Top Ten Super Bowls

The Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event in the United States, and one of the most watched programs worldwide.  This comes despite the reputation the game had for producing blowouts.  In fact, most of the 1980s and 1990s produced very unimpressive results for what is supposed to be the top two teams in the league facing off.  But then, last decade happened, and suddenly almost every Super Bowl was a classic.  So which Super Bowl was the best?  Here is my humble opinion:

10. Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17

This game is why we know the name Tom Brady.  The first-year starter mastered a drive that gave kicker Adam Vinatieri a chance to break a tie as time expired.  He succeeded, and the Patriots erased years of embarrassment in the big game. It came at the expense of the great Rams' offense led by Kurt Warner. Brady would lead the Pats to two more titles in four more tries.

9. Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19

Scott Norwood just wants that last shot to disappear.  The Bills' kicker missed a 47 yard field goal that would have won the game.  The Bills lost four Super Bowls in a row, but none hurt more than this first one given how they were heavy favorites.  It was Giant coach Bill Parcell's second SB title with the G-Men.

8. Super Bowl XXIII: San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16

Only one team ever gave Joe Montana and company fits in the big game, but in two tries the Bengals could not finish the job.  Montana's game winning drive of over 90 yards was the stuff of legend, and the win established the Niners as a dynasty.

7. Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23

Kurt Warner was on the verge of the comeback of all comebacks, and he had a lot of help from superstar receiver Larry Fitzgerald.  However, Ben Roethlisberger continued his clutch play by completing the game winning TD to Santonio Holmes in the back corner of the endzone.  The Cardinals came back from being down 20-7 at the start of the 4th quarter, but it wasn't enough to upset the mighty Steelers.

6. Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17

After their first SB matchup, many wondered if Eli Manning could repeat himself and upset Tom Brady again.  He did just that, leading a late drive that put the Giants up with just under a minute left to play.  Brady led the Patriots to striking range, but his Hail Mary pass fell right through the hands of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

5. Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16

After the Rams took the lead late, QB Steve McNair led one of the greatest drives in Super Bowl history to put the Titans within striking range.  However, receiver Kevin Dyson was tackled one yard short of the end zone, and with no timeouts left the Titans could not get off another play before time expired.  This was the only title for the famed Rams' Greatest Show on Turf: Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Tory Holt and Isaac Bruce.

4. Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31

Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach had some great battles, but none were better than this classic from 1979.  The Cowboys played well against the Steel Curtain, but in the end it was the one play that didn't make that cost them.  Future Hall-of-Famer Jackie Smith was wide open in the endzone, but failed to catch Staubach's pass.  It was the third title for the Steelers, establishing them as a dynasty.

3. Super Bowl XXXII: Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24

This was an epic duel between two epic QBs.  The great John Elway was trying to get the Super Bowl title that had eluded him throughout the 1980's, while Bret Favre was just starting to become a superstar after winning a title with the Packers the year before.  However, the MVP was Broncos RB Terrell Davis, who battled blinding migraines to score 3 TDs. It was a back and forth game filled with big hits, huge plays and Elway spinning for a key first down.  In the end, Elway and the Broncos took home the Lombardi trophy for the first time.

2. Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14

The New England Patriots were undefeated and maybe the greatest NFL team ever.  The New York Giants barely made it into the playoffs.  With all due respect to Broadway Joe, this was the greatest upset in NFL history.  Tom Brady and the Patriots' offense set all kinds of records and seemed to be unbeatable, but Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and the rest of the Giants' defensive line gave the three-time champion no time to throw with their vicious pass-rush.  This was aided by a steady performance from Eli Manning, who completed a third-down pass to David Tyree that will be shown for years.  As Plaxico Burress caught the game-winning TD pass, the world was speechless.

1. Super Bowl III: New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7

This may not have been the most exciting or best played game, but it is easily the most monumental moment in NFL history.  After the Green Bay Packers throttled the Chiefs and Raiders in the first two Super Bowls (then called the AFL-NFL Championship Game), it was thought that the fledgling AFL would never compete with the established NFL.  This game proved that the AFL franchises were worthy (reinforced by Kansas City's win the following season), and was the main catalyst towards the 1970 merger.  Also, Joe Namath's bold guarantee, backed by his MVP performance in the game, made him a star and set the stage for the Super Bowl to be the spectacle it has become.