I can certainly understand how many would feel that the last game was the worst - based on the significance of an unprecedented season, the exclamation of the FU tour, the chance to go beyond the best team of the decade and be compared favorably to the best teams of all time - but in spite of that I did not and still cannot say it was the most depressing loss of all time.
It's rather simple - we Pats fans had already won a Super Bowl. For Tom Brady and BB the best win is always the 'next one', but for me the best will always be the first SB. There is no way that that you can convince me that either the Carolina or Philly win was more exciting than St Louis. And the reverse is true as well. Losing to the Colts after a 21-3 lead or to the Giants after a 16-0 regular season hurt badly, but we had already won a SB. We had that previous success to fall back on and cushion the blow.
When the Raiders got the bogus roughing the passer call on Hamilton against Stabler and the Pats could have won the SB as they were better than any NFC team - with no previous championships and a few really embarrisingly poor years in our history - yes, that did hurt more than this past season. When the team finally did make it to the Super Bowl for the first time, only to get absolutely crushed and then become the butt of nation wide jokes for their poor showing - well, just ask Tony Eason what that does to your confidence and then think about what NE fans had to put up with as the "worst SB team ever".
Losing this game hurts, but it could be way worse - which eliminates it from "worst loss" consideration. Not becoming a lock for "best team ever" is not worthy of the "worst loss ever". Losing what appeared at that time to be your "one big chance" is - just ask the fans of the Bengals, Bills, or Titans.
It's not that I'm being complacent, but the pressure of having never won versus the opportunity of winning again is not comparable.
