NFL legend Larry Csonka loses it over question on 1972 Dolphins’ historic achievement: “We took the goddamn thing”
NFL stalwart and Miami legend Larry Csonka had some choice words about the 1972 Dolphins team being named the greatest of all time. He was not in the mood to be ratified by anybody and said that giving them the title of the GOAT was not anyone's to give because they achieved it on the field and took the crown instead of anyone handing it out.
He went on an incredible rant:
"Named the greatest team? We took the goddamn thing, that's how it happened. I'm tired of people telling me how they named us. They named us sh*t. We took it."
He had good reason to say it because they won the Super Bowl after going the entire 1972 season, including the playoffs, undefeated and compiling a 17-0 record.
Larry Csonka, who was the legendary fullback in those teams, further underlined his point, tweeting:
"I did lose my cool here but I stand by my point - we achieved perfection and are the only team to do so in the first 100+ years of professional football. My teammates and I already knew this whether the NFL recognized it or not. That said, I am grateful the NFL finally ratified our historic achievement."
1972 Dolphins season often overshadows what Larry Csonka and Miami achieved over two years
As Larry Csonka pointed out, the 1972 Dolphins season remains the stuff of legends. It's the first, and so far only, undefeated season in professional football history.
However, what that does is it also ignores just how good the Dolphins team was and that they won the Super Bowl again next year. And the fullback was the MVP in the championship game, rushing for 145 yards in what became a record for the most yards by a running back in the title match.
The 1973 victory was also momentous as they became the first team since the Green Bay Packers to win back-to-back Super Bowls, the Packers doing it in the opening inaugural seasons.
In doing so, they became the first franchise from the former AFL to achieve it, cementing the upstart league's status firmly as an equal competitor to the NFL and validating the Super Bowl's legacy.
Larry Csonka and the Dolphins should rightly be celebrated for showing us what is possible in football and setting the benchmark so ridiculously high. And he's right that they do not need any validation from an outside source, as their record speaks for itself.