Top 10 Super Bowls: Honorable Mentions

I am a huge football fan. I just love the sport and have followed it since I was eight years old. Some games are exciting, some are not. Same goes for the biggest game of the season, the Super Bowl. These days, the NFL's championship game is the most exciting, but it wasn't always like that. I have been told by other fans who've been around longer than I that the biggest game was often a big blowout, with scores of 55-10 (Super Bowl XXIV), 52-17 (Super Bowl XXVII), and other very lopsided contests. The list that I have is going to of the most exciting Super Bowls, mostly games that I have seen, and some that I have not. 

This list is based off of three factors:

• The game must have been close at least toward the end of the game.
• Featured at least one comeback.
• Must have some historic value to the overall course of the league, a team in particular, or even a single player, be it a great pregame storyline, a great upset, or something else.

But first, some honorable mentions:

• Super Bowl XLVI: Giants vs. Patriots (2011 season) This game featured a rematch of a previous Super contest between these two teams, the main difference here is that neither team was undefeated going into the game. This game had everything: The storyline, the miracle play (a 38-yard pass from Eli Manning to Mario Manningham who was double covered on the sideline), the upset (Patriots were favored, Giants won 21-17). The only reason this game does not make the list is that it felt like a redux of another game that made the list.
• Super Bowl I: Packers vs. Chiefs (1966 season) The game itself was not particularly exciting unless you're a Packer fan. The game did have quite the storyline: It was the fist game between two rival leagues, the NFL and AFL, who merged before the season started. The owners of the various NFL franchises put a great deal of pressure on Packers' coach Vince Lombardi for them to win the game, and not just win, but to win big, to show the AFL that the older league was still vastly superior. The Packers did just that, winning 35-10. The game did feature a few interesting plays, most notably two touchdown catches by Packers wide receiver Max McGee, who himself had been out the entire night prior. 
• Super Bowl XLI: Colts vs. Bears (2006) This one is notable for several reasons, It was Peyton Manning's first Super Bowl trip, the Bears first trip since 1985, the first Super Bowl to experience rain, also the first to have an opening kickoff in the history of the game (returned by Devin Hester of the Bears) and the first Super Bowl to feature two African-American head coaches. Problem, the game outside of that was nothing special, no other memorable plays, the game was sloppy due to the weather, and it also featured one of the worst quarterbacks to play in the game (Rex Grossman, Bears). The Colts won 29-17. It does not make the list because of the game was lopsided after the first quarter.
• Super Bowl XXXI: Packers vs. Patriots (1996) The Packers return to the Super Bowl after 29 years, having a run of futility during the 1970's and 80's, but becoming competitive again in the 90's under General Manager Ron Wolf and Head Coach Mike Holmgren. The Patriots were transformed from laughingstock to competitor under coach Bill Parcells and owner Robert Kraft. The game itself was exciting, the Packers scored first on a long touchdown pass from QB Brett Favre to WR Andre Rison, the Patriots came back to lead at the end of the first quarter 14-10. The Packers came back to lead 27-14 at halftime. The third quarter showed a momentum shift to New England and cut the lead to 27-21. The kickoff however, decided the game, it was returned by Desmond Howard (Packers) 99 yards for a touchdown, putting the score at 35-21 after a two point conversion and no further scoring happened afterward. This one doesn't make the list as there were better Super Bowls involving the Packers or Patriots that are on my list.
• Super Bowl X: Steelers vs. Cowboys (1975) The first of two Super Bowls to feature the two best teams of the decade. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the defending champs, and the Dallas Cowboys appeared in their third of five championship games in the decade, have won Super Bowl VI at this point. The game featured several Pro Football Hall of Famers on both teams, Head Coach Tom Landry, CB Mel Renfro, QB Roger Staubach, LB Randy White, and OT Rayfield Wright for Dallas; and Head Coach Chuck Noll, QB Terry Bradshaw, CB Mel Blount, DT "Mean" Joe Greene, LB's Jack Lambert and Jack Ham, C Mike Webster, and WR's John Stallworth and Lynn Swann. The Cowboys were the first NFC wild card team to make the Super Bowl, while the Steelers were the first official #1 seed to reach the game (the NFL instituted the seeding system for the playoffs that same year). The game also featured a failed comeback by Dallas at the end of the game and ended in a Pittsburgh victory 21-17. This game also does not make the cut for the same reason as Super Bowl XLVI, there was a far better game between these two teams a few years later that did make the list. 

That's all for the honorables, next up, #10.

Until then, God Bless.