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Super Bowl XIV · Pittsburgh Sports Memories

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_03: Hi, everybody.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome to the Pittsburgh Sports Memories Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_03: I am your co-host Tim Hannon, and joining me on the podcast is uh Steve Wirt.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_02: Hi, Steve.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, Tim, we're back for another one.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_03: Another exciting mem memory, and this memory uh is going to be of Super Bowl 14.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_03: Well, since I was three years old when that happened, I don't think I have much of a memory of this, but we'll look back on on Super Bowl 14, which took place uh after the at the conclusion, I should say, of the 1979 football season.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's out of all the Steelers Super Bowls, I feel like this is the most forgotten.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_03: But I I think it deserves revisiting because there's a lot to the story, and I really wanted to do a more of a deep dive into this game.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_03: So to tell the story of Super Bowl 14, I wanted to start in a logical place.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_03: The year 2018.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: Interesting.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: That's an interesting uh interesting strategy there, Tim.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: Let's see how this works out.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_03: So specifically, week 15 of the 2018 NFL season, the Steelers are hosting the Patriots at Heinzfield.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_03: And if you're a Steelers fan, you know that the Steelers never really had a whole ton of success against the Brady Belichick era Patriots.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_03: The Patriots that season, they're they're good in a in a really bad AFC East Division, but they weren't going to be a top seed in the AFC that year or anything like that.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: They had also just lost two of their past four games, and it ends up being a close game.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_03: The Steelers are clinging to a slim lead in the fourth quarter, but here comes Tom Brady marching down the field for the chance to once again defeat Pittsburgh, and this is how that game ends.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_11: Steelers drop back right around the first down yardage at the six.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_11: Here's Brady down the middle, and it's knockdown incomplete, intended for Evelyn, and after three difficult and demoralizing weeks, the Pittsburgh defense today steps up.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_03: So great win.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_03: The Steelers beat Tom Brady for one of the only times ever.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_03: And and the Steelers are victorious.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_03: So Tim, why are you bringing that up?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_03: I thought this was an episode about Super Bowl 14.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_03: Well, let's come back to that later.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_03: Let's let's put a pin in that, Steve.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_03: I I hate that phrase, by the way.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_03: I really hate that phrase.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: Are we gonna circle back to this, Jen Pasaki?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: That that works too.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: She really made that phrase annoying, too.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, she was always like, I'm gonna circle back to that.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: Well why don't you just answer it now?
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it must have must be some kind of uh um PR trick, yeah.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yep, yep.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_03: So I will do the same.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_03: I will come back to that.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_03: Hold that thought about the 2018 Sealer Patriots game.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_03: So let's talk about Super Bowl 14.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_03: The game is played on January 20th, 1980, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and it's attended by 103,985 spectators.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: I think I know who one of the people is that's at this game.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: Who's that?
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's Tom Brady, isn't it?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, I don't know.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: No, that that was not my connection with the 2018 Patriots.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: No, it was a good guess for my part.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_02: Probably.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: He may have been.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: I he was what he doubted.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: He probably watched it on TV like the rest of us.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_03: The the uh the 103,985 spectators, by the way, still to this day, Steve, a Super Bowl record.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: Really?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: Where was that?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_02: That Rose Bowl?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, okay.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_03: Pasadena.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's it's well the Coliseum's bigger, is it, but they don't have Super Bowls at the Coliseum anymore.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_03: I think Super Bowl one at the Coliseum.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_02: I I think that's the only one.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I don't know if there's a stadium.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_03: I I I believe that the Dallas Stadium holds the new Dallas Stadium, the one that played the Packers.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_03: I believe that holds almost as many people as the Rose Bowl, but it well didn't have as many fans at that game as they did at this game.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that was the one too.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: Remember where some of the fans couldn't get into the seats because uh Jerry Jones got greedy and put in like like seats and like the the like building inspector was like, yeah, you can't have people sit in them.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_02: He tried the Howard Baldwin some seats in this building, and they're like it wasn't like Pittsburgh, it's like, uh, yeah, sure, Howard, you can do whatever you want.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_02: Texas was a little more, I guess, uh stringent there.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_03: So so yeah, so no, no, no other Super Bowl has been attended by this many people.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: I bet if they had one in Michigan, like in the big house and in Arbor, they could probably break that record if they really wanted to.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_03: They they probably I mean, yeah, I'm sure they could find a stadium big enough, but I don't think it really matters to the NFL.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_03: They're not making their money off of a few extra thousand people at the game.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_03: They're making their money off of ads.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: TV.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's all of sports right now.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's really like and I've said this before, I think maybe even on this podcast.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: Like, basically the fans are treated as TV extras.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_02: You're just extras in a TV show, pretty much.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: And that's not how any of sports franchises make money off their off their product now.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: It's all TV rights and getting on TV is the big thing.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's a very good point.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: And you just don't want empty seats, that's all.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: And that's and that's the problem with pit football, is they need a smaller stadium because it doesn't really matter.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_03: Also a good point.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_03: So so the matchup for this game is the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Los Angeles Rams.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_03: Before we get to the game, let's talk a little bit about how those two teams got to the game.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_03: So the Steelers are coming into the 1979 season as the team of the decade already.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_03: They had arguably the greatest win in franchise history up to that point, beating Dallas in the Super Bowl the year before.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_02: I heard Jackie Smith was really sick over it.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: He was the sickest man in America.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: And it was obvious that Dallas only lost because that guy broke his arm and fumbled the ball.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_03: And Lucky Steelers.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_03: Because Jackie Smith dropped the pass, even though that was not really what made them lose that game.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_03: But that's a story for another podcast.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_03: Needless to say, that game was really huge.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, both of those teams, going into that game, both of those teams had won two Super Bowls.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_03: They it was the battle for who was the greatest team ever, clash of the Titans.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_03: Steelers prevailed, and that really cemented their status as this all-time great dynasty.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_03: Fans in Pittsburgh are wondering how far this can go.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_03: John Banizak said, quote, the attitude was, we are gonna win this thing every year.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_03: The Steelers will never lose.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_03: I like the confidence.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and that was the players and the fans.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it was just like, hey, bring on and bring on more championships.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_03: This thing's never gonna end.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: So so what happens in 1979?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_03: Well, the Steelers uh end up having the NFL's number one offense, which that seems like like years ago today, doesn't it?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_03: Um and they have uh they have the NFL's number two defense.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_03: They win 12 games, so just by those numbers, you'd think, oh yeah, pretty dominant season, but not not really.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_03: They actually have a bunch of injuries that they suffer through.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_03: Joe Green, Rocky Blyer, Lynn Swan, they all get hurt early.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_03: In December, Jack Ham hurts his ankle, he's out for the season.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_03: Mike Wagner hurts his hip, he's out for the season.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_03: They have some bad games along the way.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_03: They get blown out by the 0-6 Bengals.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_03: They commit an NFL high 52 turnovers.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_03: Hard to believe that a team with 12 wins would lead the league in turnovers.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_03: And then in week 12, they go to San Diego to play the Chargers.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_03: The Chargers have the best record in the AFC and they get destroyed 35-7.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_03: Bradshaw throws five interceptions.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_03: So they they have 12 wins, but it's mostly against the weaker schedule.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_03: They're only 3-3 against playoff teams.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_03: They beat Miami in the divisional round, and then that same weekend, the Oilers massively upset the Chargers.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_03: Steve, if you remember, that was the game where the the Oilers stole the signals from the uh San Diego offensive coordinator.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_03: We talked about that in a previous episode.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_03: Oh man.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_03: I thought about that recently because uh at the time that we're recording this, there's this big controversy uh over Jim Harbaugh in Michigan stealing signals.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_03: And it's interesting because uh uh that game, the Chargers and Oilers in '79, not only did the Oilers still steal their signals, but in in the week like right after the game, the interviews they did after the game, they were bragging about, yeah, we knew their plays.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_03: They didn't hide their signals good enough.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_03: We figured we decoded them.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_03: And it was like a badge of honor, like that they figured it out.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_03: I I just think that that's so interesting.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think I think that's different if they were sitting on their own sideline and they just figured it out than what Michigan apparently did was like have a guy fake to be part of the opposing team's coaching staff and take like pictures and notes of stuff.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_03: I mean That's fair.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_03: That that's a good point.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_03: Like like there's a difference between like you didn't hide it good enough and like espionage and spying and videotaping.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean if you're on your own sideline or you know, or in a part of the stadium where it it isn't on their sideline, yeah.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: I although I mean Belichick was doing that, he was what, recording the where was he on their sideline too?
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_02: Like he was recording the I mean, I don't know how they're they were videotaping stuff, right?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_03: It it's you're you're right.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_03: There is a difference.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_03: That that is a difference.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's a fair statement.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: Uh regardless, that was a big deal because it meant that instead of the SEOs having to go out to San Diego for the AFC Championship game, a place that they had just gotten blown out a few weeks earlier, they get the hosted at Three River Stadium.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_03: They beat Houston to advance to the Super Bowl.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_03: That game is not without controversy.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_03: Mike Renfro, yeah, Mike Renfro catches what appears to be the game-tying touchdown pass in the second half, but the refs say he's out of bounds.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's a terrible call.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I'll just be honest as a Steeler fan, they totally blew that call and hose the Oilers.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_03: So the Steelers are back in the Super Bowl and and they earned it.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_03: Like I hate when people try to, you know, well, they they they they made this team made this accomplishment, but if you look at all these other factors, they didn't really deserve it.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_03: No, they they made it to the Super Bowl, right?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_03: They deserved it.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not going to take away from that.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, you have to win the games that are there.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: You can't help it.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: San Diego didn't win their I mean maybe that's why Dan Fouts hates the Steelers so much.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_03: And and and they got a they got a lucky call against Houston.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: They they but they still won by like two touchdowns.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_03: So it wasn't and and they and they they you know they didn't they lost to the good teams they played on their schedule, whatever.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_03: They still made it there.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_03: So I I I I don't subscribe to I don't like when people do that.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_03: My only point, I guess, in all this, Steve, is when they get to the Super Bowl, it's it doesn't have this feel of this great dominant dynasty like it maybe did in those other years in the 70s, if that makes sense.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that explains having I know this Super Bowl just from watching the highlights that it you know that adds a good perspective.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_02: Because after I've watched, like if you watch the NFL film's highlights, you're kind of like, ooh, yeah, yeah.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's not a dominant Super Bowl win.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not I'm not giving anything away here, I don't think, Tim.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_03: No, it's it's it's no.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: That's fair.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: It's good no spoilers there.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_03: So let's talk about the Rams.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_03: The Rams were one of the best teams of the 1970s.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_03: They just happened to have the bad luck of being in the same conference as the Vikings and Cowboys.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_03: Los Angeles loses.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't realize this until I did this research, Steve.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_03: Los Angeles loses the 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1978 NFC Championship games all to the Vikings and Cowboys.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_03: So, like literally, they're one game away from the Super Bowl every year, but they just can't get over the Minnesota Dallas hump.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_02: Was the same coach the whole time?
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_03: Or uh no, a couple different coaches.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_03: Coaches, okay.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_03: A couple different quarterbacks, too.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: But they and LA and LA still had the Raiders back then, too.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_02: Correct.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: Raiders were in Oakland at the time.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: They were in Oakland at that point.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_03: This was the only team in Los Angeles.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_03: Uh by 1979, the Vikings and Cowboys are kind of fading.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_03: Their dynasties are kind of ending.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: So now maybe the Rams can make some headway.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_03: It's a really weird season for the Rams, though.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_03: It starts when their owner, Carol Rosenblum, dies in Whitzma.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: Dies in his pool.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's it's if it's officially classified as an accidental drowning.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, come on.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: She didn't kill him.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I didn't say that.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think Georgia Fonter killed I said I said it's officially classified as an accidental drowning.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_03: That's a fact.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: The dude had a heart attack in the pool.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_03: There are people who think later that he was murdered.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_03: So there's a whole I get it.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_03: There's a whole story behind that.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not certainly not going to delve into that.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_03: Go go check that out if you're interested.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_02: It does lead to one of the first female owners in NFL history, doesn't it?
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_03: His wife, uh Georgia Frontier, ends up being the becoming the owner because he leaves the team to earn his will.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_03: So so yeah, their owner dies.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's an ominous way to start the season.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_03: And then the season itself is a rocky one.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_03: The Rams only win nine games, but their division sucks.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_03: So that gets them into the playoffs.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_03: Their starting quarterback is a guy named Pat Hayden.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: He breaks his hand and he's out for the season.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_03: So now they're playing their backup quarterback, a guy named Vince Ferragamo.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_03: Pat Hayden.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I didn't I forgot Pat Hayden play for the Rams.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_03: But he's not playing in the Super Bowl.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_03: So the Rams make it back to the NFC Championship game.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_03: But this time, instead of playing Dallas or Minnesota, they're playing the Cinderella Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_02: Weren't they just 0-6 going 0-14 like two years ago?
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: They were.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_02: Hence the Cinderella Tampa Buccaneers.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: From 0-14 to the NFC Championship game.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: That's a heck of a turnaround.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_03: It was a great story.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: Their quarterback was a guy named Doug Williams who would have kind of a Cinderella story of his own like 10 years later with Washington.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we we should play the.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: Do you ever hear the Tampa Bay fight song from the 70s?
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: If you haven't, go listen to it.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's amazing.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_02: 70 70s tastic.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_03: So so the Rams beat the Buccaneers nine to nothing in the NFC Championship game.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_03: The Tampa Bay Cinderella story ends there.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_02: Doug Williams with the with the goose egg, huh?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: So was that like just a bunch of field goals, too?
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: Jeez.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: Not sure.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_03: Good question.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_03: It could have just been three field goals, yeah.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_03: That's exciting, exciting 70s football.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_02: MFL football, catch the fever, huh?
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_03: Can't believe they changed all those roles to make it more offensively balanced.
• 16:18
  unknown: Yeah.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_03: So, so kind of like the Steelers, I don't want to take anything away.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_03: Like the Rams made it to the Super Bowl.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_03: You can't say they didn't make it to the Super Bowl, or oh, they got lucky and they didn't have to play this team and whatever, whatever, whatever.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_03: But it is worth mentioning that there's only one team in the history of the NFL to make it to a Super Bowl with a lower point differential than the 1979 Rams.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_03: And that's a good trivia question, Steve, if you care to take a guess of who who the who the only team was with a lower point differential that made it to the Super Bowl.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: A lower point differential.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_02: Did they have to win the Super Bowl or just make the Super Bowl?
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_03: Just make it.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_02: 99 Rams?
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_03: No, that team scored a lot of points.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_03: No, it's the 2011 New York Giants.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that makes sense.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: I I thought because they gave up a lot of points, it might, I don't know.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_03: That that yeah, that would that was not a bad guess then for that reason, but you're still wrong.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: Because point differentiates is the like the space between how much you score and how much you give up, right?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: So you could have a bad defense and a good offense.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: No, you're right.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's fair.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't think about that.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_03: You're right.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_03: You could score a ton of points, but if you gave up a ton of points, you still have a lower, a low point differential.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh anyway, that yeah.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: So that team math is fun, isn't it?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: It is fun.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think we do enough math on this podcast.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_03: No, no, we got to add in more math segments for sure.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: I don't really real people in.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's what people want.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_03: So so kind of an odd matchup because on one hand, you had two of the most winningest teams of the decade finally squaring off in the Super Bowl.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you figure there was like four times where these two teams barely missed each other.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_03: But then, you know, you look on the other hand, both these teams had been decimated by injuries and and both weren't exactly lighting the world on fire to get here.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_03: Uh regardless, the Steelers are are still heavy favorites for this game.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_03: You know, maybe they hadn't steamrolled their way through the season like they had in years past, but it's still the all-time great dynasty.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_03: And all-time great dynasties don't lose to a nine and seven team with a backup quarterback.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: You gotta remember like when when point spreads and stuff, that's just the that's like basically a public opinion poll.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: People get too like wrapped up in that.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_02: That just means a like the public thinks that the Steelers are gonna win.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's all, and a lot of people are betting money on the Steelers, so they keep increasing the odds to tempt you to bet on the Rams.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: That's the whole point of gambling.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: That's not how gamblers don't make their money by it by teams winning and losing, they make their monies with the VIG, with the the service charge that you pay to bet.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: That's how they make their money.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_03: So so you said people get too wrapped up in it.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_03: One of the group of people that got a little too wrapped up in this was the Rams players.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you know, players, they get looking for anything for motivation, so I'll give them that.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of talk uh the week before the game about how insulted they feel.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_03: And there's even talk early in the week of the Rams players boycotting the media.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_03: They have all those media day things and all that kind of stuff.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_03: The Rams players openly talked about boycotting it because they're gonna be.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: So I don't get fined.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I don't know if I don't know what the roles were back then if they find people for not talking about.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: I remember the Steelers in Super Bowl 30 got fined for missing some interviews, like and stuff.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: It was like I I don't know.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_02: I I I don't know, like like I always like I always thought Marshawn Lynch was kind of like he just it wasn't like he had anything against the media.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_02: He just didn't feel like he was getting paid enough to do those interviews, and that sounds like a union/slash you need to negotiate your contract better.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: But once you sign your contract, Marshawn, that kind of locks you into doing those interviews.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: If you want an exception for that, what I would do when I was negotiating my contract, I would say I don't do any interviews, I don't want to, but that's league rules.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you can put an exception in for me.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: And they and if you're a good enough player, they'll do that.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure Tom Brady didn't have to do an interview he didn't ever want to do.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, NFL players uh tend to complain about a lot of things that they really should be going straight to their union about instead of blaming the league or the media or the fans or anybody.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: Or pulling that stupid stunt.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just here to not get you look like an idiot.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: You look like an idiot, but I don't think Marshawn Lynch ever had a problem with looking like an idiot, though.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_03: The Rams ultimately do talk to the media uh and and talk about how they're underdogs and how they're motivated, and they have a backup quarterback.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: Let's let's talk actually about that backup quarterback.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_03: Vince Farragamo was a fourth-round draft pick out of Nebraska.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_03: 1979 is his third NFL season.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: All those great Nebraska quarterbacks.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: What a lit age there.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_03: He had he his his third NFL season, he had never started a game before that year.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_03: His stats aren't great.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: He has twice as many interceptions as touchdowns, but he had gone four and one during the regular season, and he had led the Rams to two road wins in the playoffs to get to the Super Bowl.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_03: But, you know, make no mistake, the Rams are a run first team.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_03: Farragama is a game manager quarterback.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_03: That's the kind of offense they're running coming into this game.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, nine nothing in the NFC Championship game should tell you that.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_03: Uh the Rams do have a pretty good defense.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_03: They have three Pro Bowlers on defense, including Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: And their defensive coordinator is another thing I didn't realize till I started researching this episode, Steve.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_03: It's Bud Carson.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: Oh.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: Oh.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_03: And Bud Carson was the Steelers defensive coordinator for their first two Super Bowls.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_03: He had literally architected the Steel Curtain.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_03: He left the Steelers in 1978 because he said he wanted a new challenge.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_03: I I I think I wonder, Steve, if it's very similar to Eric Bienemy when he left Kansas City.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_03: Where yeah, Eric Bienemy had this great offense in Kansas City, but he was kind of in the shadow of Andy Reid, and he wanted to go somewhere else and kind of prove he could do it on his own.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_03: And I I think Bud Carson might have felt the same way being in the shadow of Chuck Knoll.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_02: Well, everybody wanted Eric Bienemy to be a head coach, and I don't know what it is.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe he just interviews poorly or people don't think much of him in the league.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_02: He just cannot get a head coaching gig.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not I mean, a lot of people want to add in the racial component to that, but I I I I think in this day and age, and they're s they're so desperate for head coaches, I I think he would be a head coach if you know.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_02: I I just don't completely buy that.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_03: I just don't I think he gambled on himself and said, if I'm ever going to be a head coach, I have to I have to prove that I can do it without Andy Reid, because people have the perception that, yeah, you're the offensive coordinator.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I I don't think Andy Reed's actively holding him back either.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: Andy Reed doesn't seem like that kind of coach.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think he's holding him back.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's just a perce perception is reality.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_03: And I wonder if Bud Carson, it was the same thing.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_03: It's like, oh yeah, the Steelers defense.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_02: I get you're the type of Yeah, you got Mel Blunt and Joe Green.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, and it's Chuck Knoll.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_03: Chuck Knoll was a defense coach.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_03: So it's really Chuck Knoll's defense, and you're just helping.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_03: So he he leaves to go to the Rams, and I mean, obviously he does pretty well because he gets the Rams to a Super Bowl.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's an interesting angle for the game, too, because it's the exact same thing as years later when the Steelers faced Ken Wisenhunt in the Super Bowl.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_03: It's just reversed.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_03: Ken Wizenhunt was the offensive coordinator.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and and and when Ken Wisenhunt was the offensive coordinator for Arizona, he was going up against the Steelers' top-ranked defense.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_03: Now Bud Carson's the defensive coordinator going against the Steelers' top-ranked offense.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_03: And in both cases, you're like, boy, we have the top ranked unit, but they have a coach who probably knows how to play us.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_03: So interesting enough going into it.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_02: Fair enough, yeah.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_03: So as we go through this game, we're gonna play a lot of audio as we typically do on this podcast.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_03: But I'm gonna use the radio calls and the NFL films clips from this game instead of the TV broadcast.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_03: And the reason for that is twofold.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_03: One is I I love the NFL film's kind of like majesty and music and Don Facenda voice of that era.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_03: But also, the CBS broadcast of this game is being called by Pat Semerall and Tom Brookshire, and it's not good.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_03: Here's one of the CBS producers from back then to explain why it's not good.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_06: The LA Rams played the Steelers in the Super Bowl in Pasadena.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_06: We were staying at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and I I just remember seeing everybody in the bar and stuff, and it was sort of kind of wow, everybody's having a great time.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_06: And uh and they were at the you know, they were the leaders of that.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_06: The next day, when the game came, there was serious uh hangover uh stuff going on.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_08: And we are indeed down to two survivors, and they talk about survivors.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_08: I guess that's what I feel like after being here since last Tuesday.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_05: That last Super Bowl with Pat and Tom wasn't the best broadcast.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_08: Tom, I guess after one of these years and one of these times are over, there's a lot of confusion everywhere, including right here.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_03: Well Pots Armoral and Tompercare hungover for Super Bowl 14.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: Who of us uh hasn't worked hungover?
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_02: I mean some of my best work is done hungover.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_03: Well, not for those two guys, unfortunately.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_03: Uh that that was a um that was actually an ongoing problem.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_03: Those two guys were kind of toxic for each other, and and they were both alcoholics, and and you put two alcoholics together like that, and they kind of encourage each other's addictions.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_03: So uh the this the TV broadcast of that game, we're not gonna use those clips.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_03: That's bad, huh?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so let's instead hear from the legendary John Facenda to set the stage for this game.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: In the 14-year history of a Super Bowl, never have two teams been so different.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: The Steelers were the defending chapter.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: They have the best record in the NFL.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: and came to Pasadena supported by the loudest, most loyal fans in all of football.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: The Rams, on the other hand, had the worst record of any team ever to play in a Super Bowl.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: And unlike the lifted their fans with the leaders were the same people who had food and instead of them at midseason when they were first and in second place.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: What the heck?
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_02: I just installed the people of Los Angeles.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_02: The heck with you, LA people.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, I didn't re I didn't I don't remember that at all.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe I just, wow, okay, I guess that's more Steeler favored, at least towards the fan side.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it's it's really not.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_03: So let me explain that.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_03: Because that thing about the Rams players being at war with their fans, that's not just NFL films making stuff up.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_03: It's very real.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_03: Offensive lineman Dennis Hera of the Rams.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_03: In the week leading up to the game, he gives an interview.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_03: This is a quote, remember, this is this is a few days before the Super Bowl, and this is a Rams player.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_03: Quote, we were glad to not have home field advantage for the playoffs so we could be away from our terrible fans.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_02: They wanted to go under it.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_02: They were happy to go to Tampa.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, Tampa's nice.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, especially in you know, disappointment.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, but that's not the reason he wanted to go there.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_03: Los Angeles is pretty nice too.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_03: You know, he just he literally, yeah, they hate their fans.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_02: And the old that was the old sombrero too in Tampa, wasn't it?
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the old stadium.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, I mean, again, it had nothing to do with Tampa.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_03: It had everything to do with they they just they had all this uh resentment against their fans.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_03: He also talks about how when the Oilers lost the AFC championship game in Pittsburgh, and they came back to Houston, they had 30,000 fans greeting them at the airport after they lost.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they did, yeah.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, meanwhile, the Rams won the NFC championship game and there was almost no one to welcome them back.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_02: That's always a shame.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_02: Like I always feel bad for not the current team because they're not really the same fans, but if any, like I'm not a big Houston, like I always pull more for Buffalo as my second kind of mistress team.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: But like if Houston ever won a Super Bowl, I definitely that would kind of make my day.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_02: Those people deserve one, and especially with the whole JJ Watt thing in Pittsburgh, but that's just an aside.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_02: I would I would love to see Houston or Buffalo win a Super Bowl someday.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think I think even if it was at the Steelers' expense, I would be upset for a minute, but I wouldn't be too upset.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: No, and I honestly think uh that CJ Stroud kid.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they have a if they can build a team around him, they get that defense right, yeah, they're gonna be uh a threat.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_03: If I were a Houston fan, I'd be very excited right now.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_03: That this this might sound this might end up being very dated at some point.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_03: That might all fall apart, but as as of the time of the struggle.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_02: If they can get that defense right, they just gotta get the defense right, really, honestly.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's all all they really need to do.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe get him a wide receiver, but yeah, he looks fine at quarterback.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_03: So so Houston, good fans.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_03: LA apparently not so good fans.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, and and so you can see this like us against the world mentality here with the Rams.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_03: You know, the media had written them off, their fans had written them off.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_03: They went so badly to prove everybody wrong.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_03: So after two weeks of hype and media coverage and interviews and analysis, and the Rams players trashing their fans, the game is finally ready to kick off.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so let's let's go to the national anthem.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_03: Steve, any guesses as who sings the national anthem here in 1979?
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_02: Diana Ross.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_03: It is not Diana Ross, it is Cheryl Ladd.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_02: Cheryl Ladd.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_02: What uh what?
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_02: She sings?
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's like this is like a Chris Christofferson kind of thing.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_02: Isn't she an actress?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_03: She is.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_02: Did she do an exercise?
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I remember her doing an exercise video in the 80s.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_02: And like a swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_02: That that's that's it, if I remember correctly.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_03: This time she is on Charlie's Angle Angles.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_03: She's the one that replaced Farah Fawcett when Farah Fawcett left.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_03: So I think that's kind of her claim to fame.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, here, you be the judge.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_03: Let's hear let's hear some thiral that national anthem.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_05: We'd like to dedicate this to our American hostages in Iran.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's right.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um the hostage grace.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_02: crisis.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_07: What's so proudly behaves last year?
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_02: It it's kind of country, I guess.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_02: I've heard worse on American Idol.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's not Roseanne Barr.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, or or who is the uh who is the who is the sprinter saying uh Carl Lewis.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_02: Carl Lewis, yeah.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_03: And his voice kept cracking, yeah.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_02: And the uh I I mean yeah, there's been worse.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think she did fine.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_03: So that's that's Sheryl Ladd kicking us off with the national anthem.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we gotta remember those hostages in Iran.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, I had forgotten about that too.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_02: That was that, and that doesn't get resolved until uh this is no, that'll get resolved.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you're right.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so so that's still what is this January of 80.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my god, they're not gonna come home for another year.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_02: Jeez.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_03: So the Steelers kick off, the Rams go three and out, and then the Steelers drive all the way down the field, very methodically mixing passes and runs.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_03: The Rams do hold them at the 24-yard line.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_03: So here's Jack Fleming and Myron Cope, but the most exciting call ever of a mundane first quarter field goal.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_09: Bar comes from a soccer family at Penn State University.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_09: His brother Chris kicks for the Cincinnati Bengals.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_09: The ball is down, and he has the kick going downfield, but it comes in low.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_09: No, it is good.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_10: I pushed the knife too, and it gets caught over.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_10: I love it.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_02: I love that uh what's his name was already slipping in 1979.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_03: Jack Fleming.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_02: That was just a preview of the Jack Fleming that I know and love.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, at least he didn't wait till like 30 seconds after it was over to tell you that it was good.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_02: I just love Myron.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I knew it.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't know speaking of definitely two people that are hungover for the game.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_02: And Matt Barr, I mean, Matt Barr, like, this is way like you're going from like, you know, the worst kicker ever to like one of the best kickers ever.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_02: That's kind of crazy.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_03: Matt and Matt Barr has a really long career.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_03: This is Super Bowl 14.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_03: He he kicks the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl 25 years later for the Giants with like with like three minutes left, kicks the game-winning field goal.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_03: So he had a very long and productive career.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so right off the bat, it's it's kind of just like people predicted.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_03: The Rams are going to get blown out, Stewards are going to dominate.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_03: But then the Los Angeles offense starts to settle down, and on the next drive, they get some momentum.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_01: Wendell Tyler's 39-yard game early in the first quarter was the longest run permitted by Pittsburgh all year.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: And it's worth another look.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_01: Although he didn't become a starter until the fifth week of the freezer, Tyler finished the year as the Rams' leading rusher.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: And the leading trip through the field set up the first touchdown of Super Bowl 14.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, he broke a tackle by Mel Blunt.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_02: So that's all right in my book.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and and uh I don't know, 31.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_02: Was that Donny Shell?
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_02: Who tackled him?
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_02: That's Donnie Shell, yeah.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_02: Save save the touchdown.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and and like John Facenda said there, Wendell Tyler, the Los Angeles running back, it's another guy who isn't even a starter until recently.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_03: And he has this really brilliant 39-yard run.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_02: He had a nice hole, too, but he still had to play.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, not that Mel Blunt should be tackling people, but if Mel Blunt had a shot at him for like a four-yard gain, and he broke his tackle.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_02: Good good play by him.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, and you can't obviously see it on the podcast, but uh, it's it's a it's a really nice play, and it it leads to a Rams touchdown.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_03: So it's seven to three Rams.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_03: So so now the Rams kick off back to the Stewart, and here's what that sounded like.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_09: Larry Anderson down deep.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_09: Frank Corral will kick it left to right, teeth up at the 35, and Corral sends it downfield, and Anderson takes it at his own three.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_09: Over the five, the ten, the fifteen, swings left over the 20, the 25 breaks the tackle, the 30, the 35, the 40, the 45, and finally ridden out of bounds at the 50-yard line as he was caught by Joe Harris.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_03: The the unsung hero of this game is Stewart's kick returner, Larry Anderson.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_03: He finishes the game with five returns for 162 yards.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_03: That's about 40 yards per kick return.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_03: And this is a this is a close game.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, think about what a huge advantage it is.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_02: Hidden yardage, yeah.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and it's he he doesn't have a touchdown or anything, so it's not something that'll ever really show up in a highlight reel or anything like that.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_03: But I mean, you get 40 yards per kick return field positioning.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_03: That that makes a massive difference in the game.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_03: So Larry Anderson definitely kind of the unsung hero for the Steelers, a guy that nobody, few people would remember.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_03: So the Steelers offense, thanks to that kick return, they have a short field to work with.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_03: They march down the field, Franco Harris scores on a one-yard touchdown run.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_03: So now it's 10-7 Steelers early in the second quarter.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_03: These are long drives.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_03: They're already in the second quarter.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_03: On the Rams' next drive, they march down the field on the Seawar's defense again.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_03: They get into the red zone, but the Seals hold them to a field goal.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_03: Bradshaw then throws an interception, and again the Rams march down the field, and again they kick a field goal.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_03: Both of those field goal drives by Los Angeles, they're they're really long.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_03: The Rams, like we said, they're a running team.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_03: So they're controlling the clock, they're overpowering the Steelers' defense.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_03: Uh they the Rams were uh very conservative offense.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_03: Uh like we said, they have a backup quarterback, and and so their game plan coming into this game uh is okay, we our bread and butter is running the ball, but if we're gonna upset this team, we have to let our quarterback make at least some plays, and he does.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_03: He actually makes some big throws, including a fourth and eight conversion on that second drive.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_03: They actually go for it on fourth and eight, and Farragamo uh completes a pass.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_02: Where were they?
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_02: Fourth and eight.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_03: Where were they on they were in Steelers territory, but okay.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_02: Were they in that no man's land between like the 30 and 40 or something?
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_03: They were, but I mean still, it's it's it's in a game like this, it it's just it's a big play.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_02: Fourth and eight, too.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like, because normally you don't like to go like my mind, like fourth and five or less is normally well and and you have a backup quarterback in the game, and you're playing the you're playing against this the the the all-time great dynasty.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_03: I I think you know what it reminds me of, Steve, as I kind of watch this game, it reminds me of the 2005 Steelers Colts playoff game.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_03: How like the Steelers came out for that game, they're like, look, this team, this Colts team was so good that year, we're not gonna beat them by handing off to Jerome Bettis every play.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_03: And and Ben Rothesperger was a second-year quarterback.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_03: He wasn't the the the all-time great Ben that we that we knew years later, but they realized we have to let him make some plays.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_03: We have to take some chances, let him throw the ball, or else we're just not even gonna have a chance.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_03: And I feel like that's what the Rams did with Farragamo.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_03: Like they weren't gonna be crazy, they weren't gonna air it out every play, but they were gonna they were gonna have to put the ball in his hands a little bit.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_02: He delivered, that's for sure.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_03: The the Steelers defense has now given up three long drives, and and the Steelers defense really also not what it used to be.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_03: So let's let's talk about the makeup of the Steelers defense.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_03: Still there in 1979 are LC Greenwood, Joe Green, Mel Blunt, Jack Lambert, and Donnie Schell.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_03: But the first three guys I named on that list, Greenwood, Green, and Blunt, are in their tenth or eleventh seasons, so they're not young anymore.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_02: You mispronounced it's Donny Shell.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_03: Uh injured or gone are guys like Jack Ham, Mike Wagner, Dwight White, Andy Russell, Glenn Edwards.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_03: And they're replaced with the likes of Gary Dunn, Dennis Winston, Ron Johnson.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_03: These are their starters on defense.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_03: Not bad players, but not exactly defensive stars.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_03: Not the same Steel Curtain 1976, shut out five teams and you know, kind of defense.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_03: So um that that's where the Steelers' defense is, and and again, the Rams are making plays.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_03: So don't look now, but the first half is coming to an end, and the Rams are winning the game.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_03: And had the Rams gotten two touchdowns instead of two field goals on those two drives, they'd actually be blowing out the Steelers at halftime.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_03: Uh Rams Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jackie Slater says, I remember getting close to their sideline, and Terry Bradshaw, you could just see defeat written all over him.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_03: He said, Uh, I tease Terry about this, and and I say, I'm one of the only people in the world that knows what your face looks like when you're losing a Super Bowl.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_03: So that was that was Jackie Slater.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_03: And then Donnie Shell, Donnie Shell, there you go.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_03: He said, quote, Jack Lambert hovered so hard in the huddle in the first half that I got scared.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_03: He said, I he said I can't repeat what he said, but he got real red in the face and said we were sleepwalking out there.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_03: So I mean, fortunately for the Steelers, they're only down 13 to 10 going into the half.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_03: That could have been a lot worse.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_03: But it's it's feeling a little bit like uh uh, this isn't good.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_03: Kind of like you said earlier, Steve.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like, ooh, this this doesn't feel like the the the the Steelers dynasty.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_03: Uh here's uh John Vicenda again.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_01: At the end of the first half, nothing seemed right for the Pittsburgh Cup.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_01: Players that are usually lively and lighthearted were guarded in home.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_01: And the coach Chuck Noel, who is usually grim and intense, was loose and full of fire.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_10: And uh I had talked to R.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_10: Rooney the other day, and he said, I don't have a feeling about this game.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_10: I can't get a feeling, and whenever I haven't had a feeling, our series have been beaten.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_10: Well, right now they're on the trailing end of a 13th to 10 score.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_10: They gotta buckle down.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_03: Gotta buckle down.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_03: The uh the the what you couldn't see in that clip when he talked about Chuck Knowle being loose and full of fun is that there's a there's like a cameraman kind of um filming Tuck Knoll as he runs off the field, and Chuck Knowle like runs at him and is like laughing and messing with him.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, just because he was trying to keep up with him, so Chuck kind of yeah.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_02: I think though that that helped.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_02: Like I think are you gonna talk like he they the I think that kind of helps that he was kind of relaxed.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_02: Like I think it was the experience of Super Bowl's past, and he kind of knew his team, like been there, done that, and staying loose uh probably helped this team in the second half.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_03: You you're actually spot on, Steve.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_03: I was gonna mention that that the Steelers players actually say later that they felt this wave of confidence seeing him laughing.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_03: Because that just wasn't his personality.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_03: Then they were they were they were depressed.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_03: Again, Jack Lambert's screaming at everybody.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_03: They're they're realizing that like, uh oh, we're we're in we're in a a dog fight here.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_03: And then they look over at Noel and he's like messing with the cameraman, like like whatever.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_03: He's just having fun with the game.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_03: And and I don't know if that was like a strategic thing with Chuck Noel.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_03: It probably was to a degree.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I think he just felt confident because he like he he knew he could have been down by a lot more, and like it wasn't like the Rams were this offensive juggernaut, so he he knew what he had.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_03: And this was the end of the decade.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_03: I mean the Steelers had certainly been through enough big games at this point.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_03: Or I don't think Technol's getting too nervous.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_03: So so we're at halftime.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_03: The halftime show, Steve, it's up with people.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_03: Want to hear some up with people?
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I thought it was slying the family stone.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_02: Let's do it.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_02: I got my platform shoes on.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_02: I'm ready to boogie.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_02: All right, here we go.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_02: Let's do it.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_07: We are many, we are one brothers and sisters wherever they're coming.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_07: We are there to make them come.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_07: We are many, but we are one.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_07: We are many, we are one
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_02: I then I I didn't know I I couldn't name a song up with people.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_02: I've heard of them, but I've never I is that like a big are they really supposed to be like 800 people like that?
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_03: Or I I have no idea.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I mean, it was like the United Nations too out there.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_02: Well, they are many and they are one.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_02: They are right.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's that's all you need to know is that they're family and they're one.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_03: So that's the halftime show.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_03: Uh the Steelers get the second half kickoff.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_03: And once again, Larry Anderson sets them up with good field position.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_03: He has a nice return.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_03: So again, very helpful.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_03: Uh but the Steelers offense, can they can they finally get going?
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_03: Let's find out.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_01: Perry Bradshaw began the second half with the same curiously conservative approach he had used in the first half.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_01: Nibbling at the ram defense with short safe passes to his running back.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_01: But then, like a pool hall hustler who has been fighting with his victim too long, Bradshaw suddenly showed his game.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_12: He looks downfield, has time, cranks it going one for Swan.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_12: He's got it.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_11: Swan touchdowns, Pittsburgh.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_01: Bradshaw's asked to then spawn with a concise resume of a stealer attack.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_01: Daring and explosive, able to score from anywhere at any time.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, 21 made a really bad play on that for the Rams.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_02: Like he had a shot to either intercept it or not get down, and he just totally whiffed.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_02: Swan makes a great catch.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_02: Let me not bury the lead there.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_02: That's a great catch and a great throw.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_02: But I don't know.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe in high death, maybe it's just such a perfect pass.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_02: He never really had a shot at it.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it so what happens on that play is Brad Bradshaw's actually hit as he throws the ball.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_03: So they had good pressure on Bradshaw.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_03: And there's two guys.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_03: Like there's literally two guys right next to Swan.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_03: And he just leaps like 20 feet in the air and and catches it.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_03: And and so yeah, I think if if if the Rams defensive back had a better position, he could probably could have stopped that.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_03: But my goodness, it's like those plays are so demoralizing when you when you it's not like you gave the quarterback all day, you got pressure on him, and then you had two guys there, that should have just been a an incompletion.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_03: And and Swan just leaps up and makes the catch.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean it wasn't bad coverage, it wasn't like they were burned, it's just maybe the difference between a great Hall of Fame player and a good NFL player, maybe, maybe is what you're looking at.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_03: I I would totally agree with that.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_03: And Lynn Swan is Mr.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_03: Dependable in the Super Bowl, right?
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_03: This isn't the first time he's done this.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_03: 47-yard bomb from Bradfield, he makes a leaping catch.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um it it just hey, we we Steelers were down, things weren't going well.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_03: So what do you do?
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_03: You throw it up for your Hall of Fame Super Bowl hero, and he makes a Super Bowl hero play.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_03: Uh that's what the Steelers do.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_03: The Steelers are back in the lead, they've shaken off whatever was going on in the first half.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_03: Time to just pull away and take home that fourth Lombardi trophy, right?
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_01: One that has become a Steeler trademark the last two seasons would finally brush off the Pesky Rams.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_01: It did not.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_01: Ferragamo took a page from Brad Shaw's Go for Broke book and hit Billy Wadi for a 50-yard game.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_03: So uh to give you an idea of how conservative the Rams' offense was, in their divisional round playoff win, Vince Ferragamo completes nine passes.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_03: In the NFC title game, he completes 12 passes.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_03: He barely even attempts more than 20 passes in either of those playoff games.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_03: So that's that's the kind of offense the Rams are running with a backup quarterback.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_03: They're they're barely even throwing the ball.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_03: So they're not a team that's built to win by putting the ball in their quarterback's hands and letting him heave up 50-yard bombs.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_03: But they do it here, and it gets them down to the 24-yard line.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_03: And then on the very next play, this happens.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_01: Before the Steelers could recover, the Rams struck again.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_12: Oh, goes to a touch and touch and fascinating.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_12: Back and forth we go.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_12: The Rams back out in front by a score of 19 to 17, and we've not seen that play all year long.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it was the fact, but nobody gave them much of a chance, and therefore there wasn't much to lose.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it was simply the realization by the Rams coaches that their team had to open up on offense to win.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_11: Great play.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever the remote.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_01: These new remodel rams have come from behind for the third time in the Super Bowl to take the lead.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that that was a hot halfback option pass.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_03: Like they ran a sweep to the halfback.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_03: And then the Steelers are completely folded because he threw the ball.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_03: Uh again, this was not a conservative, this was not the conservative Rams offense that everybody was expecting to see.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_03: Donnie Shell got burned.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_03: Everybody was just flat footed because they thought it was a running play.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_03: It was first down, too.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_03: They had just gotten a 50-yard game.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_03: So what are they going to do?
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_03: It's first and ten.
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, they're just going to run it up the middle or whatever.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_03: And they run a halfback option.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_03: And you heard it in the clip there.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_03: It wasn't a play they had run all year, it wasn't on film at all.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_03: And I think John Vicenda was kind of spot on there.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_03: You weren't going to win a game of this magnitude, beating an all-time great Steelers dynasty in the Super Bowl by playing it safe.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_03: So they're they heave up, they're they heave up a 50-yard bomb, they run a halfback option play.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_03: The Steelers had just scored.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_03: It's just this demoralizing, like I said, demoralizing Lin Swan touchdown, and bam, they come right back and take the lead again.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, the Rams are game.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_02: They're game.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_02: They're making a game of it.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and they're they're, you know, again, they're like, hey, what do we have to lose?
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_03: We're supposed to get crushed.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_03: What do we have to lose by letting the back of quarterback throw the ball and running trick plays?
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_03: Like, let's pull out all this, let's not leave anything on the field.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_03: You gotta give them really so much credit for the way they played this game.
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_03: So now it's 19-17 Rams, and it looks like maybe we're in for a shootout.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_03: The Steelers get the ball back.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_03: They're really struggling to run the ball at this point.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_03: Franco Harris finishes this game with 20 rushes for 46 yards.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_03: And Rocky Blair only has 25 yards.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_03: So the the running game's basically non-existent.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_03: We mentioned Bud Carson knowing a lot about how to stop the Steelers.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_03: He knows that if you can clog up their running lanes, then that probably gives the Rams their best chance to win.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_03: But but hey, Terry Bradshaw, this isn't the early 70s Steelers where they had to run the ball and win.
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_03: Terry Bradshaw's the reigning league MVP.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_03: So he'll win you the game, right?
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_03: And the Steelers, after they get the ball back, they have it around midfield, and then Terry Bradshaw.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_09: Bradshaw backs up.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_09: Here comes the rush.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_09: Bradshaw going to the far side, and it is picked off at the 28-yard line in LA territory.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so that's bad.
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_03: But hey, hey, no worries.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_03: The defense makes the Rams go three and out.
• 52:56
  SPEAKER_03: The Steelers get the ball back, and they've got Lynn Swan.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_03: Like we said, Mr.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_03: Depender Bowl, Super Bowl hero.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_03: He'll make another play, right?
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_09: He may be shaken up.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_09: Pat Thomas came under him and made the tackle.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_09: And Swan flew through the air almost five yards and came down, and he is hurt.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay.
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_03: So Lynn Swan is now out for the game.
• 53:21
  SPEAKER_03: But that's okay.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_03: That's okay.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_03: The Steelers have other playmakers, and they're able to march down the field anyway.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_03: They have a 10-play drive, well executed.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_03: They're in the red zone.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_03: Even a field goal here gives them the lead back because it was 19-17.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_03: So let's see what happens.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_09: Steelers at the Rams 16-yard line, driving right to left here with a minute 27 to play in the third quarter.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_09: It's Pasadena.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_09: Redshaw on third down is back there.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_09: Here's Terry firing in.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_09: It is broken up.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_09: It's going to be intercepted.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_09: Take it out of the air at the five-yard line.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_09: And the play is stopped inside the five.
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_09: Rod Terry went up.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_09: The pass downfield was deflected up into the air.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_10: It was intended for John Stalwart and deflected about 10 feet straight up in the air.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_03: So let's just take stock here.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my Terry.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_03: Terry.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_03: The Rams have a 19-17 lead.
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_03: Vince Ferragamo and the Rams coaches are carving up the Steelers' defense with totally unexpected game plan that they rolled out.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_03: Every time the Steelers have taken the lead, the Rams have taken it right back.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_03: Terry Bradshaw has now thrown three interceptions.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_03: Franco and Rocky can't run.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_03: And Lynn Swan is out for the rest of the game.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_03: Not looking good.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_12: Time runs out in the third quarter of play.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_12: 15 minutes of football remain.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_12: The crowd on its feet in the Rose Bowl will score the Rams 19 and the Steelers 17.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_03: Man, if that doesn't set like the gloom and glim tone, I don't know what does.
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 55:18
  SPEAKER_03: That's why I th like I said, those NFL films uh it was very dramatic.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_02: They're setting the stage for the third act here.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_03: They were.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_02: And and they just it is really a three-act play, if you think about it.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_02: We've introduced the characters, we put the hero in the worst possible situation, you know.
• 55:34
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, you know.
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_03: For sure.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_03: I I they was just it was yeah, the way they did those was was just brilliant.
• 55:40
  SPEAKER_03: So I've always appreciated those, and and this is one of their better efforts.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's also important to remember that, you know, if if if you're Steve and I's age or or older, you'll remember that the Super Bowl every year was the single most predictable sporting event on the planet.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_03: It was it was almost never competitive, right?
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_03: And and you knew who was gonna win, and then they won by 30 points.
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, until probably the late 90s, early 2000s.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I would say like a few exceptions.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_02: The perfect example was that San Francisco Super Bowl where they went and blew out San Diego by like 30.
• 56:23
  unknown: Right.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_02: And really what changed it was the L Way Super Bowl against Green Bay.
• 56:27
  SPEAKER_02: That's when they started to get well, even the next year, they blew out Atlanta.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_03: So true, but but that was around the era that it started to be at least a competitive game.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that was also the when the the free agency and the NFL parody started too come into play more.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_03: But but the 70s and 80s and and most of the nineties, you just it was like, okay, this you know uh although I mean the Super Bowl 30 wasn't a blowout per se.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_03: No, that's fair.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like I said, there were there were exceptions.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_03: The San Francisco Cincinnati Super Bowl was an exception, but most of the time you just you knew New England, Chicago, that wasn't right.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and and and and that's why the Chicago Bears were able to get away with doing a Super Bowl shuffle music video like six weeks before the Super Bowl.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_03: Because everybody was just like, well, yeah, they're gonna win the Super Bowl.
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_03: We already knew that.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_03: Uh you would just never see that today because there's a lot more parody, and it's it's not like that.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_03: And and now today the the exceptions are when it is a blowout, like when Tampa Bay blew out um Kansas City a few years ago.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_03: Those are the exceptions.
• 57:32
  SPEAKER_03: Back back in this day, again, the team that was supposed to win always won.
• 57:36
  SPEAKER_02: And so for the massive underdog to be winning in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl, the rules too, you gotta remember, like, it seems like when a team gets up by two or three touchdowns, I mean, I hate to sound conspiratorial, but I'm going to.
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_02: I think the NFL doesn't like blowouts, and they do everything in their power to not have them.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so when a team gets up by a couple touchdowns, all of a sudden you have oh, let's flip through the rule book and see what we can do to make this game close.
• 58:07
  SPEAKER_02: So the Jimmy the Greek officiating comes out.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, I mean, I I I re w whatever the reason was, in this era, you just you just didn't have it.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_03: And and to have the the massive underdog, the team with the backup quarterback to be winning in the fourth quarter against the the dynasty.
• 58:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was an exception, yeah.
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that never that just never happened.
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_03: The other the other stat that's not good is the Steelers are only three and four in games that year where they enter the fourth quarter trailing.
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_03: So they they had a losing record in games where they they went into the fourth quarter behind.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_03: Also, because of that interception that you just heard, the Rams actually have the ball when the fourth quarter starts.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_03: So they their offense, which we said is is doing a good job kind of mixing things up, they start moving the ball again.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_03: But Steve Furness, who's one of those guys who had been there a long time but never really was a big name, he makes a huge sack on Ferragamo to stop that drive.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_03: So the Rams have to punt back, they pin the Steelers deep in their own territory, and the Steelers have third and eight from their own 27-yard line.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_03: They haven't really been able to get anything going.
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_03: Terry Bradshaw storing picks.
• 59:23
  SPEAKER_03: What's the call here?
• 59:24
  SPEAKER_03: And can the Steelers come back in this game?
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_03: So we're gonna play what becomes a really iconic skillers moment, and it starts with just a great quote from John Facenda, and then you'll also hear from a guy we haven't heard from yet in this game, wide receiver John Stallworth.
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_01: Great teams aren't always great.
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_01: They're just great when they have to be
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_12: Bradshaw able to get it.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_12: calls out the signals and members this for the most dangerous fourth-quarter team in the NFL.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_12: And Bradshaw dropping back.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_09: Bradshaw pumping firing down here.
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_09: There goes Star Wars.
• 1:00:08
  SPEAKER_09: He pulls it in at the 30, the 20, the 10, the 5, and it's a question.
• 1:00:14
  unknown: The ball goes forward.
• 1:00:17
  SPEAKER_00: My initial reel on the ball, my initial thoughts, and this is exactly what I thought, and I said, damn it, Breshaw, you've overthrown me.
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_00: And really turned away from the ball and just started to run.
• 1:00:32
  SPEAKER_10: One last for the ball game, but you still gotta join followers to come through and make the nifty catch and go all the way.
• 1:00:42
  SPEAKER_03: That 73-yard touchdown that is a play that is now legendary in Steelers' lore.
• 1:00:48
  SPEAKER_03: It was the play was called 60 Prevent, slot, hook, and go.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_03: It had been, believe it or not, Steve, a new play that Pittsburgh had added to its playbook in between the championship game and the Super Bowl.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, it it worked.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 1:01:04
  SPEAKER_03: Well, the the in the play call there was the wide receiver would fake a hook back towards the line of scrimmage and then just turn and sprint deep.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_03: So it was designed to split the safeties so the safety would bite on the hook.
• 1:01:18
  SPEAKER_03: And the Steelers had run that play eight times in practice during the week.
• 1:01:22
  SPEAKER_03: Guess how many times they completed the pass?
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_02: Zero?
• 1:01:25
  SPEAKER_03: Zero.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_03: Zero out of eight.
• 1:01:28
  SPEAKER_02: So let's call it.
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_02: Let's call that play.
• 1:01:31
  SPEAKER_02: That doesn't work at all.
• 1:01:32
  SPEAKER_03: Third and third and eight from your own 27-yard line in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl where you're losing.
• 1:01:38
  SPEAKER_03: Perfect time to run that play.
• 1:01:39
  SPEAKER_02: You know who called that play?
• 1:01:41
  SPEAKER_02: It had to be Terry.
• 1:01:43
  SPEAKER_02: He called his own plays.
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah.
• 1:01:46
  SPEAKER_02: So leave it to the Yeah.
• 1:01:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's right.
• 1:01:50
  SPEAKER_03: This is still the era before the X had that setting.
• 1:01:53
  SPEAKER_02: Then we're going eight in Rabbit.
• 1:01:55
  SPEAKER_02: That's the perfect.
• 1:01:56
  SPEAKER_02: That is the most ADD call of my life.
• 1:02:00
  SPEAKER_02: If you don't think Terry has ADD, that's exactly his credit.
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_02: he was clutch though, man.
• 1:02:08
  SPEAKER_02: When you know what?
• 1:02:10
  SPEAKER_02: When he had to make the throw, he made the throw, man.
• 1:02:13
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 1:02:14
  SPEAKER_03: And as you heard John Solwar say, he thought Bradshaw had thrown it too far, and he has to adjust, and he really makes a really nice over.
• 1:02:21
  SPEAKER_02: Actually, it's a great pass because if he throws it shorter, that guy's right there on him.
• 1:02:28
  SPEAKER_03: I mean it was it was yeah, It was a perfect pass, but it also wasn't an easy catch.
• 1:02:32
  SPEAKER_03: Like he hit him in stride, but he had he threw it over the opposite shoulder, so it was a hard catch.
• 1:02:36
  SPEAKER_03: And and Stallworth always had been in the shadow of Swan.
• 1:02:40
  SPEAKER_03: But you could really make the argument, we talked about this in our 100 greatest players episode, that Stallworth was maybe the better receiver.
• 1:02:47
  SPEAKER_03: And and after years of Swan coming up big in the Super Bowl, this is finally John Stallworth's moment to shine.
• 1:02:56
  SPEAKER_02: Great play by Stallworth, it really was.
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_03: And I and I love what John Facenda says there too.
• 1:03:02
  SPEAKER_03: Great teams aren't always great, they're just great when they have to be.
• 1:03:05
  SPEAKER_02: You didn't play like where he describes Stalworth, like, is it this super bowl where he's like he's like Tennessee whiskey, uh strong with a finishing kick or something like that?
• 1:03:14
  SPEAKER_03: I I I don't I don't remember that, or I didn't come across that in my uh clips, Ross.
• 1:03:20
  SPEAKER_03: I would have put that in.
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_03: That sounds tremendous.
• 1:03:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 1:03:24
  SPEAKER_03: But that but that great teams aren't always great.
• 1:03:26
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, the Steelers have been far from great in this game, but that they make a huge play there.
• 1:03:32
  SPEAKER_03: And uh and now they're back in the lead with 12 minutes left in the game.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_03: But remember, each time they had taken the lead, Los Angeles had come right back.
• 1:03:41
  SPEAKER_03: So Vince Farragamo, backup quarterback.
• 1:03:44
  SPEAKER_03: Can he do it again?
• 1:03:46
  SPEAKER_03: Let's go back to John Facenda.
• 1:03:51
  SPEAKER_11: Lucky downfield, rolls downfield, got a good hell and all about?
• 1:03:59
  SPEAKER_01: The Rams some
• 1:04:00
  SPEAKER_11: summon up the heart.
• 1:04:02
  SPEAKER_12: No one fought they're not breaking.
• 1:04:05
  SPEAKER_01: his balance, and slowly fought their way toward the Steeler goal.
• 1:04:10
  SPEAKER_01: The Rams were on the verge of another score when Ferragamo made his first and only mistake of the game.
• 1:04:17
  SPEAKER_12: Ferragamo back to pass, shoots it over the middle.
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_12: Intercepted by the Steelers Lambert at the 15, the 20.
• 1:04:24
  SPEAKER_12: Lambert still on his feet, cutting The middle of the field, he's down at the 30-yard line.
• 1:04:30
  SPEAKER_12: First interception of the game, off the arm of Farragamo, and for Pittsburgh Steelers fans, it could not have come at a better time with 524 to go in the game.
• 1:04:42
  SPEAKER_03: So the Rams take the ball down the field again.
• 1:04:44
  SPEAKER_03: Farragamo makes some great plays, but he picks a really bad time to throw his first interception of the game.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_03: Jack Lambert picks it off deep in Steelers territory.
• 1:04:54
  SPEAKER_03: Just a huge play by a Hall of Fame player.
• 1:04:57
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, what else can you say there?
• 1:04:59
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, I mean, Jack Lambert, you know, once again, great players make big plays at key times, and that was a big one.
• 1:05:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um that kind of seals the seals the victory, I think.
• 1:05:12
  SPEAKER_03: Well, well, let's talk about that.
• 1:05:14
  SPEAKER_03: Because there's still five minutes left in the game.
• 1:05:16
  SPEAKER_03: So that's still a lot of clock to run out.
• 1:05:18
  SPEAKER_03: And the Steelers call two running plays to try to kill some clock, but they both get stuffed because obviously the Rams know, okay, you're just gonna try to run the ball.
• 1:05:26
  SPEAKER_03: So now they've got third down from their own 33-yard line.
• 1:05:30
  SPEAKER_03: And and they could really obviously use a first down here, right?
• 1:05:33
  SPEAKER_03: If you get a first down, now you can bleed even more clock, make them use their timeouts.
• 1:05:38
  SPEAKER_03: You certainly don't want to have to punt the ball back to Los Angeles right away because you know, you you had just you had just intercepted them, your defense had just gotten off the field, you know, and now they're they're gonna get the to get the ball back and try to drive again.
• 1:05:51
  SPEAKER_03: So you need a first down.
• 1:05:53
  SPEAKER_03: Do you do you call running play, just plead clock?
• 1:05:56
  SPEAKER_03: Do you call pass play?
• 1:05:57
  SPEAKER_03: You know what they call here, Steve?
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_03: 60 prevent slot hook and go.
• 1:06:02
  SPEAKER_03: Oh no.
• 1:06:04
  SPEAKER_02: The Rams aren't gonna fall for this twice, are they?
• 1:06:06
  SPEAKER_01: By day the Rams' bustling spirit had kept the game closed.
• 1:06:11
  SPEAKER_01: But by night, it faded into the black reality of the Pittsburgh Steelers, mustering whatever it takes to win games when most of America is watching.
• 1:06:24
  SPEAKER_12: Pittsburgh just wants to maintain possession, and it's a very big third down play.
• 1:06:29
  SPEAKER_12: Nickel defense in for Los Angeles.
• 1:06:32
  SPEAKER_12: Bradshaw back to pass.
• 1:06:34
  SPEAKER_12: He sets up with a 23.
• 1:06:35
  SPEAKER_12: He throws long down the center of the field for Scorloop.
• 1:06:38
  SPEAKER_12: He's got at the 25 and down at the 22.
• 1:06:50
  SPEAKER_01: The first long pass to Star Wars had given the Steelers the lead.
• 1:06:55
  SPEAKER_01: This one pointed the way to ultimate victory.
• 1:07:04
  SPEAKER_03: I I love that clip too.
• 1:07:06
  SPEAKER_03: The black reality of the Steelers must have whatever it takes to win games when most of America is watching.
• 1:07:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that so whoever wrote this was yeah, on their game.
• 1:07:16
  SPEAKER_03: Like I said, this is like the this is the peak for NFL films, I think.
• 1:07:20
  SPEAKER_02: They they just they don't make them like this anymore.
• 1:07:22
  SPEAKER_02: Like they try and be too politically correct, and you know, just this is sports.
• 1:07:26
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to be unbiased.
• 1:07:29
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's it's so well done.
• 1:07:31
  SPEAKER_02: And you don't have to do hot takes though.
• 1:07:33
  SPEAKER_02: It's not a hot take either.
• 1:07:34
  SPEAKER_03: You know, no, it's just it's just it's just like you said, it's it's a it's a it's a story, they're telling a story and they're doing it masterfully.
• 1:07:42
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so yeah, I mean that's a that's a gutsy call there to call that same play.
• 1:07:47
  SPEAKER_03: A D D.
• 1:07:48
  SPEAKER_02: ADD.
• 1:07:49
  SPEAKER_02: He forgot he called that play earlier.
• 1:07:51
  SPEAKER_02: Like, ooh, let's call this play.
• 1:07:55
  SPEAKER_02: We had an ADD calling plays.
• 1:08:01
  SPEAKER_02: Only in the 70s, Tim.
• 1:08:02
  SPEAKER_02: Only in the 70s.
• 1:08:04
  SPEAKER_03: And and and you heard Stoler say on the first pass that he thought, you know, uh uh what did he say?
• 1:08:10
  SPEAKER_03: Uh damn and Terry, you've overthrown me.
• 1:08:13
  SPEAKER_03: On this one, he he said he was thinking, damn and terry, you've underthrown me.
• 1:08:17
  SPEAKER_03: He has to he actually has to adjust and kind of come back for it.
• 1:08:20
  SPEAKER_03: So he doesn't get the second touchdown here.
• 1:08:22
  SPEAKER_03: But what it does do is it puts a dagger into the Rams.
• 1:08:25
  SPEAKER_03: A few plays later, Franco takes it into the end zone and makes the final score.
• 1:08:29
  SPEAKER_03: Steelers 31, Rams 19.
• 1:08:31
  SPEAKER_02: And they cover.
• 1:08:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yay! And they covered everybody goes home happy.
• 1:08:37
  SPEAKER_03: Not a not a pretty game after a not so pretty season, but the Steelers are Super Bowl champions for the fourth time in six years.
• 1:08:46
  SPEAKER_03: So let's now come back to that 2018 game against the New England Patriots.
• 1:08:52
  SPEAKER_03: Steve, I was at that game and I had the usual trepidation heading into the stadium that day because I had been there for so many Patriots beatdowns of the Steelers over the years.
• 1:09:03
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 1:09:04
  SPEAKER_03: I I just I was there for the championship games and all the other times of Tom Brady and that great New England team came in, and we had this really good Steelers team, and then they would just beat us because they were the Patriots.
• 1:09:15
  SPEAKER_03: But but that time, that 2018 game, it was different.
• 1:09:18
  SPEAKER_03: And I remember very clearly walking out of the stadium that day with my brother and and saying, This is this is not the New England Patriots.
• 1:09:27
  SPEAKER_03: They looked slow, they looked old, they weren't in sync.
• 1:09:31
  SPEAKER_03: This was not the the Patriots anymore.
• 1:09:34
  SPEAKER_03: Like maybe they're done.
• 1:09:36
  SPEAKER_03: Well, six weeks later, guess what happens?
• 1:09:39
  SPEAKER_03: The Patriots win the Super Bowl against ironically the Los Angeles Rams.
• 1:09:45
  SPEAKER_02: What was that the same game where what's his name had that big interception?
• 1:09:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he still considers that like I just they for I guess he was at the game in LA when the Steelers were there a couple weeks ago, and he said that's a highlight of his career.
• 1:10:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 1:10:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:10:02
  SPEAKER_03: And and so the the truth was, I think that 2018 Patriots team, they they were no longer the dominant team they had been in years past, and sure enough, subsequent years revealed that truth, right?
• 1:10:15
  SPEAKER_03: Because they fell apart after that.
• 1:10:17
  SPEAKER_03: But in 2018, they had enough greatness left to make one last run.
• 1:10:21
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's what the 1979 Steelers were.
• 1:10:24
  SPEAKER_03: Great teams aren't always great, that they muster up whatever it takes to win football games when most of America is watching.
• 1:10:30
  SPEAKER_03: And that's why I wanted to go back to that 2018 Patriots game, because again, I remember thinking like, boy, that this this is not the Patriots anymore.
• 1:10:38
  SPEAKER_03: This that 2018 Steelers team was mediocre, they didn't make the playoffs.
• 1:10:42
  SPEAKER_03: And and the fact that we we had beaten them, you know, I just thought, boy, this team's not the Patriots anymore.
• 1:10:48
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's probably what the Steel Wars were in 1979.
• 1:10:50
  SPEAKER_03: But if you're that great, maybe you can squeeze out one last championship.
• 1:10:56
  SPEAKER_03: And that's exactly what those two teams both did.
• 1:11:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, good for the Patriots.
• 1:11:02
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 1:11:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I'm sure you're very happy for them.
• 1:11:08
  SPEAKER_03: So let's talk about the aftermath of Super Bowl 14.
• 1:11:11
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, the Steelers are pretty much done after that.
• 1:11:14
  SPEAKER_03: There's no one for the thumb, as we detailed in our 1980s.
• 1:11:17
  SPEAKER_03: Steelers episode.
• 1:11:18
  SPEAKER_02: But they'll win one for the thumb some point in the 80s, right, Tim?
• 1:11:22
  SPEAKER_02: 90s?
• 1:11:24
  unknown: Guys.
• 1:11:25
  SPEAKER_02: 90s, 90s, 80s, right?
• 1:11:27
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 1:11:27
  SPEAKER_02: Somewhere, somewhere they'll get a quarterback.
• 1:11:29
  SPEAKER_02: Not even.
• 1:11:29
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that there it's not like there's a local quarterback that might help them that's literally right in their backyard.
• 1:11:36
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 1:11:37
  SPEAKER_03: So, like we detailed in that 1980s episode, not only do guys start retiring, but the team uh fails to rebuild.
• 1:11:45
  SPEAKER_02: They bought yeah, maybe they shouldn't draft a defensive lineman from Texas.
• 1:11:50
  SPEAKER_02: Just saying.
• 1:11:52
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 1:11:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:11:53
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 1:11:54
  SPEAKER_03: Uh it it takes 26 years before the Steelers finally win another Super Bowl.
• 1:11:59
  SPEAKER_03: Uh the Rams don't fare a lot better.
• 1:12:01
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, they're they're still pretty good in the 80s.
• 1:12:03
  SPEAKER_02: But they You know, the Rams won a Super Bowl before the Steelers did.
• 1:12:07
  SPEAKER_02: After the Super Bowl.
• 1:12:09
  SPEAKER_03: They did, you're right.
• 1:12:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:12:10
  SPEAKER_02: Unfortunately, they were in St.
• 1:12:12
  SPEAKER_02: Louis when they did it, but that's true.
• 1:12:16
  SPEAKER_03: They uh they go on to lose multiple NFC championship games in the 80s, just like they had done in the 70s.
• 1:12:22
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, but they do make it back to a Super Bowl 20 years later, again, ironically, with their backup quarterback, a guy named Kurt Warner.
• 1:12:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I don't know if that's much of a backup.
• 1:12:33
  SPEAKER_02: Well, he was their best, he was their Hall of Fame starting quarterback.
• 1:12:38
  SPEAKER_03: He that in 1999, he was their backup quarterback just like Vince Farragamo.
• 1:12:43
  SPEAKER_03: For Trent.
• 1:12:43
  SPEAKER_02: Poor Trent Dilfer.
• 1:12:45
  SPEAKER_02: Not Trent Dill, Trent Green, yeah.
• 1:12:47
  SPEAKER_02: For Trent Green.
• 1:12:48
  SPEAKER_02: He was good too.
• 1:12:49
  SPEAKER_02: He just they probably would have won a Super Bowl with Trent Green.
• 1:12:53
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe.
• 1:12:54
  SPEAKER_02: You never know.
• 1:12:56
  SPEAKER_03: Uh uh Vince Farragamo does, you know, he he leads him to a Super Bowl.
• 1:13:01
  SPEAKER_03: They do make him the starter in 1980, and he actually has a really good season.
• 1:13:04
  SPEAKER_03: So it seems like, okay, you know, kind of like Kurt Warner, like he was the backup, he came in, this guy's gonna be our quarterback for years to come.
• 1:13:11
  SPEAKER_03: But he makes a really interesting decision after that 1980 season.
• 1:13:15
  SPEAKER_03: He signs with the Montreal Alaulettes of the Canadian Football League because they offered him a truckload of money.
• 1:13:21
  SPEAKER_03: And it doesn't really go.
• 1:13:23
  SPEAKER_02: 600 grand, according to Wikipedia.
• 1:13:26
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, really?
• 1:13:26
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 1:13:27
  SPEAKER_02: Which I what is it?
• 1:13:29
  SPEAKER_02: 1981, that's probably what, like millions of dollars now?
• 1:13:33
  SPEAKER_03: Sure, sure.
• 1:13:35
  SPEAKER_03: Uh it doesn't go real well for him in Canada.
• 1:13:37
  SPEAKER_03: He eventually makes his way back to the Rams, but he never again really matches the success he had earlier.
• 1:13:42
  SPEAKER_02: So it says he has a 500-yard passing game against the Bears.
• 1:13:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 1:13:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, he had his moments, but uh, but yeah, it never really works out for him.
• 1:13:52
  SPEAKER_03: John Stallworth plays eight more seasons and then retires as the Steelers' all-time leading receiver.
• 1:13:56
  SPEAKER_03: He's inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
• 1:14:00
  SPEAKER_03: CBS breaks up their top announcing pair.
• 1:14:03
  SPEAKER_03: Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshire.
• 1:14:06
  SPEAKER_03: And they had John Madden.
• 1:14:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they replaced Brookshire with a guy named John Madden, who had just recently retired as the Oakland Raiders coach.
• 1:14:13
  SPEAKER_03: That was a genius move.
• 1:14:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 1:14:15
  SPEAKER_03: Pat Summerall says that that decision literally saved his life.
• 1:14:19
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 1:14:20
  SPEAKER_03: For CBS to step in and break them up.
• 1:14:23
  SPEAKER_02: So really?
• 1:14:24
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, it was that bad.
• 1:14:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:14:26
  SPEAKER_02: Jeez.
• 1:14:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 1:14:27
  SPEAKER_02: Whatever happened to Tom Brookshire, I wonder I wonder if he's okay.
• 1:14:41
  SPEAKER_03: That was the thing that was not good.
• 1:14:45
  SPEAKER_03: So one last note for this season.
• 1:14:48
  SPEAKER_03: The 1979 Steelers are the last team to win a championship with players that had never played for another team.
• 1:14:55
  SPEAKER_03: Every single player on the 1979 Stewart's roster had been either drafted or signed out of college by Pittsburgh.
• 1:15:03
  SPEAKER_03: You'll never see that again, right?
• 1:15:05
  SPEAKER_02: Oh no, it's somebody will do that.
• 1:15:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:15:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're right.
• 1:15:09
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that was before free agency and yeah.
• 1:15:13
  SPEAKER_02: Now it seems like I don't know.
• 1:15:16
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 1:15:16
  SPEAKER_02: I I know it's better for the players and it's probably somewhat better for the league, but I kind of liked it the other way where there was a little more consistent.
• 1:15:24
  SPEAKER_02: Although it seems like the Patriots hacked the system for how many years there.
• 1:15:29
  SPEAKER_02: I guess you gotta have a Hall of Fame quarterback, probably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time to really do that.
• 1:15:34
  SPEAKER_03: But well, I think it it it makes it where the the draft, you know, as much as it's changed, the draft is still probably the most important aspect of team building.
• 1:15:45
  SPEAKER_03: It really is.
• 1:15:46
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, if you if you don't draft well, you're not you're still not gonna have it.
• 1:15:49
  SPEAKER_03: You can you can't fill all those gaps with free agents.
• 1:15:52
  SPEAKER_03: I think free agents just supplement the draft, whereas before the draft is really all you had.
• 1:15:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it it and I think too, like I I get tired of people like, well, why do the worst teams get the best player?
• 1:16:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like you always hear like, especially like good players, like whine and cry, like that guy from USC, you know, like he's gonna pull like an Archie Man, like uh Eli Manning or something.
• 1:16:15
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't want to play for San Diego.
• 1:16:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I I I understand that at some point, like if you think the management is bad.
• 1:16:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's not like the Giants were had a great season either, but you know, they want it like European football where you can pick who you well, you're not even that.
• 1:16:31
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, then you just get like sold to another team.
• 1:16:35
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, you you have that every about 20 years, you have that one uh exception, like John Elway or Eli Manning.
• 1:16:43
  SPEAKER_03: You know, but that that's typically it's it's the system still chugs along like it chugs along.
• 1:16:49
  SPEAKER_03: So um I don't I don't see that changing, but I definitely don't see anybody ever fielding a tea a team of players that have never played for anybody else.
• 1:16:59
  SPEAKER_03: I don't think you'll ever ever see that again.
• 1:17:01
  SPEAKER_03: So that's a unique attribute of that 1979 Steelers team for sure.
• 1:17:06
  SPEAKER_03: So that's our episode on Super Bowl 14.
• 1:17:09
  SPEAKER_03: Hope everybody liked it.
• 1:17:10
  SPEAKER_03: Uh thanks everybody for listening.
• 1:17:12
  SPEAKER_02: And my memory of that was uh crying a lot and pooping in my diaper.
• 1:17:16
  SPEAKER_02: No, three, uh maybe not pooping in my diaper, but crying a lot.
• 1:17:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 1:17:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I'm I'm sure I had a very similar memory.
• 1:17:23
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• 1:17:26
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• 1:17:27
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• 1:17:35
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• 1:17:38
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks everybody, and we will catch you next time.