UK_WhoDat

If true, then each individual of these teams need to become professional in their outlook ASAP. The individuals who were part of the teams when the bad call occurred, and especially the individuals who have since joined these teams.

Sport is a microcosm of life, in terms of ups and downs. Professional winning sports people deal with the downs an awful lot better than ordinary folk like me.

BakoSaint

It’s easy to say they are all professionals but ultimately what you are saying is psychology and trauma should not matter. The fact is they are human and those things will matter. Maybe not with all 53, but with enough to stick for awhile. If you say that a devistating loss etc should not linger in the back of a players head and cause issues, you can use the same logic to say nothing should cause issues. A QB who is short and has small hands should just work on their grip and release. A receiver who is slow just needs to practice routes more. If Tom Brady is old he just needs to eat more fiber. If a linebacker is 5’8 he just needs to use more leverage to tackle. Trauma and hubris are as real as anything else and every player is human and fallible. There are a few Drew Brees and Sam Mills and Tom Bradys but not many. A large part of the game is mental and when something very wrong happens it can mess with everyone involved in different ways. If a horrible game changing call went out way in the closing seconds of a playoff game I might decline it, because in the end nobody wins from cheating by the corrupt refs. What seems like a shortcut for the rams was more like a suicide vest.

dskyyksd

The Saints have merely shifted their horrible mojo from the regular season to the postseason. If you followed the team before 1987, you know exactly what I'm talking about. They are the same team in the playoffs that we watched in the regular season the first 21 seasons of their existence. Drew Brees turns into Archie Manning running for his life (the only difference being that Archie could) and average defensive lines turn into the Fearsome Foursome and the Purple People Eaters. And the age is starting to show on their one Lombardi trophy from that inexplicable 2009 season. Maybe there's a cosmic rule that a Manning has to lose if the Saints are involved and Peyton fit the bill that day. Poor Archie. He couldn't even enjoy that day.