GLENDALE, Ariz. (Feb. 3) - New York Giants guard Chris Snee had a message for the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who remain the NFL's only undefeated team after the Giants shocked New England 17-14 in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
"Thanks for supporting us," Snee said. "Your record stands for another year, I guess."
By tradition, members of the '72 Dolphins uncork champagne bottles every autumn when the NFL's last remaining unbeaten goes down. This time, the party didn't happen until Sunday night, when the Giants handed the New England Patriots their first loss - in their 19th game.
"Obviously, we're proud to still be the only undefeated team in the history of the National Football League," former Dolphins running back Jim Kiick said in a statement. "We're proud of it. Why shouldn't we be?"
The '72 Dolphins cast a long shadow over this Super Bowl. Kiick, Garo Yepremian, Larry Little and Mercury Morris gathered Friday for a media briefing. And in many local bars it was easy to find an argument over who would go down as the greater team - the Dolphins or this year's Patriots.
That debate is moot now. The Patriots' inexorable march on the Dolphins died in the desert.
"We never were against the New England Patriots," Kiick said. "We have our accomplishments.
"We're not comparing ourselves to anyone else from other generations. We're happy with our own accomplishments. The Patriots are a great football team. Unfortunately, they didn't win this Super Bowl."
The Dolphins remained in the spotlight after the game, sharing the attention with the victorious Giants, their new favorite team.
"They played a fabulous game and I really thought they deserved to win," former Miami tight end Jim Mandich said. "I really feel the better team won.
"As for the 1972 Miami Dolphins, I don't take joy in the fact the Patriots lost - period. But I do relish and savor the fact that there has only been one unbeaten team in the history of the NFL, and it is the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Of that, I am extremely proud."
Former Dolphins coach Don Shula watched from a suite, an unfamiliar vantage point for the Hall of Famer.
"What I learned today is how tough it is to go undefeated," Shula said. "That's why I'm even more proud of our '72 team than I've ever been. It shows it's a tremendous accomplishment. It hadn't been done before we went undefeated and it hasn't been done since."
In November, Shula said the Patriots' success was diminished by the spying scandal. In January, he acknowledged that because the Patriots threaten to match his team's perfect-season achievement, his comments could be interpreted as sour grapes.
Shula had kinder words for the vanquished Patriots on Sunday night.
"I'm sure they are going to use it as motivation because that's a proud group," Shula said. "Their football team is a team that really knows how to win. So I'm sure they are going to realize what they accomplished this year, and then what they failed to accomplish at the end of the year."
The Giants weren't thinking about the Dolphins as they mobbed each other after the game. But several players chuckled at the thought that their improbable victory had started a champagne celebration among the Dolphins.
"We're about to start popping our own bottles and join them," linebacker Kawika Mitchell said.
Don't get me wrong, I'm an official hater of the Patriots, but the only satisfaction I would have gotten from a win tonight was to shut up the 72 Dolphins. They won in a down year in the NFL, I can pick 4 loss teams from the past ten years that could beat the 72 Phins
NiCkOwNsRTR wrote:Don't get me wrong, I'm an official hater of the Patriots, but the only satisfaction I would have gotten from a win tonight was to shut up the 72 Dolphins. They won in a down year in the NFL, I can pick 4 loss teams from the past ten years that could beat the 72 Phins
You should read what you write...
You sound like some Georgia Fans who says that those Alabama Teams under Bear could hang with this year's Georgia Team... What about folks who says that Alabama is over rated and still living on the Manna provided from Teams in the past. Alabama is a has been in the SEC...
I wish my computer was at home instead of getting fixed at Best Buy. This was one sweet victory that NO ONE... NOT EVEN I... could've predicted. I know there's some here who wants to blow up the NFL just because the Giants didn't bend over and allow the cheating Patriots to have their way on them. But when you beat the three best teams in the NFL who they lost to in the regular season (Cowboys, Packers, and Patriots), what the hell more do you want from this team????? The Giants took it to the Perfect Cheaters HARD!!!!! This team deserves this win and the championship!!!!!
From here on out, Eli Manning will do no wrong in NYC where he has achieved Joe Namath. At the very least he (and Tom Coughlin) have brought himself 5 years of peace and quiet from the media since they now have won a Super Bowl.
He will be like Derek Jeter in New York, which is good for him. So, after all the talk, it looks like Eli DID make the right choice to shun the Chargers for the Giants.
Only reason I even put up with the '72 Dolphins is that Jim Kiick was on that team. I wanted the Pats to win to shut up Shula and Morris and all this '72 Dolphins junk.
wyokie wrote:Only reason I even put up with the '72 Dolphins is that Jim Kiick was on that team. I wanted the Pats to win to shut up Shula and Morris and all this '72 Dolphins junk.
I guess the Pats lost will shut you up for another year...
wyokie wrote:Only reason I even put up with the '72 Dolphins is that Jim Kiick was on that team. I wanted the Pats to win to shut up Shula and Morris and all this '72 Dolphins junk.
Don't worry, you were not alone. The 72 Dolphins were a good team, not great. It really doesn't matter if I was born yet, just look at the level of competition. Don Shula is the most pompous jackass to ever coach in the Pros, so I hope their precious record gets broken soon, however I don't see that happening because the NFL is so talented in 2008 rather than 1972, when the league was in transition.
NiCkOwNsRTR wrote:Don't get me wrong, I'm an official hater of the Patriots, but the only satisfaction I would have gotten from a win tonight was to shut up the 72 Dolphins. They won in a down year in the NFL, I can pick 4 loss teams from the past ten years that could beat the 72 Phins
You should read what you write...
You sound like some Georgia Fans who says that those Alabama Teams under Bear could hang with this year's Georgia Team... What about folks who says that Alabama is over rated and still living on the Manna provided from Teams in the past. Alabama is a has been in the SEC...
I struck a nerve. You don't have to tell any Bama fan that we're a has been in the SEC. We haven't been living under a rock. Our last conference title was in 1999, but it was more recent than Tennessee's in 1998. Just remember, in 2001-2002, USC was a has been in the Pac-10. We Bama fans are known for high standards, going 10 years without a National Title is not something we like to do. LSU waited from 1959-2002 for another one. Auburn has been waiting for another since 1957. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's better to be a has been with a chance of coming back, than a never has been or never will be.
!!!! 
