Giants victory starts champagne party for '72 Dolphins

[Ouchyfish]

Giants victory starts champagne party for '72 Dolphins

By ANDREW BAGNATO, AP Sports Writer
February 4, 2008

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- With the 1972 Miami Dolphins' legacy safe for at least another season, Don Shula took a moment Sunday night to congratulate the New England Patriots on a "great season."

But not the greatest season. That distinction still belongs to Shula's 17-0 Dolphins, who remain the NFL's only undefeated team after the Giants shocked New England 17-14 in the Super Bowl. "The Patriots had a great season, but it shows just how difficult it is to go undefeated," Shula said. "Our players and our fans feel that much more proud of our accomplishment."

The Giants were happy to do their part to protect the Dolphins' place in history. Giants guard Chris Snee had a message for the Dolphins. "Thanks for supporting us," he 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' 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."

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.

[Reynaldo]

What pisses everyone off about the 72 'Fins is that they're not even considered close to being one of the top teams of all time, yet we have to constantly hear about the 72 season.

[Diekan]

What pisses everyone off about the 72 'Fins is that they're not even considered close to being one of the top teams of all time, yet we have to constantly hear about the 72 season.

dont forget they also cheated.... but ahh you'll never hear about that in the media.

dont know what i'm talking about? do a little background look into how they got don "fatfuck" shula - just for starters...

[Ouchyfish]

After the 1969 season, Joe Robbie, owner of the Miami Dolphins, signed Shula to a contract to become Miami's second head coach. As a result of Shula's signing the team was charged with tampering by the NFL, which forced the Dolphins to give their first round pick to the Colts. The decision was controversial because Shula and Robbie's negotiations and signing were conducted before and after the official NFL/AFL merger, respectively. Had the negotiations been concluded before the merger, while the NFL and AFL were rivals, the NFL's anti-tampering rules could not have been applied.

ZOMG CHEATARZ


Oh--by the way--

He currently holds the NFL record for most career wins with 347.

[Gypsiyee]

What pisses everyone off about the 72 'Fins is that they're not even considered close to being one of the top teams of all time, yet we have to constantly hear about the 72 season.

dont forget they also cheated.... but ahh you'll never hear about that in the media.

dont know what i'm talking about? do a little background look into how they got don "fatfuck" shula - just for starters...

why even bother mentioning that when your precious pats did the same thing? you go on the defensive anytime it's mentioned that they got caught, who cares who cheated? Let's go with your story and say the Dolphins cheated. Let's go with the fact that the Pats did too, on a completely different level

Dolphins won, pats didn't

Let's not be stupid and take credit away for 'cheating' when your bandwagon of the season did as well, and worse, and still didn't win.

[Phlegm]

All I can say about this is that Mercury Morris is a loud mouth retard.

[Evermore]

All I can say about this is that Mercury Morris is a loud mouth retard.

I rememeber the asshole turning his back on the flag. Morris was the T.O. of the day.