Compare And Contrast Essay On Sports Research Paper

During the 1970s and 1980s respectively, the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers dominated professional football. From 1974 to 1989 the Steelers and 49ers went on to win a combined 8 super bowl championships each winning four respectively. These two great franchises produced many great players during this era as well as many great games. Since the year 2000, these two proud franchises went in totally different directions. The 49ers have only made two playoff appearances since the year 2000, while the Steelers have gone on to win two more super bowls and have made numerous playoff appearances. The Steelers have sent numerous players to the pro bowl and have landed a franchise quarterback, while the 49ers haven’t had a franchise quarterback since Steve Young’s retirement at the end of the 1999 season. The contrast between the two teams begin with the ownership. While the Steelers ownership has been solid since the beginning of the franchise under the control of the legendary Rooney family, the 49ers haven’t been run well since former owner Eddie DeBartolo gave up control of the organization to his sister back in 1999. The Steelers opened a new stadium earlier in the millennium, have continued to draft well, produced good players, and have kept an identity.
Even though they have shown flashes of being good the last couple of years they have not been able to breakthrough and make their first playoff appearance since 2002. On the other hand the Steelers continue to be a contender year in and year out. Every year the Steelers always have one of the most physical and dominant defenses in the league, and every year they continue to put up double digit wins and make deep playoff runs. This past season the Steelers were close to winning their third super bowl in six years but was not able to pull it off, losing to the Green Bay Packers