CHAPTER FORTY FOUR: SUPER BOWL XLIV
________________________________
“I swear…I never got as much hate mail as I did after the AFC Championship game back in January of 2010. But at the time I didn’t think anything about it. I didn’t think it was controversial at all. However Browns fans just blew up my email account. What the eff do you think you’re talking about Simms?! Curse of the Bongbino?! What the hell are you bringing that up for?! Dallas hasn’t won a Super Bowl in ten years and nobody says ‘Curse of Jerry Jones!’ And unlike Ricky Williams, Jerry Jones is a curse! They were mad. But the thing is I didn’t invent the Curse of the Bongbino! That was invented by angry callers on sports radio programs in Cleveland! I know a lot of football fans in northern Ohio felt that the NFL was pushing this narrative that the Browns were once again cursed. But you have to realize…that narrative began in Cleveland!”
- Phil Simms
From the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “The Dawg Pound Dynasty”
_________________________________________________________
“It was hard to watch the Super Bowl that year. A part of me couldn’t help but relive that Favre interception over and over in my mind. I may have been getting ready for my new job as head coach of the New Mexico State Aggies, but I still had a lot of affection for the Browns. I still loved that team and the players on it. But watching San Diego get manhandled by New York…you almost wondered if the Browns dodged a bullet. As painful as the loss to the Chargers had been, losing the Super Bowl to Tom Brady and the Browns by a score of 49-3 might have been more than the city could handle.”
- Andy Moeller, former tight ends coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2008.
From the NFL Films documentary “The Dawg Pound Divorce: Tom Brady and the Cleveland Browns”
_____________________________________________________________
It’s funny, but I never saw Super Bowl XLIV as the mismatch everyone else in the country saw it as. Sure, New York shut down the Chargers quickly and never let them back in. Yes, they dominated the Chargers and I don’t want to take anything away from Nick Saban or the Giants. They were without a doubt the best team in the NFL in 2009. And they were without a doubt the better team that night. But I watched that game and I saw opportunity.
Jon Gruden on ESPN Radio (July 11, 2012)
__________________________________________________________
Super Bowl XLIV:
New York Giants vs. San Diego Chargers New York 49-3
___________________________________________________________
Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel- “The Ultimate Dawg – Former Browns Linebacker Brian Urlacher reflects on his time in Cleveland”
From August 23, 2013
Portions of a Armen Keteyian interview with Brian Urlacher.
Courtesy of CBS
Armen Keteyian: Brian, the loss to San Diego in the AFC Championship game back in 2010 seemed to have a devastating impact on the Browns psyche. Suddenly talk of a Ricky Williams Curse surfaced again-
Brian Urlacher: That was bullshit. We were two years removed from our last Super Bowl and five years removed from our last Super Bowl win. Green Bay was thirteen years removed from their last Super Bowl and nobody was saying that there was a “Curse of Wisconsin.”
Armen Keteyian: But didn’t Cleveland fans feed into that?
Brian Urlacher: A few angry fans called in after the loss to Denver back in 2006 and hinted at it, sure. But if the Phil Simms wants to base his opinions on the things people say on radio programs then I don’t think that’s the best way to do his job. There is probably some guy calling a radio station right now saying that alien lizard people live among us. That doesn’t mean you should say it on national television.
Armen Keteyian: After the loss Brett Favre many fans assumed Brett Favre would announce his retirement. Did this worry the team?
Brian Urlacher: I won’t lie, it did. Brett played for the Packers, and even when things went poorly for the Packers there wasn’t this same pressure as there was in Cleveland. The only way I can describe it is that Packers fans sort of default to optimism while Browns fans sort of default to pessimism. When he blew playoff games in Green Bay, fans forgave him. But nobody was really sure how the Browns fans would react. He didn’t have the history with us. And I think he was worried that “Favre to Driver” would become the new “Red Right 88” in Cleveland sports lore. I think he started to wonder if it was worth it anymore. But Brett was a competitor. He refused to say anything for a week after the Super Bowl, but then the itch came back. He didn’t want to go out like that. So he called Coach Gruden and told him he was back. But that in turn raised a new issue.
Armen Keteyian: Which was?
Brian Urlacher: He made it abundantly clear that 2010 would be his last NFL season. Wayne Fontes and Jon Gruden needed to start thinking about who would take over for Favre after he retired. Unfortunately our backups clearly were not going to be able to take over the team once Favre quit. Jared Lorenzen was a decent backup, but he couldn’t carry this team. Rhett Bomar was on the practice squad but he didn’t really look like he was developing like the team needed him to. And Pat White, who had been drafted in the second round, looked to be a bust. It was looking like he would be cut in the off-season. So Wayne and Jon looked to the upcoming draft for answers. Well, Jon was a revolutionary. He saw greatness is a plucky quarterback with great legs and a questionable arm. A quarterback that most football insiders felt would never adapt to the pro game due to shaky mechanics and poor accuracy. But Gruden was a believer. He remained convinced that Tim Tebow would the man who would take us to back to the Promise Land.
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR: SUPER BOWL XLIV
________________________________
“I swear…I never got as much hate mail as I did after the AFC Championship game back in January of 2010. But at the time I didn’t think anything about it. I didn’t think it was controversial at all. However Browns fans just blew up my email account. What the eff do you think you’re talking about Simms?! Curse of the Bongbino?! What the hell are you bringing that up for?! Dallas hasn’t won a Super Bowl in ten years and nobody says ‘Curse of Jerry Jones!’ And unlike Ricky Williams, Jerry Jones is a curse! They were mad. But the thing is I didn’t invent the Curse of the Bongbino! That was invented by angry callers on sports radio programs in Cleveland! I know a lot of football fans in northern Ohio felt that the NFL was pushing this narrative that the Browns were once again cursed. But you have to realize…that narrative began in Cleveland!”
- Phil Simms
From the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “The Dawg Pound Dynasty”
_________________________________________________________
“It was hard to watch the Super Bowl that year. A part of me couldn’t help but relive that Favre interception over and over in my mind. I may have been getting ready for my new job as head coach of the New Mexico State Aggies, but I still had a lot of affection for the Browns. I still loved that team and the players on it. But watching San Diego get manhandled by New York…you almost wondered if the Browns dodged a bullet. As painful as the loss to the Chargers had been, losing the Super Bowl to Tom Brady and the Browns by a score of 49-3 might have been more than the city could handle.”
- Andy Moeller, former tight ends coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2008.
From the NFL Films documentary “The Dawg Pound Divorce: Tom Brady and the Cleveland Browns”
_____________________________________________________________
It’s funny, but I never saw Super Bowl XLIV as the mismatch everyone else in the country saw it as. Sure, New York shut down the Chargers quickly and never let them back in. Yes, they dominated the Chargers and I don’t want to take anything away from Nick Saban or the Giants. They were without a doubt the best team in the NFL in 2009. And they were without a doubt the better team that night. But I watched that game and I saw opportunity.
Jon Gruden on ESPN Radio (July 11, 2012)
__________________________________________________________
Super Bowl XLIV:
New York Giants vs. San Diego Chargers New York 49-3
___________________________________________________________
Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel- “The Ultimate Dawg – Former Browns Linebacker Brian Urlacher reflects on his time in Cleveland”
From August 23, 2013
Portions of a Armen Keteyian interview with Brian Urlacher.
Courtesy of CBS
Armen Keteyian: Brian, the loss to San Diego in the AFC Championship game back in 2010 seemed to have a devastating impact on the Browns psyche. Suddenly talk of a Ricky Williams Curse surfaced again-
Brian Urlacher: That was bullshit. We were two years removed from our last Super Bowl and five years removed from our last Super Bowl win. Green Bay was thirteen years removed from their last Super Bowl and nobody was saying that there was a “Curse of Wisconsin.”
Armen Keteyian: But didn’t Cleveland fans feed into that?
Brian Urlacher: A few angry fans called in after the loss to Denver back in 2006 and hinted at it, sure. But if the Phil Simms wants to base his opinions on the things people say on radio programs then I don’t think that’s the best way to do his job. There is probably some guy calling a radio station right now saying that alien lizard people live among us. That doesn’t mean you should say it on national television.
Armen Keteyian: After the loss Brett Favre many fans assumed Brett Favre would announce his retirement. Did this worry the team?
Brian Urlacher: I won’t lie, it did. Brett played for the Packers, and even when things went poorly for the Packers there wasn’t this same pressure as there was in Cleveland. The only way I can describe it is that Packers fans sort of default to optimism while Browns fans sort of default to pessimism. When he blew playoff games in Green Bay, fans forgave him. But nobody was really sure how the Browns fans would react. He didn’t have the history with us. And I think he was worried that “Favre to Driver” would become the new “Red Right 88” in Cleveland sports lore. I think he started to wonder if it was worth it anymore. But Brett was a competitor. He refused to say anything for a week after the Super Bowl, but then the itch came back. He didn’t want to go out like that. So he called Coach Gruden and told him he was back. But that in turn raised a new issue.
Armen Keteyian: Which was?
Brian Urlacher: He made it abundantly clear that 2010 would be his last NFL season. Wayne Fontes and Jon Gruden needed to start thinking about who would take over for Favre after he retired. Unfortunately our backups clearly were not going to be able to take over the team once Favre quit. Jared Lorenzen was a decent backup, but he couldn’t carry this team. Rhett Bomar was on the practice squad but he didn’t really look like he was developing like the team needed him to. And Pat White, who had been drafted in the second round, looked to be a bust. It was looking like he would be cut in the off-season. So Wayne and Jon looked to the upcoming draft for answers. Well, Jon was a revolutionary. He saw greatness is a plucky quarterback with great legs and a questionable arm. A quarterback that most football insiders felt would never adapt to the pro game due to shaky mechanics and poor accuracy. But Gruden was a believer. He remained convinced that Tim Tebow would the man who would take us to back to the Promise Land.
