The Super Bowl is kind of my thing, or at least, one of the things that I'm very much into. I certainly don't love the NFL to the exclusion of other sports, or anything. But ever since I was a little kid, younger than my own son is right now as I write this, I was taken in by the NFL, and particularly by the Super Bowl.
To be sure, there are some things that I am not so thrilled with. Not a big fan of the nationalism that sometimes borders on xenophobia that is unfortunately too often on prominent display, even too often seemingly officially sanctioned by the league. That I can do without.
Also, the NFL seems to have gotten too heavily swayed by the corporate feel that has unfortunately swept the nation, and indeed, much of the world. You might think that sports would be relatively exempt from that, but you would be wrong. Far from being exempt, sports is often where the ridiculous excesses of our corporate culture are on most obvious display. There are advertisements everywhere you go, there are fluff stories that the press puts out, there is price gauging on a massive scale (and it seems that it may finally be impacting ticket sales, as I recently put up a blog entry on an article revealing that three of the four teams hosting wild card games a couple of weeks ago were struggling to sell out their tickets). Player salaries are completely out of control in far too many cases.
These problems are certainly not unique to football. In fact, I'm not even sure the worst of it is in NFL football, where there are generally more players on teams than in other sports, making incredibly huge salaries for one or two players virtually impossible. Some basketball salaries are preposterously high. And baseball, with "role models" like A-Rod "earning" a quarter of a billion dollars?
Nah. All of that is a big turn-off. Hell, it's certainly not restricted to North American sports, either. The salaries for, say, mega stars in soccer (elsewhere it is rightfully known as football) are also just as outrageous, as well.
There are other problems with sports, as well. We surely all know a few sports nuts who seem to revolve their lives around sports. Overgrown children who, when they are not playing video games, are either watching sports or sports highlights, and/or perhaps listening to sports radio. In some cases of people that I know, or have known, personally, there are some guys who's only reading are sports articles. Anyone walking through an NFL Stadium parking lot before game time, and seeing some of the sports nuts who go to extremes in decorating their cars and wearing the latest team gear, and otherwise finding any and all possible ways to display their team loyalty. Sometimes, they appear to be living, walking, talking billboards - when they are not too inebriated, that is.
All that said, sports can be good. I enjoy playing them and, although my enthusiasm for needing to watch the game every Sunday has died down considerably, I can still get into it from time to time.
And the Super Bowl was one thing that, no matter what, I really enjoy following and watching, and have done so since Super Bowl XVI. It just seems to me that the Super Bowl offers a little something that the championships in other sports generally do not. The only single event that can rival it is the World Cup (of soccer), but that only happens ever four years. Also, since it happens so infrequently, there is not quite as much of a chance to develop rivalries on a championship level, like there are in some of the other sports. Perhaps in league play there would be, but it appears also that there are multiple distinctions that you can earn in individual leagues in Europe, and that the regular season plays a far more important role than it does in the NFL (which can be both good and bad). In basketball, baseball, and hockey, you do have strong rivalries. But you also have series. If your team makes it to the finals, and then wins the first game, they still have three more to win. Not every game will necessarily be fascinating, either. Too many games can kind of get in the way, sometimes.
The Super Bowl brings it all together in one shot. The two teams that survived to that point play in a winner takes all game. One mistake, or one huge play, can turn the tide of the game. Thus, the importance of every moment is greatly magnified. Everything is tremendously enhanced, and that makes it captivating.
Of course, the NFL playoffs are like that, and in this case, their is a major sports tournament that also captivates people for the same reason. That would be the March Madness college basketball tournament in March. But there is not quite as much emphasis on the final game in that tournament. Most people come up with their brackets, and then look for the big upset, like Lehigh upsetting Duke a couple of years ago. I remember Duke also enjoying their own spectacular upset over previously undefeated UNLV back in 1991, when UNLV had seemed destined to win the whole thing, and be remembered as the most dominant team in NCAA history ever. You never know what is going to happen.
But, of course, that is a college sport. Sometimes, when you watch college basketball, you can see the difference in terms of speed and talent from the pros. These can be exploited when the better teams play the weaker teams. For example, Lehigh may have managed to upend Duke, but they were not good enough to win their very next game, and so were knocked out of the tournament, which might suggest that they were simply lucky, and that their luck ran out in the second game.
In the NFL, there are also upsets like that. You just never know these days when a seemingly weak and overlooked team like, say, the 2008 Arizona Cardinals are going to get hot and just take off. They were underdogs week in and week out, but they just kept winning, and almost won the Super Bowl!
That was Super Bowl XLIII, and I would indeed rate that as one of the very finest Super Bowls. Perhaps the finest was the one that came before that, when the Giants, like Duke in 1991, knocked off the undefeated Patriots, who like UNLV in 1991, were expected to be considered the greatest team in league history.
Now, here's the thing: as a Giants fan, you might expect me to pick my favorite Super Bowl memory as that one.
But it's not. In fact, my favorite memory is a Giants Super Bowl win, but it goes back to 1991 itself. The Giants were struggling towards the end of the 1990 season, and some were beginning to think that they might get knocked out of the playoffs right away. When they finally hosted the Bears, they demolished them, 31-3. But that earned them a trip back to San Francisco, where they had lost only a month or so before, to the dynasty Niners, who were famously trying to three-peat. San Francisco was favored, of course. But the Giants kept up with them in what I still think may have been the most intense football game that I ever saw, with both team physically and mentally pounding on one another. The defenses were two of the best in the league that year, even though the 49ers were more famous for their offense. Only one touchdown was scored the entire afternoon, and that was by San Francisco. But the Giants settled for field goals, for the safe points, all the way through, and it was enough to put them in position for a winning field goal as time expired. Down 13-12 on the final play, Matt Bahr kicked his team into the Super Bowl, setting up my favorite Super Bowl memory:
1. Super Bowl XXV - Buffalo had perhaps the hottest offense in the league in the 1990 season, and they were on fire in the playoffs, beating Miami 44-34 in a game that was not as close as the score would suggest, and then simply overwhelming the hapless Raiders, 51-3, to earn the right to qualify for the Super Bowl, their first ever. The Giants, in the meanwhile, had barely squeaked by, and so the Bills were strongly favored. They had also already beaten the Giants at Giants Stadium just a month before. Things were not looking good. But Parcells had a ball control strategy to keep Buffalo's hot offense off the field, and it worked wonderfully, keeping the Giants in a game against a team that I can now admit was the better team on the field that day. Physically, the Giants pounded Buffalo, keeping the ball for a record 40:27, and making sure the receivers on the Bills paid for every catch that they made, ever route that they ran. It was a very physical game. It also was a contrast in styles, and became rather like a chess match. Both teams had enjoyed their runs at points in the game, and both teams made some spectacular plays. In the end, it came down to two minutes, with the Giants up by a single point, 20-19, and the Bills driving to try and win it. Fittingly, it came down to what both units were best known for: Buffalo's offense versus New York's defense. The Bills had a pretty good drive, and got to field goal range. Then, of course, came the famous moment. Scott Norwood trotted onto the field for a 47-yard field goal attempt. He kicked it strong enough, and it had the distance. But it was wide right by maybe two feet, and that was enough to secure the Giants their second Super Bowl victory in five seasons. An incredible memory that still resonates with me more than either of their two most recent Super Bowl wins, and that is why I give it the top spot.
2. Super Bowl XLII - I'm sorry. This is unfair. But I am a Giants fan, and they did play some very good Super Bowls. That included Super Bowl XXV, which i already listed. But that also includes the rivalry with the New England Patriots. And out of those two games, Super Bowl XLII was the best. I mean, the Patriots were undefeated, and many had already designated them the best team of all time. More points than any team had ever scored before. More touchdowns passes thrown by a quarterback (Tom Brady). On average, a greater margin of victory against their opponents than any team had ever enjoyed before in history. And just one game away from football immortality. But the Giants pass rush brutalized Brady and the Patriots, and allowed New York to hang in there, effectively shutting down that historic New England offense. And then, of course, that very memorable fourth quarter, with the Giants taking the lead with a Dave Tyree touchdown catch early in the fourth, to give the Giants the lead at 10-7. New England responded, with a very strong drive capped with a Brady to Moss TD pass with a couple of minutes left, retaking the lead, 14-10. Then, the final drive, with the Giants marching down the field. That memorable pass, when Manning got out of a sure sack, to complete a wobbly pass to Tyree, which might just be the most famous pass in NFL history, and certainly is in Super Bowl history. Capping that with a touchdown pass from Manning to Burress, for another Giants lead, at 17-14. Then, the Giants "D" shutting down the Patriots offense in the final minute, to secure the improbable victory. What an unbelievable Super Bowl! It reinforced why people watch this game in particular, because anything can happen on this day.
3. Super Bowl XXX - I am trying not to fill this list up too much with the Giants. My very favorite memory was, indeed, Norwood's miss giving the Giants the Super Bowl title. But after that, the Giants winning Super Bowl XXI, their first ever, or beating the unbeaten Pats for their third Super Bowl title, or then beating them again for their fourth just a couple of years ago, would begin to sound repetitive. So, let me go to my favorite Super Bowl not involving the Giants. Super Bowl XXX was awesome, because it reignited an old Super Bowl rivalry - probably the greatest rivalry in the history of the Super Bowl: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys. It was a really great match-up, although everyone assumed the Cowboys would win. The setting for the game was beautiful, in the warm, desert sunshine of Arizona. The Cowboys dictated the tempo early and often, and it looked like they were capable of blowing out Pittsburgh. But the Steel Curtain held the Cowboys in terms of point, bending but not breaking, and allowing an O'Donnell pass to Thigpen just before the half allowing the Steelers to jump right back in the game. Dallas got a touchdown early in the second half, but in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh got a field goal, then recovered an onside kick, to give themselves a chance. They capitalized, with a touchdown, and the momentum was all Pittsburgh. When they stopped Dallas on the next possession, and got the ball back, it was starting to get really interesting. But, then O'Donnell threw that interception right to Larry Brown of the Cowboys, and Dallas sealed the deal with an Emmitt Smith touchdown late in the fourth. Still, not a bad game, and a wonderful Super Bowl in terms of match-up and aesthetics.
5. Super Bowl XXXVIII - This one tends to be underrated. People forgot just how well these two teams played on this day. Perhaps a part of it, too, was that the game was kind of overshadowed by the "wardrobe malfunction" of the halftime show, when Janet Jackson's very brief (and incomplete) boob exposure took center stage. But the game itself was a lassic, with the upstart Carolina Panthers, just two seasons removed from a 1-15 season, had an amazing run through the NFC playoffs, and took on the heavily favored New England Patriots. It was scoreless through the entire first quarter, and even well into the second, with storng defensive efforts by both teams. But then, there was a foreshadowing of events to come, as the two teams combined for an explosive flurry of points just before the half. New England led, 14-10, Then, it became another defensive, strategic stalemate in the third quarter, with no points scored. But the fourth quarter was the most explosive in Super Bowl history, and the two teams just kept scoring points, and testing each other to the limit. Carolina crawled their way back from a 21-10 deficit to roar back to life, and the Patriots suddenly were reeling. New England managed a touchdown, but Carolina still managed to tie it at 29-29. But the Patriots, with very little time left on the clock, had the opportunity to move the ball, much like they had two years before against the St. Louis Rams. They positioned themselves into field goal range, and also, just like two years before, Adam Vinatieri calmly kicked the ball through the uprights to give the Patriots another Super Bowl victory with virtually no time left. It was New England's second title in three years, and they would hang on and win again the next year, earning the right to be recognized as a dynasty.
So, I have to say that today's game could end up being a classic. it is a classic contrast in styles, and it also features two very strong, and seemingly evenly matched teams. Both have played very well all season, and both seem ready to play exceptionally well for this Super Bowl. Of course, that does not guarantee a great Super Bowl, but it also certainly doesn't hurt. I'm sticking with my prediction that the Broncos will win. But I also think that this could be a very close game, and could well qualify as one of the all-time great Super Bowls! Let's hope it's a great game, and I hope all of you enjoy it!
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