“When you have the two best teams in football going at it, you’re going to get that kind of game.” That quote, a quote that isn’t an exact one, was from former Oakland Raiders head coach, John Madden, following his team’s last-second win over the two-time Super Bowl-winning Dolphins in the divisional round of the 1974 AFC playoffs.
Madden was referring to the Sea of Hands game, a classic, one that was supposed to propel Oakland to the Super Bowl and then to the Lombardi trophy.
If only Madden hadn’t angered Steelers head coach Chuck Noll, who reportedly got so gosh darn mad at Madden’s quote that he used it to motivate his players during a team meeting in the lead up to Pittsburgh’s clash with the Raiders in the AFC title game.