Greatest Super Bowl?

Ah, sorry Peter. Not even close.

Last night's Super Bowl (in spite of Roger Goodell's pronouncement at the trophy ceremony that the NFL somehow topped last year's game) was NOT the greatest of the 43 played.

It reminded me of Super Bowl 38, when a slow, plodding first half between New England and Carolina turned into a good game in the 3rd quarter, and a classic, mind-boggling 4th quarter. (Remember, don't go for two unless absolutely necessary!)

The first half was decent, but got a huge exclamation point with James Harrison's record-setting INT return for a TD. That changes many people's perspective on the entire half, and it shouldn't.

There was a point in the 3rd quarter where I thought Pittsburgh was almost ready to put it away, but credit Arizona's defense for the TWO goal line stands resulting in a 20-7 score after three, rather than 24-7.

The fourth quarter was nuts. Classic II, throwback to five years ago. Both Fitzgerald and Holmes putting on receiving clinics. It was so much fun to watch.

But all this has me thinking......what are the "greatest" Super Bowls of all time? Here are my five, counting down.....

FIRST, the honorable mentions, in no order.

Super Bowl 42: Greatest upset. Period.
Super Bowl 3: Second most important game in football history (after the '58 NFL Championship)
Super Bowl 32: Elway helicopters his way past the Packers and out of futility.
Super Bowl 10: A sloppy game that stayed close and gave us a Hail Mary ending.
Super Bowl 23: An overrated game, with a great winning TD drive from Joe Montana.
Super Bowl 16: The second half of the first SF/Cincy matchup is highly underrated and mostly forgotten, but shouldn't be.

NOW.......(well, there will be six in the five slots....)

5) Super Bowl 34: St. Louis completes the miracle season with the 23-16 win over Tennessee. Caught most of the 2nd half of this game on NFL Network last week. I had forgotten how the flow of that half unfolded. And not just the Warner story, but the Mike Jones play, leaving Tennessee one yard short. I never did understand why McNair didn't throw it into the end zone. McNair's performance in that fourth quarter was off the chart.

4) Super Bowl 38 and 43 (tie): For the reasons unveiled above. Two fourth quarter classics create fantastic finishes.

3) Super Bowl 13: In my eyes, the game that changed the Super Bowl into "an event", rather than just a "championship sporting event". Pittsburgh vs. Dallas II, Bradshaw vs. Staubach, Hollywood Henderson's mouth, Swann's classic catch for a TD, Dallas' frantic comeback from 18 down, Jackie Smith's TD drop, all the drama you could ask for was in that game. Super Bowl I wasn't even known as Super Bowl I until after the fact. Super Bowl III was stunning. But Super Bowl XIII was the first "Super" Super Bowl.

2) Super Bowl 36: Against the backdrop of a nation still reeling from 9/11, with Paul McCartney and U2 bringing the nation hope, a then HUGE underdog Patriot team comes in, makes the now memorable "team" entrance, stops the "greatest show on turf", and punches right back after Warner and Company scored the tying TD. John Madden said at the time it would be smart for the Pats to prepare for overtime. Good thing for Tom Brady he had his coach on the in-helmet speaker. This young guy from nowhere moves his team down the field and Adam Vinatieri calmly nails the winning FG (from 47 yards no less!) for the Super upset.

1) Super Bowl 25: I will be accused of being biased due to me being a Giants fan. But note, Super Bowl 42 isn't in the top five, and I've been a Raider fan even longer and none of their Super Bowls made the list (no cliffhangers....but lots of Cliff Branch!) So, hear (read) me out......

It's early 1991, and America is less than ten days removed from entering Operation Desert Storm. Whitney Houston's rendition of our National Anthem is still the greatest I've ever heard. The nation was at a critical moment.

Enter two football teams from different roads. Buffalo had been building and building into a team capable of winning it all, and 1990 had seemed to be their year. The fast-paced offense, a defeat of their Super Bowl foes in the regular season (the game where Phil Simms blew out his knee), and a complete blowout of the Raiders in the AFC Championship.

Then there's the New York Giants. Someone forgot to tell them that the 49ers were supposed to be going for the "three-peat", because the Giants traveled west, and shocked San Francisco to become the party crasher.

So the Giants come onto the field a decisive underdog to the Buffalo Bills. Somehow, Jeff Hostetler had handled the pressure of having to rally the team behind him and he was the starting QB in Tampa that Sunday night, having led them through the playoffs.

The game was close all the way, many critical moments that could have decided it, but two drives will forever be etched in Super Bowl history.

---If you are a running football team, and you are playing a team with a prolific offense, the blueprint for a drive is the opening drive of the 3rd quarter for the New York Giants. 14 plays, 75 yards. 5 passes, 9 runs, taking 9:29 off the clock. The Giants now had the lead at 17-12 after being down 12-3. Buffalo didn't run an offensive play until nearly 10 minutes of the 3rd quarter were gone.

---The final drive. First, the set-up. Buffalo scores the go-ahead TD on the first play of the fourth. The Giants proceed to run another long drive....13 plays, 74 yards, taking another 7:32 off the clock, kicking a field goal to go up 20-19. They exchange drives, setting up Buffalo at their own 10, 2:16 to go.

Jim Kelly has to scramble for yardage three times on the drive, and two huge "shotgun draws" to Thurman Thomas get the Bills to the Giants 29 with eight seconds left.

We all know the next play. The underdogs survive, the backup quarterback comes through and the 20-19 upset was a final.

THAT is the greatest Super Bowl of all time.

What's your pick? :)