I started to get a bad feeling when...

[tombonneau]

... I read that really good article about Perfection by the guy from Esquire. (Sorry don't have the link off hand.)

Did anyone else read this piece? It was really good, and what got me a little nervous was he was listing all these teams across all these sports that went undefeated -- I mean, like teams that didn't let anyone even score on them -- and then in the championship game they lost. In some cases, were even dominated.

But the one that put it over the top for me and gave me a really bad feeling was this NCAA wrestler who was like 176-0 in his career. And then in his very last match he lost.

Something about that just made me think there is some very real psychological difficulty to going undefeated in any sport. It was in the back of my mind all week and I just couldn't shake it.

 

[Double G]

Re: I started to get a bad feeling when ...

I started to get a bad feeling when.......the Giants tried in everyway possible to hand the NFCCG to Green Bay and still managed to win the game.

Playing the Patriots the last game of the year was bad timing too; it propelled them into the playoffs with a "Hey, if we can hang with them, we can hang with anybody" attitude.

The MVP of the Super Bowl was the Giant front four; if it were not for the way they dominated the LOS, the Patriots would have won the game, end of story...........

 

[SVN]

Re: I started to get a bad feeling when ...

i got the bad feeling when
a)didnt see troy leading the team out of the gates
b)saw brady disgusted on just losing a coin toss. Showed how much pressure they felt.

 

[Ring 6]

Re: I started to get a bad feeling when ...

I got a bad feeling when the 4th down pass was incomplete, and the Giants got the ball back with 0:01 left.
Up until then I wasn't ready to give up hope.

 

[Res5Cue]

Re: I started to get a bad feeling when ...

When Every single morning after show was setting up in Boston for the post game victory crap. I went Oh crap, Great, were screwed, felt like the 80's doom all over again.

 

[sieglo]

Re: I started to get a bad feeling when ...

I knew we were in trouble when the red hoodie made its appearance.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

[Edited out of existence -- I have to stop thinking about that stupid game.]

 

[Harry Yelreh]

... I read that really good article about Perfection by the guy from Esquire. (Sorry don't have the link off hand.)

Did anyone else read this piece? It was really good, and what got me a little nervous was he was listing all these teams across all these sports that went undefeated -- I mean, like teams that didn't let anyone even score on them -- and then in the championship game they lost. In some cases, were even dominated.

But the one that put it over the top for me and gave me a really bad feeling was this NCAA wrestler who was like 176-0 in his career. And then in his very last match he lost.

Something about that just made me think there is some very real psychological difficulty to going undefeated in any sport. It was in the back of my mind all week and I just couldn't shake it.

It really is amazing. Teams on the verge of history coming up agonizingly short. It actually happens a lot.

I think there have been a couple wrestlers that it's happened to. Dan Gable is probably the most famous. He went 118-1 - the last loss coming in his final match. Ouch. There was also Alexander Karelin in Greco-Roman wrestling. Unbeaten from 1987 to 2000 and considered one of the most dominant athletes of all time, he was looking for his fourth Olympic gold medal in 2000 and was easily considered the heavy favorite ... and lost to American Rulon Gardner.

Football - Woody Hayes never got over his 1969 team. They were 8-0, outscoring their opponents 371-69. Their closest game was 34-7. Then they lost their last game of the season to Michigan 24-12. Ouch.

There's tons of examples like that. Obviously, this Super Bowl will always stand out in people's minds at the highest level of football.

 

[Bella*chick]

I didn't give up hope until the very end. But I got a weird "huh" feeling when the Pats got that first turnover, a pickoff by Hobbs, and didn't do anything with it. I thought, that's not a very good sign.

But give up hope? No, not until the final seconds ticked away.

 

[Run it up baby!]

... I read that really good article about Perfection by the guy from Esquire. (Sorry don't have the link off hand.)

Did anyone else read this piece? It was really good, and what got me a little nervous was he was listing all these teams across all these sports that went undefeated -- I mean, like teams that didn't let anyone even score on them -- and then in the championship game they lost. In some cases, were even dominated.

But the one that put it over the top for me and gave me a really bad feeling was this NCAA wrestler who was like 176-0 in his career. And then in his very last match he lost.

Something about that just made me think there is some very real psychological difficulty to going undefeated in any sport. It was in the back of my mind all week and I just couldn't shake it.

I was also sort of expecting it. As others have said, this sort of thing happens quite often, the reason for it would be the last paragraph you wrote ^

I remember when I was a young Tom Brady, at age 14 trying to lead my team to an undefeated season in my last year in Pop Warner football. We had one of those dream teams where some of the best 13-14 year old football players youll ever see just happened to move to my city and join my team. We were untouchable, hanging 50 points by halftime on every team we played, and we gave up I think 20 points all year.

We ended up not losing until the State Finals. We played a team that we beat twice in the regular season for a combined score of ~120-7. I'm sure you know what happens next.....but we got torched. They came out and made us look silly and by the start of the 4th quarter, they doubled the amount of points we had given up all year. Ended up losing 40-33, and the team that beat us went on to win Nationals.

I still remember how I felt after the game. Imagine how we felt Sunday night as Pats fans, then multiply by 10. I can't even imagine how the Pats players feel, so much more at stake for them

 

[Razor's Edge]

When...
I started seeing 19-0 shirts printed a week before the game was played
Boston planned the parade route a week the game
Brady looking irritated at the coin toss
Watching the Giants offensive line tackle our D line regularly, and no calls

And the Karma was tilted, can't explain

But I still thought we were going to win it at the very end.

 

[QuinielaBox]

When I imprinted 19-0 in the snow two hours before kickoff. At halftime I erased what was left of it but I suppose it was too late.

 

[tombonneau]

I was also sort of expecting it. As others have said, this sort of thing happens quite often, the reason for it would be the last paragraph you wrote ^

I remember when I was a young Tom Brady, at age 14 trying to lead my team to an undefeated season in my last year in Pop Warner football. We had one of those dream teams where some of the best 13-14 year old football players youll ever see just happened to move to my city and join my team. We were untouchable, hanging 50 points by halftime on every team we played, and we gave up I think 20 points all year.

We ended up not losing until the State Finals. We played a team that we beat twice in the regular season for a combined score of ~120-7. I'm sure you know what happens next.....but we got torched. They came out and made us look silly and by the start of the 4th quarter, they doubled the amount of points we had given up all year. Ended up losing 40-33, and the team that beat us went on to win Nationals.

I still remember how I felt after the game. Imagine how we felt Sunday night as Pats fans, then multiply by 10. I can't even imagine how the Pats players feel, so much more at stake for them

Yeah, it's weird that that sort of choking at perfection occurs at the ultimate individual level (wrestling) as well as the ultimate team level (football, both professional & apparently Pop Warner ).

The human psyche is a fragile thing, I suppose.

 

[sieglo]

But I still thought we were going to win it at the very end.

For a second when Brady lofted that bomb to Moss I thought it would be complete, greatest pass in NFL history capping the greatest season. A matter of inches.....