'Super' Super Bowl memories
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Sorry guys and gals, but this week I need to put the local sports scene on the back burner once again because this Sunday is my favorite sporting event of the year. (I promise I will have a local topic next week. By then there should be some topics I want to talk about.)
My first memory of a Super Bowl comes in 1990 when the San Francisco 49ers routed the Denver Broncos in SB XXIV.
It’s a fuzzy memory, but I remember watching it on one of those old floor model TVs, and the 49ers had on white jerseys and Joe Montana was passing the football to Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and John Taylor. Since the game was for the 1989 season and it was in Jan. of '90, that means I was five years old.
Knowing me, I probably had some football cards in an old shoe box (I remember it was blue and white) and was making the players play against each other during the game.
Well, this Sunday is Super Bowl XLV, which I am turning 27 this year, so in my time I can remember watching the past 20 Super Bowls (not including this year).What has changed since that Super Bowl to this Sunday's big game?
First the teams this year are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. The QB's in XXIV were Montana and John Elway. This year, they are Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers.
But as I look back on all the times I've sat and watched the Super Bowl on TV, I must say my favorite memories come from the ‘90s when the Dallas Cowboys won three times with the last one coming in Jan. 1996. I honestly can say this: when I went to my sixth-grade middle school English class the next day, wearing one of my many Cowboys shirts and boasting that my team was the champion, I would have never thought in my wildest dreams my team wouldn't even sniff the Super Bowl for what is now 15 seasons.
But in recent memory my favorite Super Bowl, as far as the game itself, has to be the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans in SB XXXIV. Remember that game? It went down to the final play when Mike Jones of the Rams tackled Kevin Dyson of the Titans on the one-yard line to preserve the Super Bowl win.
I remember SB XXXI when Brett Favre ran around celebrating, well, like he had won the Super Bowl. One year later there was the “This one’s for John (Elway)” game. The lasting memory from that game is Elway diving, then spinning (from a hit) for a first down, as he finally won a Super Bowl.
Then there are the two-game winning field goals by Adam Vinatieri against the Rams and Carolina Panthers. But on the other side in SB XXV, there is Scott Norwood and his missed field goal that sent the Buffalo Bills to their first of an eventual four straight losses in the biggest game of the year. They are a forgotten dynasty of sorts in the NFL.
One of my least favorite memories is the Redskins winning Super Bowl XXVI because, well, they are the Washington Redskins. Not to mention watching the Steelers win two Super Bowls in my lifetime (possibly three) hasn’t been sunshine and rainbows either.
What is your favorite or least favorite memory of a Super Bowl?
I have some more.
Though I don’t like his team, one of the best plays I’ve watched was a couple years ago when James Harrison ran the ball 99 yards for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaking of that Super Bowl, Kurt Warner is one of my favorite players to watch play in the game. He seemed to play that game, well, like it was the biggest game of the season.
And speaking of big plays, all I have to say is David Tyree of the New York Giants. Maybe the greatest catch in Super Bowl History (sorry, Lynn Swann).
Then there is Super Bowl XLI. That was the Chicago Bears vs. Indianapolis Colts. This game stands out for a number of reasons. There was the Devin Hester opening kickoff return, Peyton Manning finally winning the ‘big one’ and watching the game with my parents for the simple fact one is a Bears fan and the other is a Colts fan. I think that was more fun than the game itself.
I could keep going on and on about my favorite sporting event of the year, but I won’t go into many paragraphs about the ‘90s Cowboys or why watching XXIX (49ers and Chargers) was the worst Super Bowl ever. I am pretty sure that is the only time I stopped watching the Super Bowl voluntarily. OK, I still can’t talk about that season.
There are plenty more memories of this game I just can’t remember at this time, but always take this about this game ... it will always be about the memories.
At least that’s the case for me.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
My first memory of a Super Bowl comes in 1990 when the San Francisco 49ers routed the Denver Broncos in SB XXIV.
It’s a fuzzy memory, but I remember watching it on one of those old floor model TVs, and the 49ers had on white jerseys and Joe Montana was passing the football to Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and John Taylor. Since the game was for the 1989 season and it was in Jan. of '90, that means I was five years old.
Knowing me, I probably had some football cards in an old shoe box (I remember it was blue and white) and was making the players play against each other during the game.
Well, this Sunday is Super Bowl XLV, which I am turning 27 this year, so in my time I can remember watching the past 20 Super Bowls (not including this year).What has changed since that Super Bowl to this Sunday's big game?
First the teams this year are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. The QB's in XXIV were Montana and John Elway. This year, they are Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers.
But as I look back on all the times I've sat and watched the Super Bowl on TV, I must say my favorite memories come from the ‘90s when the Dallas Cowboys won three times with the last one coming in Jan. 1996. I honestly can say this: when I went to my sixth-grade middle school English class the next day, wearing one of my many Cowboys shirts and boasting that my team was the champion, I would have never thought in my wildest dreams my team wouldn't even sniff the Super Bowl for what is now 15 seasons.
But in recent memory my favorite Super Bowl, as far as the game itself, has to be the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans in SB XXXIV. Remember that game? It went down to the final play when Mike Jones of the Rams tackled Kevin Dyson of the Titans on the one-yard line to preserve the Super Bowl win.
I remember SB XXXI when Brett Favre ran around celebrating, well, like he had won the Super Bowl. One year later there was the “This one’s for John (Elway)” game. The lasting memory from that game is Elway diving, then spinning (from a hit) for a first down, as he finally won a Super Bowl.
Then there are the two-game winning field goals by Adam Vinatieri against the Rams and Carolina Panthers. But on the other side in SB XXV, there is Scott Norwood and his missed field goal that sent the Buffalo Bills to their first of an eventual four straight losses in the biggest game of the year. They are a forgotten dynasty of sorts in the NFL.
One of my least favorite memories is the Redskins winning Super Bowl XXVI because, well, they are the Washington Redskins. Not to mention watching the Steelers win two Super Bowls in my lifetime (possibly three) hasn’t been sunshine and rainbows either.
What is your favorite or least favorite memory of a Super Bowl?
I have some more.
Though I don’t like his team, one of the best plays I’ve watched was a couple years ago when James Harrison ran the ball 99 yards for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaking of that Super Bowl, Kurt Warner is one of my favorite players to watch play in the game. He seemed to play that game, well, like it was the biggest game of the season.
And speaking of big plays, all I have to say is David Tyree of the New York Giants. Maybe the greatest catch in Super Bowl History (sorry, Lynn Swann).
Then there is Super Bowl XLI. That was the Chicago Bears vs. Indianapolis Colts. This game stands out for a number of reasons. There was the Devin Hester opening kickoff return, Peyton Manning finally winning the ‘big one’ and watching the game with my parents for the simple fact one is a Bears fan and the other is a Colts fan. I think that was more fun than the game itself.
I could keep going on and on about my favorite sporting event of the year, but I won’t go into many paragraphs about the ‘90s Cowboys or why watching XXIX (49ers and Chargers) was the worst Super Bowl ever. I am pretty sure that is the only time I stopped watching the Super Bowl voluntarily. OK, I still can’t talk about that season.
There are plenty more memories of this game I just can’t remember at this time, but always take this about this game ... it will always be about the memories.
At least that’s the case for me.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]