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CNN Live At Daybreak

St. Louis' Dynasty Dreams Slip Away With Turnovers

Aired February 04, 2002 - 05:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about the real Super Bowl now. The heavily favored St. Louis Rams may have come into Super Bowl XXXVI with everything going for them, but they leave New Orleans with nothing.

As CNN's Tom Rinaldi reports, you can't have a dynasty without a crown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM RINALDI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They entered as the greatest show on turf, but when the Rams circus left town, they did so without a ring. Through all the talk of a St. Louis reign of championships in the making, Super Bowl XXXVI proved to be a dynasty denied.

RICKY PROEHL, ST. LOUIS RAMS: No question about it, I mean, you've got to win championships to be considered a dynasty. And you know, we felt like, you know, not really being a dynasty, but to, you know, be a hell of a football team and start something. And you know, we know we have some special here, and we felt like we let it slip away tonight.

MARSHALL FAULK, ST. LOIUS RAMS: Anytime you lose in the playoffs, it's disappointing. To lose in the Super Bowl might be a little more disappointing. I really don't know what to tell you or what I feel right now, because I think it's still sort of a shock to me.

RINALDI: The Rams led the league in wins this regular season. That's true. They also led in another category: turnovers. And turnovers spelled their doom at season's end. In a city of rhythm, Kurt Warner oddly was out of sync. Mistakes and missed opportunities left the Rams a favorite on paper, but ultimately not in (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

FAULK: We were playing a team that, you know, when we turned the ball over, we make it tough to win.

LONDON FLETCHER, ST. LOUIS RAMS: I believe we are the better football team, but today, the Patriots were a better football team. And I told the Patriots that. You know, they outplayed us today in really every facet of the game. KURT WARNER, ST. LOUIS RAMS: That's what is so hard about it is that it was our mistakes that really did us in today. And you'll never (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know, this game, the Super Bowl by making mistakes.

RINALDI (on camera): They had the MVP in Kurt Warner. They had the player of the year in Marshall Faulk. They had the offensive genius in Mike Marks. Now, as they leave Super Bowl XXXVI, they Rams have memories of a missed chance and a season that fell three points short of a dynasty on the rise.

At Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, I am Tom Rinaldi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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