 23 There is an entire segment that exists between vs. 0. The last NFL championship before the Super Bowl came on January 2, 1966, when they defeated the Cleveland Browns by 12. The other one started the next day.
From January 3, 1966 to this moment, the “Super Bowl Era” exists. And for the purpose of many soccer conversations, including the ones happening on this page today, that’s what soccer people talk about. So while it’s impossible to write NFL history from day one without the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears being talked about in the top 10 greatest football teams of all time, most of those laurels have been since January. happened before. March 1966.
And while the Patriots and Steelers have each won six Super Bowls, neither had ever been blessed with a winning streak before the Super Bowl (in fact, both had comically bad results). was). A class only for Pantheon teams from the Super Bowl era.
This Sunday, we might add another team, the 49ers, to add a sixth Lombardi Trophy to our collection, or another team, the Chiefs, even rarer than the ones we already have. We might see him rise to the top and add a fourth trophy. , the second half of Patrick Mahomes’ best years is still ahead of him. The Chiefs also have an AFL Championship trophy in their collection (won in 1962 when they were known as the Dallas Texans). The Niners never came closer to a title than in 1949, when they lost to the Browns in the old AAFC championship game.
This will be the Niners’ third shot, joining the Steelers with six Pats. San Francisco won its first five appearances in the big game, starting in the 16th, but has now lost two in a row, first to the Joe Flacco Ravens in the 47th, and a few years later to Patrick – Lost to Mahomes Chiefs in the 7th game. The Chiefs lost their first super to the Packers and were also trampled by the Tom Brady Buccaneers three years ago.
So here we are.
Where we sit, with less than a week left until Las Vegas hosts its first-ever Super Bowl, both participants will play for the current title of the best football team on the planet. This is a unique time of opportunity. But it’s about elevating their place in the history of the sport (at least for the past 58 years).
The Steelers and Patriots both have six, and both teams likely feel like they may have some left on the table. The Steelers won four of six Super Bowls from 1975 to 1980, having the same core for two years when Oakland and Dallas interrupted their reign, but then during the early years of manager Bill Cowher’s tenure. There was a time when they were upset three times. Home in the playoffs.
And while the Patriots have won at least four Super Bowls that could have come from behind (against the Rams, Panthers, Seahawks, and Falcons), they have lost three times under Belichick-Brady (two to the Giants, one to The Falcons) Eagles) are still haunted.
So both will have to settle for six, and that’s the club the 49ers would like to join for a third try. The Chiefs could also join a fairly exclusive realm at the next level that features teams with four or more players. When we sit down, that little communion consists of:
5 – Dallas
4 – Giants
4 – Packers
Again, as seen elsewhere in this package, the absence of the Bears (eight titles between 1921 and 1963) and Browns (eight titles between 1946 and 1964) is strange. In 1967, when the Super Bowl was born, Toronto won its 13th championship, the same as the Canadiens. When the vote is taken then they will be 1 and 1A. Montreal’s record is 12-0, so if you only consider the past 57 years, it’s closer to 1 and 25.
But that’s what the Super Bowl means to us today, and so is the impact it had on the sport and its history. A new chapter will be written around 10 a.m. Sunday. It doesn’t matter who wins.
