Top 5 Super Bowls Since I’ve Been Alive
5.) Super Bowl XXIII
Cincinnati Bengals vs. San Francisco 49ers:
Cincinnati scored a FG to take the 16-13 lead with 3:20 left in the game. The 49ers got the ball at 8 yard line. Looking back now, there wasn’t much doubt that Montana wasn’t going to concoct the game-winning drive. The only question was, who would make the catch? Jerry Rice recorded a Super Bowl single-game record with 215 receiving yards, that still stands. But it was John Taylor who caught the go ahead touchdown with just 34 seconds remaining. 20-16 was the final. Rice the MVP, Montana delivered and the Niners won their 3rd of 4 Super Bowls in the 80′s solidifying them as the premier franchise in football. They would go on to win Super Bowl XXIV the following year 55-10 over Denver.
4.) Super Bowl XXXII
Denver Broncos vs. Green Bay Packers:
Favre vs. Elway! The hype surrounding this Super Bowl involving two future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks was exhausting. Luckily, the game proved to one for the ages. The game fell into the hands of the quarterbacks as anticipated. However, the game was defined by Elway’s “Helicopter” run towards the endzone. It was the run where he was hit by a Packers defender and spun sideways through the air. It would live to be the play that defined Elway’s career. Before this game, Elway was 0-3 in the Super Bowl. That run was the determination not to go 0-4. And they didn’t. The Broncos won 31-24 in their first of back-to-back Super Bowls.
3.) Super Bowl XXV
New York Giants vs. Buffalo Bills:
It’s easy to nickname this Super Bowl something relevant to “wide-right” on account of Scott Norwood’s missed field goal that would’ve won the game. Perspective is a wonderful thing, and most people don’t have it, especially fans. The goddamn field goal attempt was 47-yards. It wasn’t exactly a chip-shot. If anything, Billy Cundiff’s recent miss in the AFC Championship game is more a foul-up than Norwood’s miss. Cundiff missed a 32-yard attempt. Anyway, Norwood was ran out of Buffalo after the miss. Parcells won his 2nd of two Super Bowl appearances, and Jeff Hostetler became the hottest “backup” quarterback on the market. And unfortunately, the curse of Scott Norwood led the Bills to lose the next three Super Bowls.
2.) Super Bowl XLII
New York Giants vs. New England Patriots:
Patriots were the most dominant offensive team maybe in the history of the league. They went 16-0 in the regular season, and won their home field playoff games as expected. The opponent, the 10-6 New York Giants via the Wildcard. Little did anyone know they would really be the “wildcard.” Vegas liked New England as a -14 point advantage which was the largest spread in Super Bowl history. Tom Brady recorded 50 touchdown passes that season with the help of Randy Moss. Eli Manning not so much. However, Eli delivered one of the top plays in Super Bowl history with the unimaginable help from David Tyree, who’s not even playing professional football anymore. The Giants were in 3rd down when it happened. Manning was under duress, scrambled outside the pocket and heaved the ball downfield. Next thing you see, Tyree is out-jumping Rodney Harrison to catch the ball one-handed while maintaining possession by pinning the ball against his helmet as he fell to the ground. You can’t script such a thing.
1.) Super Bowl XXXVI
New England Patriots vs. St. Louis Rams:
This game marked the beginning of an era for the Patriots, and the end of the ‘greatest show on turf’ for the Rams. It was the first Super Bowl played after 9/11, and because of the heightened awareness surrounding terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security marked the game as a National Special Security Event. The Patriots seemed to be a team destined to play in such a game. America fell in love with St. Louis a few years before, but now they were falling for New England. The story-line was inevitably focused on the backdrop of 9/11 and us, the Americans, represented by New England who were aptly nicknamed the Patriots. With an All-American kid with an All-American name in Tom Brady going to become a star. After Kurt Warner led the Rams to a game-tying touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 90 seconds left on the clock, all eyes were on Brady. With no time-outs, Brady managed to drive down the field until he found Troy Brown for a 23-yard gain. Then after a short pass to get in field-goal range, Adam Vinatieri made a 48-yard field goal to win the game. Brady, who no one knew about before the season started, was named the Super Bowl MVP. And as they say my friends, the rest is history.
