The 1998 Vikings and Golden State: Destiny meets adversity

Modern sports history is filled with interesting examples of "the greatest teams to never win a championship."

The 2007 Patriots rolled through 18 wins — 16 in the regular season and two in the playoffs — without a loss, before falling in the Super Bowl to the Giants.

The 2001 Mariners put up a regular-season record of 116-46 — tied for the most wins in any single MLB season — but bowed out of the playoffs in the American League Championship Series.

The 1990-91 UNLV men's hoops team cruised into the NCAA tournament with a 30-0 record and made it all the way to 34-0 before losing to Duke in the Final Four.

And perhaps most famously (and painfully) locally: the 1998 Vikings, a seeming team of destiny after setting what was then a record for most points scored on the way to a 15-1 regular season, stumbled in the NFC title game.

There are numerous counter-examples, of course — teams that dominated the regular season and won championships, like the 1998 Yankees (114-48), the 1996 Bulls (72-10), any number of UConn women's basketball teams and even some recent Lynx examples.

There are also plenty of reasons why teams who dominate a regular season fall short in the playoffs. You could make a strong argument that the primary reason is simply that they are consistently facing better competition in the postseason.

Granted: there was some bizarre officiating, but it cut both ways. For the unanimous MVP, Steph Curry, to allow himself to become so flustered that he threw his mouth guard (hitting a fan, who happened to be the son of a Cavaliers minority owner) and got ejected — well, that speaks not just to the heat of battle but a player (and team) ill-equipped to save itself. Frankly, I'm surprised by it based on how the Warriors managed to pull themselves from the fire after trailing 3-1 in their last series to Oklahoma City.

But being the best — and the 73-9 Warriors are the best regular-season team in NBA history — creates a burden while buffering you from adversity. And the postseason tends to be all about adversity.

When the undefeated Patriots lost the Super Bowl, they gave up two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a dramatic 17-14 loss to the Giants. UNLV lost by two points to Duke.

Those 1998 Vikings? They are the most personal example. Having watched every game, I can attest to the minimum level of adversity faced during the year. In their final eight games before facing the Falcons (including a playoff win over the Cardinals), the Vikings won by double-digits. Even some of the crustiest, least-trusting fans threw their hands up and said, "OK, this is the year. They are doing this." Until the missed field goal … and the late TD drive … and the knee … and the overtime end.

I'm not saying the Vikings would have won that game had they experienced more adversity throughout the year. The Falcons, after all, were 14-2 and awfully good themselves. I am saying that when your immediate experience is that everything is going to go your way and suddenly it doesn't, you can have a hard time coping.