The Super Bowl: The Top 5 Games

The Super Bowl and "Super Sunday" has become a true American holiday, a spectacle where even those who have no rooting interest in either participant come together with family and friends to watch the biggest football game of the year, and maybe catch a funny commercial or two.

From this uniquely American spectacle springs a truly international phenomenon: the Top 5 List. The following are this author's choices for the Top 5 Super Bowl games of all time:

Super Bowl XXXII - 1998

Denver Broncos 31 - Green Bay Packers 24

The Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl for the fifth time in their history and hoping to finally win the championship for their veteran quarterback John Elway. The rumors were that he would retire following the game. The Green Bay Packers, on the other hand, were the defending champions after having defeated the New England Patriots the previous year. Quarterback Brett Favre had won his third consecutive MVP and had passed for 35 touchdowns in 1997. Green Bay was 11 ½ point favorites over the AFC Champions in the game.

With 1:45 on the clock, the Packers had the opportunity to tie the game. The Packers advanced the ball to Denvers' 31 yard line, but Favre's next two passes fell incomplete and on 4^th and 6 to go, John Mobley broke up a Favre to Mark Chmura pass to seal the victory for the Broncos and John Elway.

Elway, it is worth noting, not only did not retire at the end of the 1997 season, but led the Broncos back to their second Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl XXXIII over the Atlanta Falcons.

Super Bowl III - 1969

New York Jets 16 - Baltimore Colts 7

The Baltimore Colts of the National Football League were a bit of a surprise champion, after having been led to a 13-1 record by a journeyman quarterback when super star Johnny Unitas went down injured.

No one considered the upstart New York Jets - from the junior American Football League - up to the challenge of beating the battle tested Baltimore squad. They had already lost to the Oakland Raiders once in the season and barely squeaked by the Raiders in the AFL Championship game, but had found ways of winning all season long.

After having won the first two NFL-AFL World Championship games in handy fashion, the NFL was seeking to demonstrate their dominance, while the AFL was trying to demonstrate their credentials. In the days before the game, the Jets' young quarterback Joe Namath boldly predicted a victory for the upstart Jets. Still, they entered the game as 18-point underdogs, one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game.

As it turned out, the Colts turned the ball over 4 times and the Jets capitalized on their blunders, holding the Colts scoring to a lone touchdown. This game cemented the AFL as an equal partner in the merger of the two leagues and cemented the Super Bowl as the game we know today.

Super Bowl XXXIV - 2000

St. Louis Rams 23 - Tennessee Titans 16

The St. Louis Rams were the "Greatest Show on Turf" and entered the game looking for their first championship since 1951. The Titans had won the AFL Championship as the Houston Oilers, but had never played a Super Bowl.

Kurt Warner, the Rams quarterback, was an undrafted free agent and began the year as a back up to starter Trent Green, but after Green was injured, Warner became the everyday starter. In the Super Bowl he threw for 414 yards without an interception and was awarded the MVP, but that was only part of the story.

This game is known for the final play of the game, nicknamed "the Tackle." The Titans took possession with 1:54 left on their own 10-yard line. With 6 second left, and on the Rams 10 yard line, As time clicked down, Titans quarterback Steve McNair hit wide receiver Kevin Dyson with hopes of tying the game and forcing the first over time in the history of the Super Bowl. As the clock struck 0:00, Linebacker Mike Jones tackled an outstretched Dyson at the 1 yard line, preserving the Rams victory.

Super Bowl XXV - 1991

New York Giants 20 - Buffalo Bills 19

With 2:16 left in the game, Buffalo trailed by 1-point after having taken the lead 19-17 at the beginning of the fourth with a 63-yard, 4-play scoring drive. The Bills took possession of the ball on their own 10-yard line. In 8-plays and with 8 seconds showing on the clock, the Bills had advanced to the Giants 29-yard line setting up a 47-yard field goal attempt for kicker Scott Norwood.

Norwood, 31 at the time, had a rough season. Of 29 field goal attempts, he made only 18 for a little better than 62%. Of course, the Bills were such an offensive juggernaut that the kicking position was a bit of an afterthought.

In the biggest kick of his life, and to that point, the biggest kick in Super Bowl history, the ball was snapped and placed perfectly. The kick went up and...sailed wide right. With 4 seconds showing on the clock, the New York Football Giants and head coach Bill Parcells were the NFL Champions.

Super Bowl XXXVI - 2002

New England Patriots 20 - St. Louis Rams 17

If Super Bowl XXXIV was a fairy tale for Rams' quarterback Kurt Warner, Super Bowl XXXVI was no less a fairy tale for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. By 2001, the Rams had cemented their catchphrase of "Greatest Show on Turf" in the minds of the football watching public and were considered to be the prime candidate for the Super Bowl Championship through most of the season.

The Patriots, on the other hand, had gotten off to an 0-1 start when star quarterback Drew Bledsoe was hit by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis in the second game of the season. As it turned out, the injury was not only career threatening, but life threatening as well. Former 6^th round draft pick Tom Brady, who had started the preseason as the third quarterback, quickly found himself leading the Patriots.

By the time the teams met in November, the Patriots were 5-4, but lost in a hard fought game in Foxborough. It would be the last time the Pats would lose that season.

The Pats went into the game as 14 point underdogs, but quickly rocketed out to a 14-point lead on the strength of a Ty Law interception return for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter though, the Rams demonstrated the offensive prowess that had landed them in the Championship, tying the score at 17 after Patriots linebacker Willie McGinnest was called for holding on a play Kurt Warner had fumbled the ball at the Patriots goal line; a ball that was returned the length of the field for another Patriots touchdown. With 1:30 left on the clock, the score was tied, but the Patriots had one more possession.

With no timeouts remaining, the Patriots took possession. Brady completed three passes to running back JR Redmond, and with 33 seconds left, the ball sat on their 41-yard line. With a 23-yard pass to Troy Brown, who ducked out of bounds to stop the clock with the ball on the Rams' 36-yard line. Brady then completed a pass to tight end Jermaine Wiggins to advance the ball to the Rams' 30-yard line. With 7 seconds remaining on the clock, Brady spiked the ball and set up a 48-yard field goal attempt for Adam Vinatieri.

The call from the Patriots radio network: "The ball is down, the kick is up and it...is...GOOD!" marking the first Patriots world championship and the first time the Super Bowl was decided with a score on the last play of the game.

REFERENCES:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/super/superbowl-xxv-plays.htm

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/norwosco01.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_III

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXIV

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXII

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/3264720

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVI