Monday, February 2, 2009

The Golden Age of Super Bowls



Wow, what a game. Again. If you are like me and root for the Cowboys, or maybe you are a Niners fan, yesterday wasn't fun. The Steelers now have 6 and are the class of the Super Bowl years. Congrats to the Black and Gold nation. There may be many that don't like you. But I can't imagine any that don't respect you.

But let's just step back for a second and talk Super Bowls in general. This is the greatest era of Super Bowls ever. Period. That is, of course, if you like close games at the end and lots of drama. Starting with Super Bowl 30(Cowboys/Steelers), 8 of the last 17 have been decided by 10 or less. Not bad, but it gets better. In 6 of the last 10, it's 7 points or less. That starts with the Rams stopping the Titans on the 1, and ends with last night and Santonio Holmes. But that's not it. In 5 of the last 8 Super Bowls, the margin of victory is 4 or less. Think about that for a second. There is no other 8 Super Bowl stretch that even competes with that. And now, for 2 straight years, people are saying it may have been the greatest Super Bowl they have ever seen. And you didn't laugh.

Lastly, 2 plays that will live forever. James Harrison, in my opinion, made the greatest play by a defender in Super Bowl history. Period. Put it all together, I don't think anyone comes close. Ty Law's pick 6 in SB 36 ended up being massive, but for a LB to do that is incredible. Then the Holmes catch. He made a tougher catch than Dwight Clark did for "The Catch" to win the Super Bowl. Was it a greater play overall than the Tyree catch from last year? I would say no. But was it the best catch in the history of the Super Bowl? Maybe. When you add it all up, no one has ever had to make that catch in that situation to win that game, and then done it. What a great time to be an NFL fan. I can't wait for next season.