In the world of professional sports, there are very few events that accentuate the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat as much as the Super Bowl. Nearly a decade has passed since the New England Patriots gave the Atlanta Falcons the heartbreak of a lifetime in Houston, Texas. Yet the pain is as fresh as ever for both the franchise and the members of its 2016 roster.
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The loss haunts Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to this very day. Something that, according to Rob Gronkowski, is nothing short of a travesty.
After former teammate Rob Ninkovich asked Gronk and Julian Edelman if they had any sympathy for the Falcons, they both admitted to harboring some. Gronkowski played a direct role in their famous 34-28 overtime win at Super Bowl LI, coming back from being 28-3 down. However, the star tight end is upset that the loss tends to overshadow, and in a way, define Ryan’s career.
“He [Ryan] had a hell of a career. He made so much money, threw for so many touchdowns, and all people bring up to him is “Hey, like what happened in that game versus the Patriots in the Super Bowl?’ That sucks,” Gronk said.
Former Patriots linebacker Ninkovich also admitted that he couldn’t help but “think about the other side” occasionally. Surrendering to the largest comeback in Super Bowl history is a rather permanent stain right up until another unfortunate franchise takes it off you.
Even though he’d never trade away the win himself, Ninkovich did attest that he had hoped for Atlanta to win at least one championship with the core members of that roster.
“How terrible that must feel for them… I wish they had won a Super Bowl for those guys. Now, I’m happy that we were able to make that happen and win that football game. I kind of, sometimes, have a little bit of empathy for those guys that didn’t win a Super Bowl,” Ninkovich said.
For better or worse, Ryan and the Falcons’ performance in the second half of Super Bowl LI will be brought up in conversation alongside the likes of Steve Bartman’s catch in 2003 and J.R. Smith’s decision in the 2018 NBA Finals for one of the most disastrous results in title game history. There’s essentially an entire economy that has been made off the result of this one contest.
Everything from memes and merchandise to a Paramount-backed, major motion movie has been made in dedication to the Patriots’ comeback, signifying its significance in not just NFL history, but American culture as a whole.
For as much as people remember the game for Atlanta’s poor decisions, it’s also become a shining example of the insurmountable odds that human beings can overcome when given the opportunity. Nevertheless, the Falcons haven’t been to the playoffs since 2017, and for every year that passes, the implications of the damage appear to worsen.
Until they finally manage to return to contender status, the perception of the franchise is unlikely to change.
