14
Oct
Posted by Tim in Sports, Unabated to the Quarterback. Tagged: 16-0, 1972 dolphins, 2007 patriots, 2009 colts, 2009 saints, ahmad bradshaw, andy reid, breast cancer awareness, camus will be back next week i'm sure, chiefs plug of the week, clock management, defensive tackles v. offensive tackles, elective affinities, fox v. cbs in broadcasting style, home run throwback, indianapolis colts, jets bash of the week, Joe Buck, johann wolfgang von goethe, kansas city chiefs, mike pereira, redskins' pants, sage rosenfels, scott green is a bad ref, scott hanson, solomon wilcots, special teams coach jokes, the quest for historical transcendence, the quest for perfection, tony siragusa. Leave a Comment
“Everything perfect of its kind must transcend its kind: it must become something other, something incomparable.”
“Certain shortcomings are essential for the individual’s existence.”
–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Elective Affinities
It was a thrilling moment on Sunday, when those underdog Indianapolis Colts were able to hang on and defeat the NFL’s decade-long behemoth, the Kansas City Chiefs, to finally end yet another run at perfection.
Wait, what?
The Colts did beat the Chiefs, but that’s about the only aspect of that sentence that’s accurate — unless you find field-goal kicking especially thrilling. And now, just five weeks into the NFL season, there are no unbeaten teams left.
Kinda sad, right? A potential season-long storyline gone, right? A chance at historical transcendence done with, right?
Wrong.
Well, sort of wrong.
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8
Dec
Posted by Tim in Aught Lang Syne, Rankings, Sports. Tagged: 18-1, 2006 afc championship, 3rd and five, adam vinatieri, best nfl games of the decade, colts 38 patriots 34, david tyree, eli manning, giants 17 patriots 14, giants niners, giants patriots, golden age of the nfl, greatest comeback in nfl playoff history, greatest upset ever, home run throwback, jeff fisher, jets 40 dolphins 37, jets dolphins, kurt warner, midnight miracle, monday night miracle, music city miracle, niners 39 giants 38, patriots 16 raiders 13, patriots 20 rams 17, patriots 32 panthers 29, patriots colts, patriots panthers, patriots raiders, patriots rams, rams 23 titans 16, santonio holmes, snow game, steelers 27 cardinals 23, steelers cardinals, Steve McNair, super bowl xlii, super bowl xliii, super bowl xxxiv, super bowl xxxvi, super bowl xxxviii, titans 22 bills 16, titans bills, titans rams, Tom Brady, top 10 games, tuck rule, walt coleman. 3 Comments
Opposite the NBA and MLB, the NFL had an amazing decade. Whereas those sports combined to produce three Game 7s in 20 championship series, the NFL saw five Super Bowls come down to the final two minutes. It avoided major scandals while providing us with a likable upstart turned detestable villain, one of the best rivalries the sport has ever seen, featuring two historically transcendent players at the game’s most important position. Oh, and it cleaned up its logo.
It might even be the Golden Age of the NFL.
As for my list, you’ll notice that the common theme uniting all 10 games is fourth-quarter drama. And not like, one-team-drives-for-one-late-TD-to-win drama, but back-and-forth-for-all-15-minutes-with-multiple-scores drama. And even having that high standard and far fewer games to choose from than in the other sports, I had to make some tough cuts. The final ones included the Steelers’ comeback win over the Browns on Wild Card Weekend in 2002 (the same day as a game that made our countdown), the Steelers’ upset of the Colts in the 2005 Divisional Playoffs, and the Colts’ incredible fourth-quarter comeback on Monday Night against the Buccaneers in 2003.
On the other end of the spectrum, the worst game of the decade was Super Bowl XXXVII, the Buccaneers’ 48-21 romp over the Raiders. If you don’t know why, you’re a Bucs’ fan.
10. 2000 Regular Season: New York Jets 40, Miami Dolphins 37 (OT)
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