Patriots-Falcons, the Latest Case of Trophy Inequity

Pittsburgh Steelers guard Chris Kemoeatu celebrates following Pittsburgh's 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL Super Bowl 43 football game in Tampa, Fla on Feb. 1, 2009. No team has won more Super Bowls than the Steelers with six titles in the 50-year history of the event. AP Photo/John Bazemore, File

The New England Patriots are in the Super Bowl for the ninth time in the last 31 years, chasing their fifth championship next weekend in Houston.

No coach or player in the current NFL could have a more palpable been-here-before feeling than Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. All four of their Super Bowl victories have come since the 2001 season with that venerable coach-quarterback pair, with this their seventh appearance together.

Then there are the Atlanta Falcons, still seeking their first Vince Lombardi Trophy after 51 years.

Though this pairing of teams with such disparate title-game histories is striking, it’s not exactly uncommon. Here’s a look back at some of the other memorable championship matchups involving trophy-case inequity in major sports:

Arizona Diamondbacks' Luis Gonzalez celebrates driving in the winning run in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the baseball World Series against the New York Yankees in Phoenix on Nov. 4, 2001. Less than two months after the terrorist attacks knocked down the World Trade Center towers, the New York Yankees had the country behind them for once during the 2001 World Series as emotional renditions of "God Bless America" stirred fans and players alike. AP Photo/John Bazemore, File