The 2011 and ’07 Giants, the 2010 Packers, the ’05 and ’08 Steelers, the ’09 Saints and the ’06 Colts . . . these aren’t your father’s Super Bowl champions.
These aren’t even the Super Bowl champs of your slightly-older uncle Bobby – you know, that uncle no one much talks about at the family reunions, the one who dances around on the weekends down at the intersection, holding that sign for the house-painting company.
Anyway, these most recent Lombardi Trophy hoisters are different from the champs of seasons gone by. Let us examine the ways . . .
They come out of nowhere
None of the past seven Super Bowl winners owned the best record in their respective seasons. Some, such as the 9-7 Giants of this past season or the 10-6 Packers of the previous year weren’t even close, barely squeezing into the playoffs.
In fact, only two of the past 15 Super Bowl champs have carried the league’s top won-loss percentage into the postseason. Contrast this with the 13 previous seasons, in which the team with the best regular-season mark went on to dance beneath the confetti eight times.
Also consider that four of the past seven NFL champs – the ’05 Steelers, the ’06 Colts, the ’10 Packers and the ’11 Giants – actually posted better records the previous season, causing more than a few to overlook these eventual ring bearers.
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