Once there was a football team who overcame an upset loss to a rival and made it to the playoffs, only to lose in the semi-finals.
The following year, they lost to the same rival, again overcame the loss to make it to the playoffs, but this time, they won the championship.
Obviously, I’m talking about the Alabama Crimson Tide’s 2014 and 2015 seasons. They found themselves in the same scenario in two different years.