Happy Wednesday friends, today’s Top 12 will be in adherence with the biggest game in American Sports the Super Bowl. As many of you have told me I should include moments before my time on these list because it wouldn’t be a fair list to include every game. So on this list we do have moments throughout Super Bowl history. Please respond with some messages below. Love the banter, have a great rest of your week and enjoy the list!
#12 (Super Bowl 1) Max McGee’s one handed Catch
We can’t start off the Super Bowl list without speaking of the very first Super Bowl. Max McGee of the Green Bay Packers is the first player to ever record a super bowl touchdown. He caught a one handed sensational behind the back catch from Packers quarterback Bart Starr. Awesome fact about Super Bowl 1 is that it was the only Super Bowl to ever be broadcast by two separate television networks (AFL and NFL had not merged yet).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4wwlSKE6p4
#11 (Super Bowl 25) Whitney Houston’s Star Spangled Banner
Listening to Whitney Houston sing the Star Spangled Banner is still by far the best vocalist moment in the Super Bowl (there are many good one’s Prince and BeyoncĂ© also come to mind). With the fighter jets flying about Tampa’s Stadium during the performance with Houston’s powerful vocals you can’t help but get goose bumps everytime you listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bW5Wf_dH7Q
#10 (Super Bowl 36) Adam Vinatieri’s field goal
The relevance of the moment was more of what the moment is more of a history fact than the moment of the game but still a huge moment in real time if you go back. The Rams were favored by 14 over the plucky Pats (crazy ever calling the Brady-Belichick Pats plucky) but the Pats came to play. With Brady leading the Pats down the field late for a 48 yard Adam Vinatieri field goal as time expired to start what would be a two decade dynasty.
#9 (Super Bowl 41) Manning hoisting the trophy
Peyton Manning was regarded as one of the best quarterbacks of his generation already by this time. But his playoff failures were well documented topped by two games , a 41-0 loss to the Jets in 2002 and a 20-3 loss to the Pats in 2004. But in 2006 Manning and the Colts were able to put it all together at the right time and capped it with a 29-17 victory over the Bears in Super Bowl 41. Seeing Manning holding the trophy in the rain is still a thing of legend.
#8 (Super Bowl 10) Bradshaw to Swann
In what was one of two awesome Super Bowl’s in the 1970’s between the Steelers and Cowboys the biggest moment was a play in which would have been a roughing the passer penalty and possibly an ejection in this century. Terry Bradshaw launched a 64 yard bomb to Lynn Swann midway through the 4th to seal a Steelers victory in Super Bowl 10. In what is still regarded as the greatest throw in Super Bowl history even to this day Bradshaw would get his head nearly decapitated by Cowboys defensive lineman Larry Cole in a hit that certainly concussed Bradshaw. Different time in the 1970’s for sure.
#7 (Super Bowl 29) Monkey off Steve Young’s back
Steve Young had almost impossible shoes to fill replacing 49ers legend Joe Montana. Young was a great quarterback but couldn’t beat the Cowboys losing in the NFC Championship game in back to back seasons. In 1994, Young’s niners would finally get past Dallas and then defeat the Chargers in a rout in Super Bowl 29. What was the best moment of the Super Bowl was Young lifting in what he called the monkey off his back after finally winning the big one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDOtBnGHH-A
#6 (Super Bowl 34) Dyson stopped at the 1
What was remember as the greatest show on turf the Rams would go from 4-12 to the Super Bowl in still the most improbable turnaround in football history. Two other memorable plays were the Kurt Warner to Issac Bruce touchdown to give the Rams the lead with two minutes to go. The following drive with Steve McNair refusing to go down on a big pass to Kevin Dyson to get the Titans to the Rams 11 for one last play. The next and last play of the Super Bowl McNair threw a slant to Dyson which appeared to be going to paydirt to force overtime only for Rams linebacker Mike Jones to tackle Dyson one yard short.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REEkVs47k7o
#5 (Super Bowl 54) Andy Reid wins it all
Andy Reid had been one of the best coaches in Football for two decades but could never win the big game. Last February, Reid would finally get to the top of the mountain in a 31-20 win over the 49ers. The reaction from his coaches and players at the end of the day shows how much it meant for his entire staff and players to finally help get Reid the trophy he had been longing for. Reid is possibly 60 minutes away from two in a row, well find out on Sunday.
#4 (Super Bowl 23) Is that John Candy?
With the 49ers down 16-13 with 3 minutes to play in Super Bowl starting at their own 8 yard line, Joe Montana came into the huddle and the first thing Montana says to his team was is that John Candy in the stands? Even in the most stressful moments in sports it showed that Joe Montana always has the game under control. Joe Montana would culminate the 92 yard drive with a 10 yard touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds to play in a 20-16 win.
#3 (Super Bowl 49) Malcolm Butler’s interception
In maybe the most controversial play call in Super Bowl history the Seahawks were one yard away from taking the lead from the Pats. On second and goal with 20 seconds left instead of handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch the Seahawks decided to throw a slant to Ricardo Lockette. Pats cornerback Malcolm Butler jumped the route for a mind numbing interception. Tom Brady’s response on the sideline was priceless. We forget that the Pats went a decade at this point without winning the Super Bowl, this victory would ramp up a debate of Tom Brady being the best of all time which has become more of a fact as of today.
#2 (Super Bowl 42) Manning to Burress
The 2007 Pats are still the best team in my lifetime (I was born in the early 80’s), crazy that the best team in the last 35 years did not win the Super Bowl. This is because the Giants played a great game (especially defensively) with Eli Manning playing Houdini late. David Tyree’s helmet catch could be the moment of this game but it has to be the side fade to Plaxico Burress that would give the Giants the lead for good with 35 seconds to go.
#1 (Super Bowl 32) Elway finally wins the big one
There is going to be a lot of people mad at me that I didn’t include Jerome Bettis or the only undefeated team in history on this list. What I say in response is there are so many awesome Super Bowl moments that I could not in my right heart include those two (my honorable mentions). I have officially lost respect from all of Miami-Dade Country and it’s okay, you’ll come back :-). Number 1 on this list regardless is not up for much debate. John Elway is unequivocally one the best five quarterbacks of all time. But going into Elway’s age 37 season Elway still had still not made it to the top of the mountain. Being 0-3 in Super Bowls and getting smashed in every single one the 97 Broncos were not expected to do much against the defending Super Bowl Champions Green Bay Packers. John Elway’s relentlessness and Terrell Davis great running would prove all the doubters wrong. Still to this day the best Super Bowl moment is seeing the emotion on Elway’s face as the clock ran out.