In the NFL, there are few things worse than losing the Super Bowl. Not only is it the biggest game in the world, but it’s also one that’s incredibly difficult to make it back to. Since 2000, only the Patriots, Chiefs, and Seahawks have participated in back-to-back Super Bowls, with the Patriots and Chiefs being the only ones to win both games, in part because they had two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. In that time span, no team has lost the Super Bowl and returned the following year. Knowing you’re probably not gonna make it back hurts, but as former Steelers’ general manager Kevin Colbert explains, it might not be the worst part.
In an appearance on Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden’s podcast All Things Covered, Peterson spoke about Mike Tomlin saying his greatest failure as a coach was not getting Maurkice Pouncey a Super Bowl ring. In response, Colbert told the story of how awful it felt to see veteran tackle Flozell Adams, who the team signed after starter Willie Colon was lost for the season due to an Achilles injury, in the locker room after the Steelers lost Super Bowl 45 to the Packers.
“Flo ends up coming in, and he gave us everything he could because he had some wear and tear on his body after, I forget how many, years he played. We get to that Super Bowl, and I’ll never forget being in that locker room and being on the wrong side of the confetti. I remember seeing Flo, and it crushed me because Flo’s in Dallas. This is his home, and he’s sitting in a losing locker room, and we knew it was over. And that you don’t forget. You don’t forget that.”
Super Bowl 45 was played in Dallas, and while he wasn’t born there, Adams spent his entire career before that, from 1998 to 2009, with the Dallas Cowboys. Even worse, that was Adams’ last year of his career, so not only did he lose the Super Bowl, but he lost it in his hometown in his last NFL game ever. It’s the exact opposite of the ending to Jerome Bettis’ heartwarming story. Pittsburgh hoped for the same outcome, the whole team wearing Adams’ Michigan State jersey leading up to the big game.
Flozell Adams worked hard to help the Steelers try to earn that victory, too, as he started every game for the Steelers during the 2010 season after Colon was lost to injury in the spring. That was his 13th year in the league, being an All-Pro and Pro Bowl player with the Cowboys. It’s a harsh reminder that not every story in the NFL gets its Cinderella ending. Clearly, it’s an aspect of Colbert’s career that haunts him, and it makes that loss to the Packers sting that much more. Hopefully Adams himself has made peace with that loss, as it doesn’t define the incredible career he had.
