Learn about the five best Super Bowls in American football
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| Braden: Top 5 Best Super Bowls in American Football. In this lesson, you’ll learn about the top 5 best Super Bowls in the NFL. The NFL is the National Football League, just in case you were wondering. |
| Ann: In this lesson, we're going to take a more "story line" approach because these games need to be explained to know why they’re so good. We'll tell you the year, the teams, and the score and then tell you why it was such an awesome game. |
| Braden: But before we do that, here's a little background information. So in American football, the championship is called the Super Bowl. |
| Ann: The Super Bowl is different from baseball and basketball championships because there is only one game, not a series of games. |
| Braden: Our number five best Super Bowl is Super Bowl number 5 between the Baltimore Colts and the Dallas Cowboys. |
| Ann: Why was this game important? Not so much because the game itself was particularly exciting but because this game had many firsts. |
| Braden: That’s right. For the average spectator, this game was boring, to say the least. There were so many mistakes, penalties, and turnovers that, among Super Bowl enthusiasts, this has the nickname of the "Blunder Bowl." |
| Ann: One of the important firsts is that this was the first Super Bowl it that was decided by a field goal instead of a touchdown. This became common in later Super Bowls. |
| Braden: Another first is the number of turnovers. A turnover is when the ball is "turned over" to the other team. |
| Ann: During this game the Colt's alone had 7, which is the most any team has ever had—Super Bowl or not—and they still won the game. |
| Braden: And that’s disappointing, even for them, by the way. So an interesting fact here. Several players from both teams refused to wear the championship rings because of how poorly they had played. This was also the first time a player had refused to where the championship ring. |
| Ann: Fun fact - It was also the first Super Bowl to be played on artificial turf. |
| Braden: The fourth best Super Bowl this Super Bowl number 23 between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals. |
| Ann: This Super Bowl had two of the best players of the last century, namely, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. |
| Braden: This game, like most Super Bowls, started out slowly. |
| Ann: There were also a few broken bones which kept the rhythm from building. By halftime, the score was tied at 3. |
| Braden: In the third quarter, a few more points were score by both teams but once again at the end of third-quarter the score was tied. |
| Ann: The Bengals hit another field goal and were up by three toward the end of the fourth quarter. It looked like the Bengals were going to win. |
| Braden: Then Joe Montana would show the world just how good he really was. With just a few minutes on the clock, Joe Montana and the 49rs ran play after play and drove the ball 92 yards to score the winning touchdown with less than 10 seconds on the clock! |
| Ann: Wow! Our third best Super Bowl is Superbowl number 25 between the Giants and the Bills. This was an interesting game before it even started. |
| Braden: That season, the Bills had the best offense in the NFL and the Giants had the best defense in the NFL. So imagine the possibilities. |
| Ann: The score was close the entire game. The Bills offense couldn't score against the Giants defense. |
| Braden: The teams traded blows and neither could get a solid lead over the other. And by the end of the game, the Bills had the ball and were down by one point. |
| Ann: They set up for a game winning field goal. It missed and the Bills lost. This began a 4 year streak of the Bills making it to the Super Bowl and never winning. That’s so sad. |
| Braden: The second best Super Bowl was Superbowl number 34 between the Titans and the Rams. |
| Ann: This game was one of those flukes of sports because, by the numbers, neither of them should have been in the Super Bowl. |
| Braden: They both had poor defensive lines and poor offensive lines. Some people even consider it a miracle. |
| Ann: This game didn't really get interesting until the third quarter when Tennessee began to fight back. They were down 14-0 but by the end of the third quarter were able to tie the game. The Rams would strike back in the fourth quarter and lead 23-16. |
| Braden: In the final minutes, the Titans fought with all they had and reached the 10-yard line. There was just enough time for one final play. |
| Ann: This play is one of the main reasons why this game is even on this list. American's love a comeback and the Titans were coming back. |
| Braden: They pitched the ball, the quarterback threw it to the receiver who reached the 1 yard line. |
| Ann: Then he was tackled. The Titans lost by 1 yard. It was a heartbreaker for everyone watching. |
| Braden: Even for people who wanted the other team to win. |
| Ann: And the #1 most exciting Super Bowl in NFL history is Super Bowl #42 between the Giants and the Patriots. |
| Braden: So to set this one up, the Patriots were undefeated that season. They won every game they played. Everyone knew they would win the Super Bowls. |
| Ann: The Giants, weren't even supposed to be there. They didn't even make it into the playoffs but were allowed in as a wild card. |
| Braden: So after the first half, the score was 7-3 with the Patriots leading. This was a bit odd considering how good the Patriots were. |
| Ann: They were ahead which was right but they should have been farther ahead. In the fourth quarter, the score was 14-10 and it looked like the Giants were done. |
| Braden: But they just wouldn't give up. On the winning drive, the Giants executed three amazing plays. |
| Ann: They were within yards of the touchdown and after yet another spectacular play, the Giants scored and won the Super Bowl. |
| Braden: The undefeated Patriots had been defeated. The Giants had done the impossible. |
| Ann: I remember people talking about the game for weeks after it happened. |
| Braden: I remember my brother-in-law, who is a Patriots fan, say, "I'm sad my team lost but, man!, that was a good game." |
| Braden: Well, I guess that just about does it for today. |
| Ann: Thanks for listening! |
| Braden: See you next time! |
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