ALL ABOUT THE SUPER BOWL

Super Bowl XLII will be played tomorrow (February 3, 2008.) It's the New York Giants vs. the New England Patriots in Glendale, Arizona. I will be rooting for the Giants to hand the Pats their first loss of the season, thus preventing New England from becoming undefeated.

Here is are a few lists of my Super Bowl Memories:

THE TEN BEST SUPER BOWLS

1) SB XXXII (San Diego) Denver 31, Green Bay 24.
John Elway and the two TD underdog Broncos finally win it all, upsetting the defending Packers in a back and forth battle that came down to the wire.

2) SB III (Miami) New York Jets 16, Baltimore 7.
More for the significance of the AFL beating the mighty NFL, and less for the game. It was the day the AFL became respected and the Super Bowl, as a major event, was born.

3) SB XXXVIII (Houston) New England 32, Carolina 29.
An action packed game coming down to a game winning field goal in the final seconds.

4) SB XXXVI (New Orleans) New England 20, St. Louis 17.
The upset and last minute drive that launched the modern Belichick Patriot Dynasty.

5) SB XXV (Tampa) New York Giants 20, Buffalo 19.
This came down to a missed field goal with seconds remaining.

6) SB XXIII (Miami) San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16.
Joe Montana's legendary two minute drive for the winning touchdown in the last minutes.

7) SB XXXIV (Atlanta) St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16.
The Titans came from 16-0 to tie, then saw them Rams go ahead, only to come up a yard short on the final play of the game.

8) SB X (Miami) Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17.
The Cowboys had the lead in the final quarter, but could not stop the talented Steelers.

9) SB XVII (Pasadena) Washington 27, Miami 17.
Down most of the game, the Redskins outlasted the Dolphins in the end, thanks to John Riggins.

10) SB V (Miami) Baltimore 16, Dallas 13.
Believed by many as a bad game due to the many turnovers, but it came down to the final seconds with Jim O'Brien's winning field goal.

THE TEN WORST SUPER BOWLS

1) XL (Detroit) Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10.
Ben Roethlisberger goes 9 of 21 with two picks as the winning QB. It was the worst performance by a winning team in the Super Bowl. It was also the worst officiated Super Bowl by far. This game sucked!

2) XXIV (New Orleans) San Francisco 55, Denver 10.
Clearly, this game was gonna be a blowout and a snoozer after a first quarter dominated by the 49ers.

3) XX (New Orleans) Chicago 46, New England 10.
A mismatch that became evident by halftime.

4) XXXV (Tampa) Balitmore 34, New York Giants 7.
The glamourless Ravens actually shut out the Giants, a kickoff return was NY's only points. Who was Drent Dilfer? He was the winning quarterback.

5) VIII (Houston) Miami 24, Minnesota 7.
Played in the oddest SB location, University of Rice Stadium. The Dolphins put the game away early by scoring the first two times they had the ball.

6) XI (Pasadena) Oakland 32, Minnesota 14.
The Vikings were a terrible Super Bowl team, and this was their last and weakest stand.

7) XXVIII (Tampa) Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington 9.
The Defending Champ Redskins did not show up to play. The Raiders killed them!

8) XXXIX (Jacksonville) New England 24, Philadelphia 21.
Down by 10 points with 5 minutes left, the Eagles clumsily wasted their time trying to come back. It was too little, too late.

9) XLI (Miami) Indianapolis 29, Chicago 17.
Last year's contest was the first one played in rain. The Bears jumped to an early lead, but could not hold it to a Colts team that did not play very well.

10) XXXVI (Minneapolis) Washington 37, Buffalo 24.
This game was over when the Redskins made it 24-0 early in the third quarter.

OVERRATED SUPER BOWLS

SB XIII (Miami) Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31.
Listed on many 'Top Ten Lists,' but not on mine. It was not that close. Pittsburgh dominated the second half, building a 35-17 lead. It was over then.

SB XIX (Palo Alto) San Francisco 38, Miami 16.
The featured match-up between Dan Marino and Joe Montana never materialized, as Montana's team dominated.

SB VII (Los Angeles) Miami 14, Washington 7.
Remembered as the cap to the first undefeated season by the Dolphins. The Redskins should have been shut-out. Only Mike Bass' return of the famous blocked field goal and subsequent pass of Garo Yepremian prevented that.

UNDERRATED SUPER BOWLS

IV (New Orleans) Kansas City 23, Minnesota 7.
This was the last AFL-NFL match up, and, clearly, the Chiefs were far superior. The game showed the world that the American Football League may have been the better league. It also took away much from the idea that the Jets victory over the Colts in SB III was just a fluke.

XIV (Pasadena) Pittsburgh 31, Los Angeles Rams 19.
The underdog Rams had nothing to lose, and played the Steelers nip and tuck until the fourth quarter. Terry Bradshaw would say later that this game scared him the most.

XXVII (Pasadena) Dallas 52, Buffalo 17.
Although this was a blow-out, I cannot forget Don Beebe's effort to strip Cowboy's defensive end Leon Lett of the ball at the goal line to prevent a touchdown. Down 52-17 at the time, Beebe could have packed it in, but, no, he showed heart and effort, and was my real hero of the game.

SUPER BOWL XLII PREDICTION: New England 37, New York Giants 26.