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          '72 Dolphins, voted best team, toast perfection

          • Cameron Wolfe, ESPN Staff WriterDec 22, 2019, 08:57 PM
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            • Covered the Broncos for two seasons with the Denver Post
            • Graduate of the University of Houston
            • A native of Jackson, Miss.
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          MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The sweet memories of perfection are still best served with a glass of champagne, and the 1972 Miami Dolphins shared a Dom Perignon toast while being honored during halftime of the Dolphins' home finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.

          The NFL named the 17-0 1972 Dolphins the greatest team in NFL history as a part of its "NFL 100 Greatest" series. Many of the surviving members of the 1972 Dolphins were at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday to be honored, including coach Don Shula, fullback Larry Csonka, quarterback Bob Griese, receiver/returner Mercury Morris, offensive lineman Larry Little and defensive back Dick Anderson.

          Many of those former Dolphins players enjoyed being celebrated but bristled at the suggestion that being named the greatest team was anything other than a foregone conclusion.

          "I'm tired of people saying we were named the greatest team. We took that s---. We earned the goddamn thing," a riled-up Csonka said before the game. "Only one team can claim perfection: us. That came from our hard work. Nobody elected us to perfection. We were the first definition of that in the NFL. Nobody gave us s---. We took it. We took the hilltop and put the flag up. Now anybody is welcome to join us. But there will be two of us, and we will always be the first."

          Donning green "perfection" jackets, the 1972 Dolphins were celebrated one by one on the field with personalized golden footballs. Fans erupted in cheers when their favorites were called out by name.

          There is still a great joy for many of those 1972 Dolphins whenever the last undefeated team goes down. There's something about being the only perfect team that makes that season even more special.

          "See this ring here. ... It means out of the 100 years in the NFL, there's only been one team that has been able to go from A to Z and not miss a step," Morris said. "Our back-to-back run started from nothing. It ended up being everything."

          Fans joined in singing an early "Happy Birthday" to Shula, the NFL's winningest coach, who will turn 90 on Jan. 4.