There are 30 NFL teams, and their fan bases, who would love to be in Miami at the Super Bowl right now. They all ended their campaigns with some kind of disappointment.
It was either the pain from exiting in the playoffs or knots in their stomachs that they didn't get to the postseason at all.
Charlie Casserly once said there is nothing more painful than losing the Super Bowl. The whole week of hype that turns into a defeat cannot be easy. He was actually part of a particularly stinging one when the Redskins fell to the Raiders 38-9 in Super Bowl XVIII.
That's right folks. Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs once lost a Super Bowl by 29 points. They were never really in that game. But he would go on to coach in two more and win them. It would take four more years to get back and win after that blowout loss. And four more after that to win another.
The AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs are in the big game for the first time in 50 years. With Andy Reid, they've been in the postseason five consecutive years before breaking through to this stage. Reid's K.C. playoff record heading into this year was 2-5. It's monumentally difficult to get to the Super Bowl and even tougher to go all the way.
As this NFL season comes to a close on Sunday, 31 teams will be locked in on trying to dethrone the champion. During free agency and the draft, we'll see the deck reshuffle. The AFC South will be immensely challenging. There are some heavy hitters atop the conference with big aspirations.
And your team is one of them.
While the loss at Arrowhead still hurts, it's important to remember that another opportunity awaits in relatively short order. Improvements will come through, plays will be made and the Texans will have a chance to get back to the playoffs and do better.
