ACK! The Best (and Worst) Super Bowls
January 30th 2011 03:15
In my humble opinion, that is. And ACK! Because this is the first of many such posts where people will go on and on and on. Like I'm doing right now?
Keep in my that worst and best are filtered through what I tend to want to see in a football game. So there's always room for discussion! And despite a Pittsburgh heritage, I won't pick SB 30 as the worst ever, even though the Steelers lost.
The Worst.
5. 40. Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10. Not only did it feature the worst performance by a winning quarterback ever, the officiating was iffy at best, ticky-tack constantly, and atrocious (if you're a Seattle fan). But there was nothing all that entertaining about the game itself. It was kind of boring.
4 - 2. Super Bowls 29, 26, 22, 20, 19, 18 - all awful blowouts. I'm missing a few. But they were bad, BAD games. The headliner in this bunch is probably the Niners 5th title over the Chargers; the Niners were perfect and the Chargers totally inept. That night.
1. Super Bowl 24. The Niners 55, the Broncos 10. Seriously, the AFC's best team is 45 points worse than the NFC's best team? ACK!
Dishonorable Mention: 41. Although Peyton won his, and Hester had has game-opening TD, it was played in rain and was a boring game. Blah.
Now for the best. And this is a lot tougher.
Our nominees are: 43 - late-game Arizona comeback only to be foiled by Ben to Santonio. And James Harrison's TD. 42. The newest and most impressive SB upset ever, and of course The Catch - Manning to Tyree. 38 - Patriots and Panthers played a second-half for the ages, and neither team was giving in. 36 - Patriots pulled off the next-greatest upset in SB history, slowing the Greatest Show on Turf Rams using innovating defenses. Honorable Mention: Brady going down the field while John Madden spluttered about how stupid it was. 34 - Rams/Titans - the Greatest Show on Turf got its win...by a scant yard. 23 - the Niners break the hearts of Cincinnati again with another 4th quarter Joe Montana game-winning drive. Wasn't this game where Tim Krumrie broke his leg and the TV people showed it 10 million times? I remember almost puking. 13 - under the more recent runs of terrific games, the best Super Bowl played to that point. 10 - Swann and the Steelers make lasting impressions. 8. The Dolphins cap an undefeated season. 3 - the Jets of the AFL - behind Joe Namath's guarantee - pull off the then-upset of the forever by beating the heavily favored Colts.
5. Super Bowl 3. Historically speaking, this is the most important of the Super Bowls. It put the AFL on the map, and played a large role in forcing the AFL and NFL to finally get with the program, and merge. But it was a huge upset, and that made it all the more historical. The names in the game are pure legends - Namath and Unitas lead the way. The Jets found a way to win. That's what makes it one of the best ever.
4. Super Bowl 42. The Patriots had a chance at not only setting a modern-day mark of being the 2nd team to go undefeated, but it would have been 19 games in a row, 3 better than Miami's 16. They were a juggernaut offense that year, with Brady and Moss and Welker doing things to defenses that made them look silly. The Giants never got the memo and used a punishing front-four pass rush to knock Brady around all game long. But it will forever be remembered for The Catch. Eli escaped the clutches of Patriot defenders, looked and heaved, and David Tyree leaped skyward, catching the ball then trapping it against his helmet as he crashed to the ground. He held on, and the Giants held on the pull off the greatest upset in the history of the Super Bowl.
3. Super Bowl 38. Not only famous for Nipplegate, this featured arguably the greatest second half in the Super Bowl ever. Neither the Patriots nor Panthers were backing down, and both teams were ripping off scoring drives and plays in the second half that stunned everyone. You felt exhausted after watching this game. But exhilarated, too.
2. Super Bowl 36. Not many would pick this game as high, but it was the game that put both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady on the map. It was Belichick's innovative defense that stymied and slowed the menacing Rams offense, led by Kurt Warner. They disrupted the timing, changed the routes, and generally knocked the Rams off their game. Just a little. But Brady, in his second year but first as a starter, was facing long odds with the game on the line. John Madden was insistent in his opinion that the Patriots should just sit back (the game was in a 17-17 tie) and wait for overtime; he was adamantly against the Patriots allowing this young kid to try his hand at winning the game in the 4th quarter. Of course, they did it, sealed when Adam Vinateri nailed the game-winner.
1. Super Bowl 43. The momentum swings in this game are just impossible to overlook. The 100-yard TD return for a touchdown as the first half's last play guaranteed a memorable game no matter what else, but then the Cardinals and Steelers decided to give it a real go. Fitzgerald's splitting the defense and easily coasting to the touchdown with 3 some minutes to go in the fourth was just the appetizer to set the scene. It culminated in easily the most beautiful, most difficult and most amazing pitch-and-catch play that sealed a Super Bowl title. Montana to Taylor was an easy pass. So was Manning to Burress. But Roethlisberger to Holmes was the kind of play that will live on forever, and it was the just the topper to what was a terrific game.
We're lucky, in a way, that finally (FINALLY) the NFL's championship game has featured competitive, memorable games for most of the games played in the past 10 or 12 years. Before that, it was really hit or miss. Wide Right was followed by 3-straight clunkers - the Bills getting their butts handed to them. Two intense Niner/Bengal Super Bowls were dotted around the Bears dismantling of the Patriots, or the Redskins destroying the Broncos. How the AFC was that weak for so long is a mystery. But we've had well-played and competitive games now for long enough that some may have finally forgotten those awful earlier games.
So there it is. My list. For what its worth.
Keep in my that worst and best are filtered through what I tend to want to see in a football game. So there's always room for discussion! And despite a Pittsburgh heritage, I won't pick SB 30 as the worst ever, even though the Steelers lost.
The Worst.
5. 40. Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10. Not only did it feature the worst performance by a winning quarterback ever, the officiating was iffy at best, ticky-tack constantly, and atrocious (if you're a Seattle fan). But there was nothing all that entertaining about the game itself. It was kind of boring.
4 - 2. Super Bowls 29, 26, 22, 20, 19, 18 - all awful blowouts. I'm missing a few. But they were bad, BAD games. The headliner in this bunch is probably the Niners 5th title over the Chargers; the Niners were perfect and the Chargers totally inept. That night.
1. Super Bowl 24. The Niners 55, the Broncos 10. Seriously, the AFC's best team is 45 points worse than the NFC's best team? ACK!
Dishonorable Mention: 41. Although Peyton won his, and Hester had has game-opening TD, it was played in rain and was a boring game. Blah.
Now for the best. And this is a lot tougher.
Our nominees are: 43 - late-game Arizona comeback only to be foiled by Ben to Santonio. And James Harrison's TD. 42. The newest and most impressive SB upset ever, and of course The Catch - Manning to Tyree. 38 - Patriots and Panthers played a second-half for the ages, and neither team was giving in. 36 - Patriots pulled off the next-greatest upset in SB history, slowing the Greatest Show on Turf Rams using innovating defenses. Honorable Mention: Brady going down the field while John Madden spluttered about how stupid it was. 34 - Rams/Titans - the Greatest Show on Turf got its win...by a scant yard. 23 - the Niners break the hearts of Cincinnati again with another 4th quarter Joe Montana game-winning drive. Wasn't this game where Tim Krumrie broke his leg and the TV people showed it 10 million times? I remember almost puking. 13 - under the more recent runs of terrific games, the best Super Bowl played to that point. 10 - Swann and the Steelers make lasting impressions. 8. The Dolphins cap an undefeated season. 3 - the Jets of the AFL - behind Joe Namath's guarantee - pull off the then-upset of the forever by beating the heavily favored Colts.
5. Super Bowl 3. Historically speaking, this is the most important of the Super Bowls. It put the AFL on the map, and played a large role in forcing the AFL and NFL to finally get with the program, and merge. But it was a huge upset, and that made it all the more historical. The names in the game are pure legends - Namath and Unitas lead the way. The Jets found a way to win. That's what makes it one of the best ever.
4. Super Bowl 42. The Patriots had a chance at not only setting a modern-day mark of being the 2nd team to go undefeated, but it would have been 19 games in a row, 3 better than Miami's 16. They were a juggernaut offense that year, with Brady and Moss and Welker doing things to defenses that made them look silly. The Giants never got the memo and used a punishing front-four pass rush to knock Brady around all game long. But it will forever be remembered for The Catch. Eli escaped the clutches of Patriot defenders, looked and heaved, and David Tyree leaped skyward, catching the ball then trapping it against his helmet as he crashed to the ground. He held on, and the Giants held on the pull off the greatest upset in the history of the Super Bowl.
3. Super Bowl 38. Not only famous for Nipplegate, this featured arguably the greatest second half in the Super Bowl ever. Neither the Patriots nor Panthers were backing down, and both teams were ripping off scoring drives and plays in the second half that stunned everyone. You felt exhausted after watching this game. But exhilarated, too.
2. Super Bowl 36. Not many would pick this game as high, but it was the game that put both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady on the map. It was Belichick's innovative defense that stymied and slowed the menacing Rams offense, led by Kurt Warner. They disrupted the timing, changed the routes, and generally knocked the Rams off their game. Just a little. But Brady, in his second year but first as a starter, was facing long odds with the game on the line. John Madden was insistent in his opinion that the Patriots should just sit back (the game was in a 17-17 tie) and wait for overtime; he was adamantly against the Patriots allowing this young kid to try his hand at winning the game in the 4th quarter. Of course, they did it, sealed when Adam Vinateri nailed the game-winner.
1. Super Bowl 43. The momentum swings in this game are just impossible to overlook. The 100-yard TD return for a touchdown as the first half's last play guaranteed a memorable game no matter what else, but then the Cardinals and Steelers decided to give it a real go. Fitzgerald's splitting the defense and easily coasting to the touchdown with 3 some minutes to go in the fourth was just the appetizer to set the scene. It culminated in easily the most beautiful, most difficult and most amazing pitch-and-catch play that sealed a Super Bowl title. Montana to Taylor was an easy pass. So was Manning to Burress. But Roethlisberger to Holmes was the kind of play that will live on forever, and it was the just the topper to what was a terrific game.
We're lucky, in a way, that finally (FINALLY) the NFL's championship game has featured competitive, memorable games for most of the games played in the past 10 or 12 years. Before that, it was really hit or miss. Wide Right was followed by 3-straight clunkers - the Bills getting their butts handed to them. Two intense Niner/Bengal Super Bowls were dotted around the Bears dismantling of the Patriots, or the Redskins destroying the Broncos. How the AFC was that weak for so long is a mystery. But we've had well-played and competitive games now for long enough that some may have finally forgotten those awful earlier games.
So there it is. My list. For what its worth.
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