The NFL may have been hoping that the teams in this year's golden anniversary Super Bowl would have been more of the identity and legacy of the Super Bowl. When the first SB was played the Carolina Panthers were still almost 30 years away from even existing and the Denver Broncos were an American Football League doormat.
Certain clubs have had more to do with making the Super Bowl what is has become and are worth noting as Super Bowl 50 comes upon the world.
1. Green Bay Packers. The Packers launched the Super Bowl era by winning the first two and setting a standard which has endured since. It's no accident that the winner's trophy is named for coach Vince Lombardi. When the Packers returned to and won the Super Bowls in 1996 and 2010 even non-Packers fans had to admit it was like something right had been restored in the pro football world.
2. The 1968 New York Jets. When the Jets upset the ovewhelmingly favored NFL champion Colts in III it brought credibility to their league, the merger and transformed the SB from an interleague exhibition after the "real championship"- the NFL title game - and made the SuperBowl a true world championship game.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers. The first club to win 4 Super Bowls in a decade the Steelers, like the Packers, set a standard that remains in the Super Bowl. They have won 6, more than any other club. And, like with Green Bay, when the Steelers have since made the SB there's a sense that something right has been restored with the Super Bowl. Not to mention when the Packers and Steelers went against each other in Super Bowl XLV.
4. Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. Between them these two have played in 14 Super Bowls- 28% of all the Super Bowls and won 10 - 20% of all Super Bowl winners. Win or lose, they have never failed to disappoint with an exciting game and some of their Super Bowl involvements have been among the greatest in the history of the game and many of their appearances have given the game its most memorable and iconic moments.
5. New England Patriots. They've become the 21st century standard in the NFL with 6 SB appearances and 4 wins with coach Bill Belichick and qb Tom Brady. Their wins all been close, by margins of just 3 and 4 points and so have their losses by 3 each. People often forget that they made two Super Bowls before B&B, giving them 8 total.
Honorable mention: New York Giants, Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders, Washington Redskins. These have all been in the Super Bowl 5 times each and have won a combined 10 times.
And then there are the teams that are uniquely identified with Super Bowl frustration and futility.
1. Buffalo Bills. The only team to make the Super Bowl four straight years - and lose every one.
2. The Denver Broncos. Playing in their record tying 8th tomorrow the Broncos did win two at the end of qb John Elway's career but they have been whacked in all 5 of their other previous appearances: 27-10 vs Dallas in XII, 39-20 by the Giants in XXI, 42-10 vs Washington in XXII, 55-10 by San Fran. in XXIV, 43-8 vs Seattle in VLVIII. And they could be adding to that tomorrow.
3. 1968 Baltimore Colts. They were being called the greatest team of all time as they rolled into III with a regular season and playoff 15-1 record. After Green Bay had demolished the AFL champions in the first two SB's the Colts were expected to win even bigger but when the 16-7 game was over they had suffered the biggest upset in pro football history.
4. Minnesota Vikings. The first team to lose four Super Bowls the Vikes were apparently so traumatized by the experience that they have refused to even reach the Super Bowl for the last 39 years.
5. Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans. These two could have significantly altered the history of the Super Bowl if they had "made just one more play."
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http://www.nfl.com/videos/st-louis-rams/0ap2000000147500/Kevin-Dyson-tackled-at-the-one
I inadvertently recorded over my copy of 32 and advised my son to NOT go looking for it ... he did anyway ... he too has nightmares involving helicopters.
