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Super Stars A look at the moments to remember & those to forget
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Posted by: min0 lee
By GARY MYERS
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Broadway Joe Namath
..
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... makes good on his guarantee that Jets would win Super Bowl III, leading Gang Green of the AFL over the favored Colts of the NFL to bring home first Lombardi Trophy to upstart league.
John Elway lays it all out to win Super Bowl XXXII, even getting spun like a helicopter picking up a crucial first down late in the game en route to first of two Lombardi Trophies.
The Super Bowl celebrates its 40th birthday next Sunday. It has come a long way from the opening act between the Packers and Chiefs played on Jan. 15, 1967. Tickets were priced at $6, $10 and $12, but there were about 30,000 empty seats at the Los Angeles Coliseum. This year's game between the Seahawks and Steelers at Ford Field in Detroit is priced at $600 and $700, and tickets are treated as gold.
There have been so many memorable Super Bowl moments. Here are our top 40:
1. GUARANTEED
Super Bowl III
Jets 16, Colts 7
Joe Willie Namath stood before the Miami Touchdown Club three days before the game and set the standard for pregame bravado. He said the AFL's Jets, 17-point underdogs, would beat the mighty NFL Colts, who lost only once all year. "I guarantee it," Namath said.
A legend was born when he led the Jets to the most stunning upset in pro football history. Namath didn't put up big numbers. He was 17-of-28 for 206 yards with no TDs or INTs. His longest completion was 39 yards. But he managed the game perfectly and was on target with the guarantee.
"I asked Joe what possessed him to do such a thing," Jets coach Weeb Ewbank once said. "I said, 'Don't you know Shula will use this to fire up his team?' Joe said, "Coach, if they need press clippings to get ready, they're in trouble.'"
2. WHAT A BOOB
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Patriots 32, Panthers 29
When Justin Timberlake sang at halftime to Janet Jackson, 'Let's do something, let's make a bet, 'cause I gotta have you naked by the end of this song,' he wasn't kidding. Then came the infamous "wardrobe malfunction," when Timberlake pulled a covering off Jackson's right breast to reveal, well, her right breast. The NFL was repulsed, despite scantily clad cheerleaders on some of its teams' Web sites.
3. HEY, IT'S JOHN CANDY
Super Bowl XXIII
49ers 20, Bengals 16
Before Joe Montana took the first snap on an 11-play 92-yard game-winning drive, the greatest in Super Bowl history, Joe Cool carried on what had to be the funniest conversation in a Super Bowl huddle.
"Hey, H," Montana said to tackle Harris Barton.
"Yeah," Barton said.
"Look down there in the far corner of the stands. That's John Candy," Montana said.
"That is John Candy. What's he doing there?" Barton said.
Montana injected levity into a tense moment. He then hit John Taylor with a 10-yard TD pass with 34 seconds left. Footnote: Montana was 8-for-9 on the drive. The only pass he missed is when he hyperventilated - yes, Joe Cool gets excited - at the line of scrimmage and had the poise to chuck the ball out of bounds.
4. WIDE RIGHT
Super Bowl XXV
Giants 20, Bills 19
Scott Norwood was faced with the most pressure in Super Bowl history. His 47-yard kick with four seconds left would either win or lose it. The last-second kicks by Jim O'Brien's in Super Bowl V and Adam Vinatieri later on in Super Bowls XXXVI and XXVIII came with the game tied.
The atmosphere at Tampa Stadium was electric. The Bills were holding hands. The Giants were praying. Norwood hit it solidly, but it started out right and never came back. It didn't miss by much. He never thinks about how life would have been different if he kicked it straighter.
"Why bother doing that?" he said. "It's fruitless to do that. As with any experience in life, sometimes bad times happen to good people. Life is not fair. It made me better in a lot of ways."
5. NEARLY PERFECT
Super Bowl XXI
Giants 39, Broncos 20
Phil Simms was feeling it on the way to the Rose Bowl. He knew he had a big game in him. "If I look back on my career, it's probably the one game where, no question, I had a chance of completing every pass," he said. He was 22-of-25 - his 88% is a playoff record. All three incompletions came in the second quarter. He made a case that all three could have been completed.
6. ONE YARD SHORT
Super Bowl XXXIV
Rams 23, Titans 16
After Kurt Warner hit Isaac Bruce with a 73-yard TD pass with 1:54 remaining, Steve McNair moved the Titans to the Rams' 10 yard line with six seconds left. The Titans called the play 'Z Sliver.' McNair hit Kevin Dyson on a slant at the 3, but Mike Jones made a Super Bowl-saving tackle at the 1. Dyson hopelessly stretched out trying to get to the goal line.
"It's sad," McNair said. "It's just a sick feeling," Dyson said.
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7. MAKING HISTORY
Super Bowl XXII
Redskins 42, Broncos 10
Doug Williams' biggest concern was not being the first black quarterback to start in the Super Bowl. The day before the game, he needed three hours of root canal surgery.
He threw for four touchdowns, all in an amazing 35-point second quarter. He threw for 340 yards, then a Super Bowl record, and was named MVP. Supposedly, Williams was asked during Super Bowl week, "How long have you been a black quarterback?" Williams is still the only black quarterback to win the Super Bowl. McNair (Titans) and Donovan McNabb (Eagles) have lost.
8. THE BRADY BUNCH I
Super Bowl XXXVI
Patriots 20, Rams 17
Tom Brady established himself as a big-game quarterback. After the Rams tied it at 17 with 1:30 left on Kurt Warner's 26-yard pass to Ricky Proehl, Brady, with no timeouts, led the Patriots from their 17 to the Rams' 30 and into position for Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard game-winning field goal on the game's last play.
9. ELWAY'S HELICOPTER RIDE
Super Bowl XXXII
Broncos 31, Packers 24
John Elway, in his 15th season, was the sentimental favorite after getting blown out by a combined 136-40 in his first three Super Bowls. He helped put the Broncos ahead by going on a 180-degree helicopter ride after being hit, picking up a huge first down on a third and 6 from the Packers' 12 in the third quarter. He ran eight yards for the first down, giving up his body and getting flipped into the air by LeRoy Butler and Mike Prior. He threw for just 123 yards.
"This one's for John," Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said, holding the trophy on the podium.
"I was hoping someday I would get up here," Elway said.
10. WHITNEY HOUSTON
Super Bowl XXV
Giants 20, Bills 19
The Persian Gulf War had just begun, security at Tampa Stadium was tight and Whitney Houston sang one of the most stirring and emotional renditions of the national anthem. Her performance - she sang along to a version she prerecorded days earlier - became a big seller and was talked about almost as much as the game, a classic which ended on Norwood's miss.
11. BUTT OUT
Super Bowl XX
Bears 46, Patriots 10
The fun-loving Bears ruled Bourbon St. Jim McMahon became the Super Bowl's most famous acupuncture patient, needing treatments for his lower back and upper left buttock from Hiroshi Shiraishi, a trainer for Japan's national track team. McMahon decided to display the treated area by mooning a television news helicopter circling over a Bears practice. "No big deal," McMahon said. "I just wanted to show him where it hurt."
12. A VERY BRADY SEQUEL
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Patriots 32, Panthers 29
Where have we seen this before? Proehl, now with the Panthers, scored the tying touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Jake Delhomme with 1:08 remaining. This time, Brady moved from his 40 to the Panthers' 23, setting up Vinatieri's 41-yard game-winner with four seconds left. "It was a tough game to coach," Bill Belichick said. "I was having a heart attack out there."
13. NFL PRIDE
Super Bowl I
Packers 35, Chiefs 10
It wasn't called the Super Bowl until the Jets-Colts game. This was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. It was a matter of pride for the established league. The Packers, who had already won three NFL championships in the '60s, knew they couldn't afford to lose.
They led 14-10 at the half, but Bart Starr had an outstanding game, completing 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two TDs. "I think the Kansas City team is a real top football team, but doesn't compare with the National Football League teams," Packers coach Vince Lombardi said. "That's what you want me to say. I said it."
14. THE IMPERFECT PASS
Super Bowl VII
Dolphins 14, Redskins 7
The Dolphins were up, 14-0, late in the fourth quarter and closing in on a perfect 17-0 season. Garo Yepremian was about to make the score a symbolic 17-0. But his 42-yard field goal was blocked and Yepremian picked up the ball and tried to throw it. It was hilarious. He floated it right to Washington's Mike Bass, who went 49 yards for a touchdown with 2:07 left. Had Yepremian cost the Dolphins the Super Bowl and their perfect season, they would have made him walk home from Los Angeles. "This is the first time the goat of the game is in the winning locker room," he said.
15. 9/11 TRIBUTE
Super Bowl XXXVI
Patriots 20, Rams 17
There was an emotional tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks at halftime at the Superdome. The group U2 sang, "Where The Streets Have No Name," as the thousands of names of those who died were projected on a cloth screen. During the singing of the national anthem, an American flag that survived the collapse of the Twin Towers was featured.
16. CLASSIC QBS
Super Bowl XIX
49ers 38, Dolphins 16
The best QB matchup in Super Bowl history: Joe Montana, already with one ring, vs. Dan Marino, who threw for 5,084 yards and 48 TDs that season, his second year in the NFL. Montana outplayed Marino. Montana was 24-of-35 for 331 yards and three TDs and no INTs. Marino was 29-of-50 for 318 yards with one TD and two INTs. "When you hear all week long, 'Miami, Miami, how are you going to stop Miami?' You get to feeling overlooked," Montana said. "Nobody was asking, 'How are they going to stop us?'"
17. SPELLING BEE
Super Bowl XIII
Steelers 35, Cowboys 31
Thomas (Hollywood) Henderson was not impressed with Terry Bradshaw's intelligence. "He couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the 'c' and the 't,'" Henderson said. Bradshaw threw for 318 yards and four TDs. "I didn't say he couldn't play, just that he couldn't spell," Henderson said later. Hollywood later admitted he was sniffing liquefied cocaine on the sidelines during the game. How do you spell that? S-a-d.
18. THE RAY LEWIS SHOW
Super Bowl XXXV
Ravens 34, Giants 7
In the early morning hours after the Super Bowl the year before in Atlanta, two men were stabbed to death and Ray Lewis was charged with double murder. He spent 15 days in jail. The charges were dropped that June afer he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of obstruction of justice. The next year at the Super Bowl it was the Ray Lewis Show: One year he's accused of murder, the next year he's the Super Bowl MVP.
"The scary part about life is: Yeah, I've got money. Yeah, I'm black. Yeah, I'm blessed, but at the same time, let's find out the real truth," Lewis said before the game. "The real truth is this was never about those two kids that are dead in the street. It's about Ray Lewis and that's not right."
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19. AFL MATRICULATES
Super Bowl IV
Chiefs 23, Vikings 7
One year after the Jets shocked the Colts, the Chiefs showed that the AFL was no fluke. Len Dawson's offense was unstoppable and the game made coach Hank Stram a star.
He was miked on the sidelines and the highlights were priceless. At one point, he yelled to his offense, "Let's matriculate the ball down the field, boys."
Whatever that meant, it worked. The Chiefs dominated the game.
20. I'LL HAVE ANOTHER, PLEASE
Super Bowl I
Packers 35, Chiefs 10
Max McGee caught four passes all year, so there didn't seem much risk in partying until 6:30 the morning of the game and showing up with a hangover. But then Boyd Dowler suffered a separated shoulder on the third play. Vince Lombardi sent in McGee.
All McGee did was catch seven passes for 134 yards, including a touchdown of 37 yards on a brilliant one-handed catch in the end zone and another of 13 yards. He was able to cash in on scoring the first touchdown in Super Bowl history. "Better to be known for doing something in your life other than sneaking out the night before the big game," he said.
21. HAPPY HALF DOZEN
Super Bowl XXIX
49ers 49, Chargers 26
Steve Young was never as good as Joe Montana. But being Steve Young was good enough. He set a Super Bowl record by tossing six touchdown passes against a helpless San Diego defense. "I really wish that anyone who has ever played football could feel like this," Young said. "I wish this on everybody. To throw six touchdowns when you get to the big game and play your best game ever, you couldn't ask for more."
22. LEON'S LETT DOWN
Super Bowl XXVII
Cowboys 52, Bills 17
Dallas was up, 52-17, when Leon Lett picked up a fumble by Buffalo backup QB Frank Reich at the Cowboys' 35. When he reached the Buffalo 10, he set the standard for Super Bowl showboating by holding the ball out. Don Beebe raced across the field, caught up to Lett at the Buffalo 1 and knocked the ball through the end zone for a touchback. Jimmy Johnson was furious.
"I guess I could have saved some face if I had made it in, but the score was pretty lopsided," Lett said. "It really didn't matter."
It did to Beebe. "That's what's instilled in a player," he said. "You never quit no matter what the score is, even if you're getting blown out."
23. HELMETGATE
Super Bowl XXVI
Redskins 37, Bills 24
Here's a football player's checklist: Never forget your toothpaste, deodorant or helmet. Thurman Thomas missed the Bills' first two plays when his helmet went AWOL. "I couldn't find it," he said. "I didn't know where it was." He was most upset because the first two plays were running plays. He wound up with only 10 carries for 13 yards in the game. During Super Bowl week, Thomas compared himself to Michael Jordan. Did Jordan ever lose his sneakers?
24. STANLEY WILSON'S NIGHTMARE
Super Bowl XXIII
49ers 20, Bengals 16
On the night before the biggest game of his life, Bengals fullback Stanley Wilson was found in a "cocaine stupor," as he later called it, by a member of the team's staff. He was suspended for the game and never played in the NFL again. He had previously been suspended for the 1985 and 1987 seasons because of cocaine use. He escaped the hotel and walked around Biscayne Blvd. "I thought there was a good chance he was dead," Bengals coach Sam Wyche said years later.
25. MOVE YOUR CAR, MR. VICE PRESIDENT
Super Bowl XVI
49ers 26, Bengals 21
Then-vice president George Bush's motorcade caused a huge traffic jam near the Silverdome. There was also a big bus fire that clogged up traffic. The bus carrying 49ers coach Bill Walsh and half the team got stuck one mile from the stadium and Walsh considered having everybody walk the rest of the way. "It was maybe 15 degrees and the wind was howling," he said. They got there later than they wanted, but in time to win the game.
No sitting president has ever attended the Super Bowl. Since that game in Detroit, Al Gore, in 1994 in Atlanta, is the only sitting vice president to attend.
26. OOPS
Super Bowl XIII
Steelers 35, Cowboys 31
Jackie Smith, a Hall of Fame tight end, was finishing up his career with the Cowboys after coming over from the Cardinals. He was wide open in the end zone. Roger Staubach delivered the ball. Touchdown, Dallas, to tie the game at 21, right? But Smith inexplicably dropped it. "As the ball was coming, I was trying to get down to catch it against my chest," Smith said. "I guess I just wasn't in the right position."
The Cowboys settled for a field goal and lost by four. "Bless his heart," Verne Lundquist said calling the game on the Cowboys' radio station. "He's got to be the sickest man in America."
27. WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Super Bowl XXX
Cowboys 27, Steelers 17
On a team full of superstars, Larry Brown was a no-name until Neil O'Donnell threw two INTs right to him, which Brown returned 44 yards and 33 yards, each setting up a touchdown. "I think people noticed me before, but now everybody does," Brown said. "I find it flattering. I'm not a guy who has an ego or lives for this, but I can enjoy it."
Brown, a free agent after the game, parlayed his big day into a five-year, $12.5 million contract with the Raiders, which included a $3.5 million signing bonus. No word if he sent O'Donnell a thank-you note.
28. JOB HUNTING
Super Bowl XXXI
Packers 35, Patriots 21
The only surprise is Bill Parcells wasn't wearing green on the Patriots sidelines. His eventual move to the Jets was the story of Super Bowl week, dominating the headlines and making the game secondary. He didn't even fly back home with his team. A few weeks later, with Bill Belichick running interference, Parcells was coaching the Jets.
29. A NIGHT OUT FOR EUGENE
Super Bowl XXXIII
Broncos 34, Falcons 19
Falcons safety Eugene Robinson had a lot on his mind as he was getting beat by Rod Smith for an 80-yard touchdown. The day before the game, he received the prestigious Bart Starr Award for high moral character from a religious group. He celebrated that night by getting arrested for solicitation of an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute in a seedy section of Miami. He was offering $40. He left his wife and two kids back in the hotel. "Nobody is interested in your contrition," Robinson said a few years later. "They are only interested in your admission."
30. DOESN'T MAKE UP FOR SUPER BOWL III
Super Bowl V
Colts 16, Cowboys 13 The Colts suffered the embarrassment of being the first NFL team to lose to the AFL in the Super Bowl when they were beaten by the Jets. But two years later, after realignment, they were in the AFC. It was not a well-played game - there were an astounding 11 turnovers. Mike Curtis' pick of a Craig Morton pass set up the Colts for the most compelling finish of a Super Bowl to that point. O'Brien hit a 32-yard field goal with five seconds left, mercifully ending this game before it could go into overtime.
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31. SUPER BOWL SHUFFLE
Super Bowl XX
Bears 46, Patriots 10
It wasn't quite Namath's guarantee, but the Bears' release of the Super Bowl Shuffle music video one month before the game - they recorded it in November - showed an awful lot of confidence. All the big names, including Walter Payton, McMahon and Mike Singletary were in the video, which became a huge hit. "We're not here to start no trouble," they sang. "We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle."
32. T.O.'s ANKLE
Super Bowl XXXIX
Patriots 24, Eagles 21
Just 46 days after having surgery to insert screws after tearing ankle ligaments and fracturing his leg, and then defying his doctor's advice, Terrell Owens played in the Super Bowl. He was the Eagles' best player, catching nine passes for 122 yards. "In this situation, had it been someone like Brett Favre, they would have called him a warrior," Owens said.
It was a courageous performance, but his motive for playing was deemed selfish by critics. "I was selfishly trying to help my team win," he said.
33. ONE-HIT WONDER
Super Bowl XXII
Redskins 42, Broncos 10
Timmy Smith, an unknown rookie, had only 126 yards during the regular season. But Joe Gibbs wanted more outside speed, so he started Smith over George Rogers, although Rogers was introduced with the offense before the game. Smith rushed 22 times for 204 yards, which still stands as a Super Bowl record. He had a 58-yard touchdown run. "I've been ready all along," Smith said. He played only two more years in the league and rushed for just another 476 yards.
34. MARCUS' MAD DASH
Super Bowl XVII
Raiders 38, Redskins 9
The Raiders were way ahead when Marcus Allen took off on the most spectacular run in Super Bowl history. It began as a sweep around end, but he couldn't cut inside a block as planned. So he completely reversed his field, found a hole and was off on a 74-yard touchdown run.
"When I got into the end zone, I looked around for flags," Allen said. "When I saw there weren't any, I got kind of happy."
He finished with 191 yards and the MVP trophy.
35. OPENING THE FRIDGE
Super Bowl XX
Bears 46, Patriots 10
Mike Ditka made a novelty act out of 335-pound rookie defensive tackle William (The Refrigerator) Perry, inserting him in the goal-line offense as a blocking back and ball-carrier. But when he gave him the ball at the 1 and let him score the touchdown that made it 44-3 in the third quarter of the Super Bowl, it was an unintentional slap at the great Walter Payton, who had waited 11 seasons to make it to the Super Bowl, but didn't get into the end zone, which Ditka later called his "greatest regret."
A few days after the game Payton admitted, "I was upset, a little hurt," about not scoring. He said he got over it quickly but, "you work all these years, you want to do well in a big game, and then, something like that takes away from the moment." Payton carried the ball 22 times for only 61 yards in the game.
36. OLD MAN WILLIE!
Super Bowl XI
Raiders 32,Vikings 14
Willie Brown read Fran Tarkenton perfectly, picked off his throw and raced 75 yards for a touchdown, still the longest INT return in Super Bowl history. "When they lined up without a huddle, I knew they were going to pass," Brown said. "I've been around 13 years, so I usually know what a team is going to do in certain situations. "
37. MR. SILENCE
Super Bowl VI
Cowboys 24, Dolphins 3
Duane Thomas rushed for 95 yards, which was more than the number of words than came out of his mouth that season. He was not happy with his contract. He didn't speak one word to Roger Staubach off the field that year. "It was a little weird," Staubach said. After the game, Thomas consented to what became an embarrassing interview with CBS' Tom Brookshier, who went into this long-winded question about Thomas' speed, compared him to Jim Brown, commented on his running style and then asked: "Are you that fast, are you quick, would you say?"
"Evidently," Thomas said.
38. RAID-ING BOURBON ST.
Super Bowl XV
Raiders 27, Eagles 10
This was a victory for Hurricanes, the favored drink of New Orleans, over milk shakes. While Dick Vermeil kept his Eagles from running wild in the French Quarter, the Raiders were combining business with pleasure and dominated Philly. Raiders coach Tom Flores had an 11 p.m. curfew the Wednesday before the game, but after John Matuszak made bed check, he found something to do for the next four hours. "I had to get out a little bit," The Tooz said. "I was wrong. I broke the rules and it cost me a thousand bucks."
39. BARRET ROBBINS ABANDONS SHIP
Super Bowl XXXVII
Bucs 48, Raiders 21
The Raiders' center missed the final two team meetings and walk-through before the game. It was reported that he was drinking in Tijuana. He suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and reportedly had stopped taking his medication. "Having manic depression, going from mania to a depression state. Going all the way, that high, and in the same day ending up that low, is certainly a very helpless feeling," he said. "I felt helpless."
He returned to the team the night before the game and coach Bill Callahan said he was incoherent. He was not allowed to play and spent Super Bowl Sunday in the hospital.
40. MAY I CARRY YOUR BAGS, SIR?
Super Bowl XVI
49ers 26, Bengals 21 Bill Walsh arrived at the 49ers' Super Bowl hotel in Detroit ahead of his team. He dressed up in a bellman's uniform and began taking the bags of the players. They ignored him, didn't recognize him, almost shoved him aside. They didn't tip him. "You've got to have some fun sometimes," Walsh said.
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Super Stars A look at the moments to remember & those to forget
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