"feel kind of bad for the losing team"
They didn't just lose the superbowl. They lost an opportunity for immortality. Not since 1972 has an NFL team gone undefeated in a season. Miami is the only team in history to do it, and when they did it the regular season was only 14 games, plus 3 playoff games, they went 17-0. New England went 16 -0 in the regular season and were 18-0 going into the superbowl.
They lost a game that would have enshrined them forever in annals of American sports history. They lost their goal for a perfect season, the chance for which will likely not be seen again for a generation. There could never be a more disappointing superbowl loss than this, because so much more than the superbowl was lost.
Yeah, I "feel kind of bad for the losing team" too.