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BY ALAN J. STEINBERG
COMMENTARY
On Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, the New York Giants face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. Each team has previously won three Super Bowls, which comes as news to those fans who are under the false impression that the Patriots, under Coach Bill Belichik have been a dynasty during the past decade.
The New England Patriots won Super Bowls for the years 2001, 2003, and 2004. They have not won a Super Bowl since. The Patriots of the past decade do not even nearly approach in stature the two greatest dynasties in NFL history: the Green Bay Packers of the 1960s and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s. This year’s edition of the Patriots did not win a single regular season game against any team with a winning percentage over .500.
There is an interesting anniversary this season which has escaped the notice of virtually everybody connected with the National Football League and the media. It was 50 years ago, on Dec. 31, 1961 that the Green Bay Packers began their dynasty by defeating the New York Giants 37-0 in the NFL Championship game in Lambeau Field, under the leadership of the greatest coach in NFL history, Vince Lombardi.
The Packers would win the NFL Championship in 1962 by again defeating the Giants, 16-7 in horrible freezing weather conditions at Yankee Stadium. After the next two seasons of second place finishes, the Packers won three pro football championships in a row in 1965, 1966, and 1967, the latter two championships being the first two Super Bowls played against the champions of the upstart American Football League.
It is interesting to review the history of the Giant team of the late 1950s and early 1960s. In those years, the NFL had two conferences, the Eastern and Western. The Giants won the Eastern Conference and the NFL Championship in 1956 by defeating the Chicago Bears 47-7 in Yankee Stadium. They won the Eastern Conference title in every season between 1956 and 1963, except for 1957 and 1960.
The Giants were coached during that period up through 1960 by Jim Lee Howell. He was replaced in 1961 by Allie Sherman. After 1956 through 1963, the Giants failed to win a single NFL Championship.
