SaintsBro

Well the thing I really learned from the run in 2009 is that, I learned how incredibly DIFFICULT it really is to get to a Super Bowl. Before, it was always just this extremely nebulous, far away dream that wasn't real, I didn't know how people did it or what it took. And I don't care who you are, LUCK plays a role in getting you there.

Every team that has ever been to a Super Bowl has had a few lucky bounces, easy breaks, or freak plays, along the route. The Meachem strip. The Darren Sharper pick 6 against Miami where he barely got in there with the ball in his hand. The fact that we got the Cardinals in the playoffs (due to a freak play in OT) rather than the (much better, I thought) Green Bay Packers. And loads more.

And like I said earlier in another thread -- in addition to the luck, I think the PATH to the Super Bowl for every team, is practically more important to getting them there than the team itself. Maybe you catch a break when a team in your conference or division that was previously strong, is suddenly weak. Maybe somebody else's QB goes down. Maybe you have the bulk of your hard games at home and the easy games on the road that year. Maybe you are the '06 Bears and you water down the home field in January so it turns to mush.

Then the seeds and matchups in the playoffs, that determine the PATH. Do you have to play in Green Bay. Do you have to beat a division team three times. How the other teams in your path match up with you, or who you DON'T have to play. Each team that gets there, has its own unique path that somehow plays to their strengths or diminishes their weaknesses.

Winning it when you're finally there is usually pretty straightforward, it's just a matter of winning one more game.