How does this feel?

[bark]

How does it feel?
There is a generation of falcons fans out there that will remember this loss when they are old men.
You never ever forget a super bowl loss.
It's the worst and add in the crushing manner in which they delivered the win to the patriots.......

Still can't believe how stupid some of their decisions were!
Atlanta (city/fans/coaches/players) will never get over this one
The patriots will always be to the falcons what the steelers are to cowboys old timers

 

[IrishAnto]

I don't think she was very happy with my actions or language for that short time span.

LOL!!!! That's me almost every game.

I feel for the Falcons fans because as a Cowboys fan these past 21 years you know the feeling only too well.

 

[Fletch]

That was a Cowboys-esque meltdown. Could you imagine how much they'd be trash talking us rather than talking up Pats?

How was that a Cowboys-esque meltdown? Since when?

 

[Bullflop]

Losing any SB is horrible. Losing the way the Falcons did is about as bad as it gets. That game was over.

No kidding -- after the game, Dan Quinn claimed they "just ran out of gas." True to an extent but when the Falcons had advanced into FG territory and chose to pass instead of run, that was tragic. Atlanta fans will be hard pressed to get over that one.

 

[DallasDomination]

I have absolutely zero sympathy for chokers. It's a trait that is beyond annoying to have.

As a fan you are beyond destroyed to suffer a loss like that. But I think anger is the correct feeling.

 

[DandyDon52]

Several teams can say something similar. The NFL only has about 5 "monster DEs" so I guess we will be waiting for a while.

Fact is we had the players to win this year and we blew it. Saying our 13 team would've been crushed at home as favorites by Ryan does make you feel better though. Will we have a better chance with a couple more defensive players? Maybe. There is no way to know if we will get as far as we did this year though.

Dallas could have had Freeney, but passed on him, he played pretty good in playoffs.

Also no one can say how we would have done against atlanta, each game is different, and it depends on a lot of variables.
Dallas might have won , might have lost, same for if we played NE in SB, the whole game would be different from what we saw.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

This is a loss you never get over.

 

[robjay04]

Dallas could have had Freeney, but passed on him, he played pretty good in playoffs.

Also no one can say how we would have done against atlanta, each game is different, and it depends on a lot of variables.
Dallas might have won , might have lost, same for if we played NE in SB, the whole game would be different from what we saw.

I completely agree.

Too many people believe the Falcons or Patriots would've steamrolled us. Our team was good enough to beat everyone, especially playing in front of our home crowd.

 

[TheHerd]

That was a Cowboys-esque meltdown. Could you imagine how much they'd be trash talking us rather than talking up Pats?

I'm on a sports news fast, but this is such a true point. The narrative is likely going to be Brady, Brady, Brady, but if we lost like that with Romo at the helm it would be all Romo all the time.

 

[DandyDon52]

No kidding -- after the game, Dan Quinn claimed they "just ran out of gas." True to an extent but when the Falcons had advanced into FG territory and chose to pass instead of run, that was tragic. Atlanta fans will be hard pressed to get over that one.

Well my theory is Atlanta played very hard and fast in first half, they expended a lot of energy, maybe too much, and then add to that
they went in thinking they had the game in hand and would surely win.

Then the long halftime show, fatigue sets in and mentally they think they just need to finish this win 1.
They had nothing to motivate them mentally, and nothing to figure out in strategy at the half.
So they have a bit of a let down or down shift, and are tired from what they did in first half

Then they score again, up 28-3, but new england doesnt give up, they keep mounting drives, they had 40 min to 23 atlanta in top.
Brady threw 63 passes, 93 plays total, the Atlanta defense was simply worn down in 2nd half.

NE was still making mistakes themselves, settling for fg's blowing a onside kick , dropping passes , throwing int, and other mistakes.
But they never let up or gave up, Atlanta got more and more wore out, and NE then took charge in 4th, and wound up getting 2 td's
which is good, but what I was surprised at was they got the 2 point try both times.
If they dont get that last 2 point play game is probably over.

But atlanta is tired and when your tired your mind is not as good either.
I do think the OC screwed up on that time where they were in fg range, and passed and took the sack and holding, but I see teams
including dallas do this all the time.

Then game goes to OT, and Atlanta then loses the toss, and never get the ball, NE drives on a tired and now scared atlanta team.

I think NE was in better condition, physically, and they were given a boost by their own comeback.

Atlanta never got the ball in OT, i remember dallas losing just like that to NO?? It happens.

Atlanta fans are down, but they had 2 playoff wins , and a glorious 3 qtrs in the SB, that to me is better than losing in div, and or one and done.

They did allow the biggest comeback ever, that is embarrassing, but not that big of a deal, a loss is a loss.
If this team never comes back and wins a SB, that will haunt them from now on, because it is now a famous comeback.

 

[mahoneybill]

I dealt with mavericks loss in 06, where it really felt rigged. And the rangers loss in 2011. The first rangers loss didn't feel that bad. Felt like we achieved a lot and sort of blown out. But to blow that game 6 in 2011, it still bothers me. I think that Super Bowl loss for them in that manner probably the hardest feeling outside of a personal tragedy. The saying there's always next year doesn't help either. Because it's a long season, and a lot has to go your way to be up 25 points in the Super Bowl.

Well stated. To be up by that much, and lose , especially when the other team had to convert 2 - 2 pointers ( to me mini touchdowns) has to have them reeling. Also the way they went backwards when in field goal range in a play or two has to have them questioning
many aspects of their decisions. This wasn't a turnover that ended it. It was a relentless desire to win shown by the Patriots.

The thing I will take out of our Packers loss, is that same relentless desire to not lose. Had a coach once who told me " you are very good ( track) but when you lose, make sure the other person fears to meet you again". I think we , with some D help, will be that team going forward.

P.S. Thanks to the original poster for asking us old timers.... Boys fans since the 60's

 

[Daillest88]

This just reaffirms for me that ....

Not only could we hang with falcons.... we could have beat them.

The way they coached in the 2nd half, damn right we could not beat them

 

[plasticman]

Until 1971, the Cowboys were known as the team that "couldn't win the big one".Even after that, there have been some brutal moments.

Let me describe just how gut wrenching it was:

The Cowboys lost two NFL championships back against the Packers on the last play of the game, an INT in the endzone and a Packer TD on the one foot line on 4th down. This was before the merger with the AFL and the winner of those two games represented the NFL in the first two Super Bowls ever. That's right. Win those games and it is called the Landry Trophy.

Then, they lose Short Noel 5 in the last minute of the game when the Colts roomie kicker made a.field.goal. The field goal was possible when the Colt defense intercepted a Craig Morton pass deep in Cowboys territory during a 13-13 tie. All the Cowboys had to do was not turn it over and it goes into overtime.

Then there was the two 4 point losses to thw Steelers that made them the "team of the 70's.

Here is a stat:

Including the two Packer games, the Landry Cowboys lost 5 NFL championships by a TD or less. In fact, every championship loss they suffered was by a TD or less and every championship victory, to this day, had been by double digits.

Then there was "the Catch" in the NFC championship game. What made it more painfull was that Joe Montana was hugging the sidelines, about to go out whrn I henestly beleive he was trying.to throw the ball away but didnt put enough on the ball so Clark was able to grab it over Everson Walls. Walls was an undrafted rookie CB who recovered three turnovers that game, two INT's and a fumble. However, his image goes down in history as the Cowboy covering Dwight Clark in all.those sports magazine covers. Brutal.

But back to those three Super Bowl losses, all by 4 points or less. Until Super Bowl 25, the three closest Super Bowl margins were the three that the Cowboys lost. Painfull.

The "dynasty" Patriots won every one of thoae 5 Super Bowls by a TD or less four of them by 4 or less, and.the 5 Cowboy victories have all been by double digits. The Cowboys have been great for eztended periods of time vut they have never....NEVER....been lucky in a Super Bowl or NFL championship.

And.here is.the final truth.....The closer you get to winning it all, the more it hurts, the longer it lingers. Losing Super Bowls by less than a TD is terrible, oldtime Cowboy fans know how the Falcons feel.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Several teams can say something similar. The NFL only has about 5 "monster DEs" so I guess we will be waiting for a while.

Fact is we had the players to win this year and we blew it. Saying our 13 team would've been crushed at home as favorites by Ryan does make you feel better though. Will we have a better chance with a couple more defensive players? Maybe. There is no way to know if we will get as far as we did this year though.

I don't see any holes in the offense, save a breakout WR.
But our defence, bloke, was held together by tape and twine. Our defence needs lots of help. Again, corners and DE. And a run stuffer.

 

[lostar2009]

This would be a crushing loss. They gave away a world championship. Brutal.

Still better to get there though.

Tell that to Byron Jones.

 

[mahoneybill]

Until 1971, the Cowboys were known as the team that "couldn't win the big one".Even after that, there have been some brutal moments.

Let me describe just how gut wrenching it was:

The Cowboys lost two NFL championships back against the Packers on the last play of the game, an INT in the endzone and a Packer TD on the one foot line on 4th down. This was before the merger with the AFL and the winner of those two games represented the NFL in the first two Super Bowls ever. That's right. Win those games and it is called the Landry Trophy.

Then, they lose Short Noel 5 in the last minute of the game when the Colts roomie kicker made a.field.goal. The field goal was possible when the Colt defense intercepted a Craig Morton pass deep in Cowboys territory during a 13-13 tie. All the Cowboys had to do was not turn it over and it goes into overtime.

Then there was the two 4 point losses to thw Steelers that made them the "team of the 70's.

Here is a stat:

Including the two Packer games, the Landry Cowboys lost 5 NFL championships by a TD or less. In fact, every championship loss they suffered was by a TD or less and every championship victory, to this day, had been by double digits.

Then there was "the Catch" in the NFC championship game. What made it more painfull was that Joe Montana was hugging the sidelines, about to go out whrn I henestly beleive he was trying.to throw the ball away but didnt put enough on the ball so Clark was able to grab it over Everson Walls. Walls was an undrafted rookie CB who recovered three turnovers that game, two INT's and a fumble. However, his image goes down in history as the Cowboy covering Dwight Clark in all.those sports magazine covers. Brutal.

But back to those three Super Bowl losses, all by 4 points or less. Until Super Bowl 25, the three closest Super Bowl margins were the three that the Cowboys lost. Painfull.

The "dynasty" Patriots won every one of thoae 5 Super Bowls by a TD or less four of them by 4 or less, and.the 5 Cowboy victories have all been by double digits. The Cowboys have been great for eztended periods of time vut they have never....NEVER....been lucky in a Super Bowl or NFL championship.

And.here is.the final truth.....The closer you get to winning it all, the more it hurts, the longer it lingers. Losing Super Bowls by less than a TD is terrible, oldtime Cowboy fans know how the Falcons feel.

Great historical summary. Thanks for posting such a concise, and true accounting of the disappointments , and the dominance of our teams and the reality of the Pats wins.... Kudos to them they now have 5. On to 6 for us, hopefully in the immediate future.

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

I don't see any holes in the offense, save a breakout WR.
But our defence, bloke, was held together by tape and twine. Our defence needs lots of help. Again, corners and DE. And a run stuffer.

I think you mean defense, bloke. Defence is what I try not to run into after drinking descotch.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

I will be 31 in about two months.

My second earliest memory would be the 1993 NFC Championship. I remember it like it was yesterday, watching the game with my Grandfather, Uncle and Father. Only myself and my father are left now so it is a very special memory. For the next few years, I had a lot to brag about in elementary school though not much afterwards.

Obviously I have been through many stages of my life since the glory days but my love for the Cowboys has never wavered. Now that I am married, have a good career and I am soon to have a kid, I feel that I am more attached to this team as ever. I can handle a regular season loss because I am a optimist at heart and I know that it's a long season but during the first half of the Cowboys/Packers game, my wife saw a side of me that she has never seen.

I was angry and my hopes were crushed, I literally felt the life being taken out of me during that first half. I don't think she was very happy with my actions or language for that short time span. Eventually I recovered and by the end of the game, I was fine and I was posting on Cowboys message boards like I have since I was 17 years old as my normal, optimistic self. I blamed my actions in the first half mainly on my disappointment in how unprepared our team looked. Once they started playing right, I calmed down for the remainder of the game.

The point of this post is that I am curious to ask some of the old timers here, how does this feel? I couldn't imagine how a Falcons fan might feel right now. I scrolled a Falcons message board and I was saddened just thinking about how I would've felt if I was a Falcons fan. Do you eventually get that "at least we were here" feeling of partial gratification or is this the kind of thing that sticks with you? If Dak/Zeke are lucky enough to lead us to a Super Bowl next year against the Patriots...should I rent out a hotel room and watch this one by myself just in case?

The football fan in me feels bad for the Falcons fan tonight. As far as being a fan, would you rather lose a Super Bowl in the fashion of how the Falcons did tonight or lose how we did?

Winning the SB feels like total elation. Losing it feels like being sick to your stomach from bad anchovies then someone comes along and punches you hard in the stomach.

 

[JoeKing]

The last time we played the Falcons, IIRC... I think we hung 28 pts on them by halftime and thought we had it won. That didn't work out and the feeling of blowing that game has stayed with me. So I can image how that feels X 10 because it was for a World Championship.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Here's how much you know read it and weep! lol

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/shanahan-vs-belichick-changing-of-the-guard.371690/

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/the-dallas-cowboys-will-beat-green-bay.369747/

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/were-gonna-put-giants-we-gonna-take-giants-out.367293/

You don't take shots.

I took at least three. Lol