Friday 31 January 2014

The Top 10 most memorable Super Bowl moments of all time

Sunday's Super Bowl between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks promises to be a classic encounter.
Denver has statistically the best offense in the league and Seattle the best defense so it's no surprise that the bookmakers are having a tough time separating the sides - they make Peyton Manning's Broncos favourites, but only marginally.
But will the match create the type of iconic moment that helps a Super Bowl linger long in the memory? Here are our favourite Super Bowl moments.
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10. The lights go out in New Orleans – 2013
Last year's Super Bowl was a fantastic match that the Baltimore Ravens edged 34-31, but the occasion will be remembered most for a 34 minute stoppage in the third quarter when the lights went out in New Orleans' Superdome.
UK fans can have a tough enough time staying up as it is without any extra delays, but those who stuck with it were rewarded with an exciting finish as San Francisco drove for a final touchdown that would have seen them win the game, only for quarterback Colin Kaepernick to overthrow wide receiver Michael Crabtree on a crucial 4th down play with less than two minutes remaining.
The match was notable as the two coaches, Jim (49ers) and John (Ravens), were brothers - but the match that was dubbed the 'Harbaugh Bowl' in the build-up will instead be forever known as the 'Blackout Bowl'
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9. Phil is Simm-ply the best - 1987
After trailing 10-9 to the Denver Broncos at half-time, the New York Giants ran away with Super Bowl XXI 39-20 thanks in large part to a classy performance from quarterback Phil Simms (yes the same guy with the southern-drawl you hear co-commentating on CBS games on Sky Sports every Sunday).
Simms finished the game with 22 of 25 passes completed for 268 yards and three touchdowns. His completion percentage remains a Super Bowl record.
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8. Dolphins complete perfect season - 1973
Every year when the final unbeaten team in the NFL loses a game, they start popping the champagne corks in Miami. That is because it ensures the city's 1972 Dolphins side remain the only unbeaten NFL outfit in history.
The '72 Dolphins (pictured last year with Barack Obama) completed their perfect season with a 14-7 victory over the Washington Redskins, a game that sounds a lot closer than it actually was, with the Fins "no-name defence" dominating the contest.
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7. David Tyree uses helmet to catch ball and end Patriots perfect season - 2008
The closet anyone has ever come to emulating the 72' Dolphins were the 2007/08 New England Patriots, who lost their perfect record for the season in a huge 17-14 upset against the New York Giants in Glendale, Arizona.
The game's iconic play came when Giants quarterback Eli Manning wriggled away from three defenders before heaving a throw downfield. Unheralded wide receiver David Tyree then jumped up to claim the ball with one hand, press it against his helmet, and somehow maintaining control all the way down to the ground. The Giants went on to score the winning touchdown soon after.
It turned out to be the only catch of Tyree's otherwise uninspiring career, but it still assured him immortality amongst Giants fans.
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6. John Elway finally gets his Super Bowl ring - 1998
John Elway was regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks the game had ever seen even before he finally got a Super Bowl ring on his finger. However, at one stage it looked like he would never win the Big One.
The former number one draft pick had already been beaten in three previous finals and was 37-years-old when his Denver Broncos side finally beat the Green Bay Packers 31-24 to take the Vince Lombardi trophy.
No matter that Elway had the unremarkable stat-line of 12 out of 22 pass completions, for 123 yards and one interception - this was his night. He would then lead the Broncos to a second Super Bowl the following year (with an MVP performance) before finally retiring aged 38. Now in charge of personal decision at the Broncos, Elway is hoping to win a third Super Bowl on Sunday.
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5. Vinatieri shocks the Rams at the death - 2002
The only Super Bowl to be won on the very last play of the game, the New England Patriots caused one of the Super Bowl's biggest ever upsets in Super Bowl XXXVI, when Adam Vinatieri made a game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired to shock the St. Louis Rams 20-17.
The Rams went into the match with the nickname "The Greatest Show on Turf" and were made 14 point favourites by the bookies in Vegas. However, the Patriots defence stifled the Rams throughout, and on offence the game winning drive - led by their previously unheralded second-year quarterbackTom Brady - suggested they may have unearthed a star for the future. What ever happened to him?
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4. Montana leads the 49ers on a classy late drive - 1989
A classic Super Bowl with a classic finish. With 3:10 left on the clock the San Francisco 49ers were down 16-13 to the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII when they took over on offense on their own eight yard line.
The 49ers offense huddled up and waited to hear what their influential quarterback would say to them. "Hey, did any of you guys see John Candy over there?" were Montana's first words to his players and the joke seemed to relax the team, because what followed was one of the most professionally executed drives you are ever likely to see.
Montana led his side 92 yards down the field with a 10-yard pass to John Taylor with just 34 seconds left in the game proving to be the match-winning score. In 2006 the game was voted the greatest Super Bowl of all time by NFL.com
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3. The Titans fall one yard short - 2000
A Super Bowl has never gone to overtime, but the Tennessee Titans came just "one-yard short" of extending Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. They lost to the St. Louis Rams 23-16, but on the very last play of the game Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson caught a slant pass deep in Rams territory but was then stopped just short of the end zone by Mike Jones.
The sight of Dyson's outstretched arm desperately trying to reach for the goal line has already become one of the sport's most iconic images. Jones late intervention is now known simply as "The Tackle."
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2. Nipplegate rocks America - 2004
The most famous "wardrobe malfunction" this side of Narnia, millions of Super Bowl viewers were aghast when Justin Timberlake removed a piece of Janet Jackson's top, exposing her right breast with a star-shaped ring around the nipple during the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII.
While the male population around the world rejoiced, the Christian right in the States were appalled. Jackson and Timberlake insist it was an accident but fines were issued, regulations were put in place, and boring old Paul McCartney was booked for the following year's show.
The New England Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers 32-29 in the game itself but for once the football took a back seat.
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1. Norwood and the Bills miss chance at the death - 1991
Poor old Scott Norwood: the former Buffalo Bills kicker will have his most painful moment written in the first paragraph of his obituary. Norwood will always be remembered as the man who could have won Super Bowl XXV with the final kick of the game. However, he missed a 47-yard field goal with time expiring which allowed the New York Giants to secure a 20-19 victory.
In a perfect illustration as to how the line between success and failure can be so marginal, Adam Vinatieri is now seen as a hero while Norwood is known as a chocker. Such a label is harsh, however, as prior to Super Bowl XXV Norwood had never hit a field goal from that distance on a grass field, and that season he was just 1-for-5 from over 40 yards on grass.
However, his misery became possibly the most iconic of all Super Bowl images. The Bills would go on to become the Jimmy White of American football, losing again in each of the next three Super Bowls.

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