Until the game is played each year in the run-up to the Super Bowl, every team that has played in the big game gets to relive some of those iconic moments that have become an enduring part of American culture. For some teams, it is, to borrow an old sports phrase, the thrill of victory, yet for others, it is the sting of the agony of defeat.
This leads to an interesting question: Would you rather be a fan of a team that has made it to the big game multiple times, in some cases multiple times, and suffered through some of those unforgettable moments, never achieving victory or a fan of a team that has never been in the big game at all?
For teams that have made it just to come up short of the ultimate prize, the memories are painful and can last a lifetime. I won’t get into those, but I am sure all football fans can remember many of those infamous moments.
The Dolphins, currently suffering through the longest playoff win drought in the NFL, are one of the few teams that can say they have had more than their share of both. Some of them are within the same game.
Of course, everyone remembers Garo’s blunder in 1972, which has made that play and, in turn, that ultimate victory a topic of conversation for 54 years and counting. It is debatable, but I believe that play has kept the memory of that Super Bowl and that special season alive in our nation’s consciousness more vividly than it would have had the field goal attempt been successful.
Or John Riggins on a fourth & 1 steamrolling through the dolphin defense for a touchdown-defining moment.
It’s been an agonizing twenty-plus years waiting for that elusive playoff win, but if there are any other teams out there with more defining Super Bowl thrills & agony than the Dolphins, please leave them in the comments.