Welcome to
my Super Bowl tribute, a six-part series entitled “25 Most Memorable Moment of
the Super Bowl.” This year marks the 50th anniversary of the game,
and while the hype and commercials and half-time show and who sings the
National Anthem, are things that don’t interest me in the least, the games have
had some notable memories over the years. True football fans know that somewhere
in all that mess called the Super Bowl, there actually IS a football game.
Here, then, are my favourite moments in Super Bowl history. They will be in
chronological order as it was impossible to rank one as more important than the
rest. Enjoy.
1. Super Bowl 3 – Namath and the Jets are
number one
While the game itself was
somewhat of a snooze fest, the New York Jets 16-7 victory over the Baltimore
Colts was probably the most important moment in the early history of the game.
For years, the NFL looked down on the AFL and considered it a minor league.
After several years of warring, including competing to get the best players,
the two leagues agreed to a merger that would take place for the 1970 season.
Prior to that, beginning in 1966, the AFL and NFL Champions would meet in a Pro
Football Championship Game that would eventually be re-named the Super Bowl.
The first two games were
mismatches as the NFL Champion Green Bay Packers steamrolled over the Kansas
City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. Everyone was expecting the same for the third
Super Bowl. Everyone, that is, except Jets’ quarterback Joe Namath, who
predicted New York would beat the heavily favoured Colts. Namath’s prediction
was not pre-meditated and he wasn’t being boastful. Fed up with practically all
the media putting down the AFL all throughout the week prior to the game, he
stuck up for the league by boldly stating the Jets would win the game.
He backed up his prediction with
a flawless performance. And as Namath was leaving the field, he held up his
finger to indicate the Jets were number one. They had shocked the football
world and gave credibility to the AFL.
2. Super Bowl 7 – The only undefeated team
After the Miami Dolphins
defeated the Washington Redskins by a score of 14-7 in Super Bowl 7, they
became the first and, to date, only team in the Super Bowl era to finish a
season without losing a single game. The Dolphins won with defense and their
running game. Backs Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris became the first teammates
in NFL history to both rush for 1000 yards over the course of a season.
The defense was nick-named the
“No-Name Defense” because they didn’t get the recognition and publicity they
were entitled to. It was led by Nick Buoniconti (linebacker), Bill Stanfill
(end), Manny Fernandez (tackle) and safeties Dick Anderson and Jake Scott.
Years later, the members of the 1972 Dolphins still
get together to celebrate when the last remaining unbeaten team loses their
first game of the year.
3. Super Bowl 10 – Don’t mess with Lambert’s
teammates
The Pittsburgh Steelers won
their second consecutive Super Bowl by defeating the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17, in
Super Bowl 10. But the image that showed the toughness and togetherness of the
Steelers occurred in the third quarter on a field goal attempt.
With the Cowboys leading 10-7,
Pittsburgh kicker Roy Gerela, who was playing while hurt, missed a 33-yard
field goal, his second miss of the game. Dallas defender, Cliff Harris
mockingly patted Gerela on the helmet, as if sarcastically thanking him for missing
the field goal.
Steeler linebacker Jack Lambert, who had a history
of being as tough as nails and not somebody to mess with, took exception to
Harris’s antics and grabbed him around the shoulder pads and threw him into the
turf.
Some harsh words were exchanged
and cooler heads prevailed, but the message from Lambert was clear: nobody
messes with the Steelers. Pittsburgh’s defense dominated the rest of the game
and intercepted Dallas quarterback, Roger Staubach on the final play of the
game to seal the victory.
4. Super Bowl 11 – “Old Man Willie”
The Oakland Raiders didn’t have
much trouble handling the Minnesota Vikings in winning their first Super Bowl.
It was the Vikings fourth loss in the big game in as many attempts. The four
Super Bowl losses is a record that would be eventually tied over the years by
Denver, Buffalo and New England. (Denver would lose their fifth in Super Bowl 48).
Oakland outscored the Vikings,
32-14, gained a Super Bowl record (at the time) of 429 yards, and pretty much
dominated all facets of the game.
But the image of Super Bowl 11
that is etched in the memories of fans is that of Raider cornerback, Willie
Brown, racing to the end zone for a 75-hard interception return for a
touchdown, to erase any thought the Vikings had for a comeback.
NFL films preserved the play
brilliantly, showing an end zone camera angle of Brown sprinting—in slow
motion—towards the end zone with the Viking offense in a failed pursuit. Add in
Raiders’ broadcaster’s call of “Old Man Willie” as Brown reached the end zone
and you have as classic a memory as you’ll ever get.
5. Super Bowl 13 – Veteran receiver’s costly
drop
For the second time in four
years, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the Dallas Cowboys in another thrilling
Super Bowl. Veteran tight end, Jackie Smith, a long-time St. Louis Cardinal who
had signed with the Cowboys before the 1978 season, would leave an impression
on the game he would rather have avoided.
With Dallas trailing, 21-14 in
the third quarter, quarterback Roger Staubach threw to a wide open Smith in the
end zone. With an all-too-easy game-tying touchdown in his grasp, Smith slipped
on the grass and the ball bounced off of his chest for an incompletion. The
Cowboys had to settle for a field goal to make the score 21-17.
The two teams traded two touchdowns a
piece in the final quarter, making the final score 35-31. If Smith had caught
the ball, the game would have been tied and would have needed overtime to
decide a winner.
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