Few issues high seeing a magical sports activities second in particular person.
A number of months in the past I used to be fortunate sufficient to attend my first Military-Navy Sport. That has been a bucket listing merchandise for me for years, and whereas seeing it on tv is nice, nothing compares to that have dwell. From the pageantry of the Cadets and Midshipmen marching into the stadium, the pre-game festivities, the Cadets dropping their thoughts to “Tsunami” simply earlier than kickoff, and naturally the groups singing their alma mater following the sport, with the winner singing final, to cap off the expertise.
Right here at SB Nation now we have seen many Tremendous Bowls, a few of them even in particular person. However listed below are the moments we want we might have seen up shut, even when we noticed them on tv.
Mark Schofield — Tremendous Bowl XXIII
The 12 months was 1987, and my soccer journey held on a matter of likelihood.
I used to be ten years previous, and embarking upon my second 12 months of organized soccer. After an ill-fated stint as a operating again and defensive again the earlier 12 months, a place swap was underway.
I used to be shifting to quarterback.
That meant a brand new quantity, and I had a call to make. There have been two quarterbacks I liked watching once I received the prospect, so I knew I needed considered one of their numbers. One was Joe Montana, the beginning quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers and already the proprietor of two Tremendous Bowl titles.
The opposite was Dan Marino, who misplaced to Montana in Tremendous Bowl XIX.
And it was Marino’s “13” which was my first alternative.
At the moment, Marino was completely different. Electrical. Appointment-worthy viewing. When he says — as has lately — that he might throw for six,000 yards within the trendy NFL, he’s completely right. It was a brand new NFL and he was on the forefront of it, and regardless of having misplaced to Montana in Tremendous Bowl XIX, there was each expectation that sometime Marino would have a Lombardi Trophy of his personal.
So once I stepped as much as the gear supervisor one steamy August night time, I requested for 13.
A jersey quantity that, most likely for numerous causes, was not printed. 16 it was.
That little bit of likelihood despatched a ten-year-old boy down a special path of fandom. Montana grew to become the quarterback that I studied, modeled my recreation after, and adopted. Trying again, it was most likely for the very best given … let’s simply say stylistic points. After I reached highschool and 16 was not accessible I turned to three, the quantity Montana wore at Notre Dame.
In faculty, 3 changed into 9. Each 16 and three had been unavailable, so 9 — 3 instances 3 — was the very best I might do.
Quick-forward a couple of years from that sweltering August night, to the night time of Tremendous Bowl XXIII. There I used to be with my household, clad in all types of 49ers gear, watching from our front room as Montana and the 49ers took on the Cincinnati Bengals. I used to be just a few years older, and really a lot dwelling and dying with each snap.
That’s when Montana did what he did so many instances in his profession, which was ship a game-winning drive within the clutch. I virtually hit my head on the ceiling leaping with pleasure.
I grew older, and whereas I had a couple of probabilities to try to create related drives of my very own I by no means lived as much as them. Montana went to Kansas Metropolis and ultimately retired, and my very own taking part in days wound down. The 49ers fan in me subsided, and I did what many do, and began following the New England Patriots, the native workforce, throughout the Nineties. There have been some lean years, adopted by some extra profitable ones.
However Tremendous Bowl XXIII, and that game-winning drive, formed me.
Certain I received to see it, but when I might see any second in Tremendous Bowl historical past in particular person, that may be the one.
Bernd Buchmasser — Tremendous Bowl XXXVI
Rising up in Austria, you solely received one likelihood a 12 months to look at a dwell NFL soccer recreation. Evidently, that likelihood was the Tremendous Bowl.
I wasn’t notably within the sport as a child, however I had a basic thought of its existence and that the Tremendous Bowl was a fairly large deal. You simply can’t escape US tradition, even six time zones away and in a small city nestled within the Alps.
By February 2002, I needed to seek out out what the fuzz was all about. So, I requested my dad and mom if I might watch the sport.
Provided that it was a college night time, I can’t blame them for saying no. They did, nonetheless, promise to tape the entire thing.
Escaping spoilers was not a very onerous factor to do again then. My pals weren’t , and there was no web or different types of instantaneous communication accessible on the time. I used to be in a position to undergo a complete faculty day and return residence with out anyone having spoiled the enjoyable for me.
So, there I used to be, on Monday afternoon placing the VHS tape in and watching the sport. I had completely zero thought what was occurring, however credit score to Austria’s public broadcaster: they defined the sport, and what was occurring; in addition they made it clear that these St. Louis Rams had been fairly good, and that the New England Patriots had been big underdogs — one thing that resonated with me.
I needed to see the Patriots led by this beforehand unknown man named Tom Brady win. They went up 17-3 within the third quarter, and it was trying good, however the recreation was removed from over.
Effectively, at the least for the gamers it wasn’t.
For me, it was.
You see, VHS has restricted capability, and my dad and mom didn’t anticipate the complete rattling factor lasting round 4 hours. So, the tape simply ran out on me. I by no means noticed the Rams’ frantic comeback try, nor Brady main the Patriots on an unbelievable last-minute drive. I didn’t see Adam Vinatieri kick the game-winning area objective both.
I examine all of it within the newspaper the following day. I didn’t get to see video of all of it till round half a 12 months later, when the following season was about to kick off.
I nonetheless want I had seen it dwell.
Jason Marcum — Tremendous Bowl XLIX
If there was really a second in Tremendous Bowl historical past I want I might have been there to see in particular person, it needs to be what was some of the beautiful performs in NFL historical past.
It occurred within the closing minute of what had already been some of the thrilling championship video games the NFL had ever seen in Tremendous Bowl XLIX. The New England Patriots had been making an attempt to proceed what would turn out to be one of many best dynasties any sport had ever seen, whereas the Seattle Seahawks had been seeking to construct their very own dynasty after profitable it all of the season prior.
After the Seahawks constructed a 10-point lead that they took late into the fourth quarter, Tom Brady engineered considered one of his signature comebacks, throwing two touchdowns in slightly below six minutes of recreation time to offer New England a 28-24 lead with 2:02 remaining.
That gave Russell Wilson and the Seahawks one final likelihood to win the sport. After shortly moving into Patriots territory, Jermaine Kearse made some of the spectacular catches ever seen when he caught a twice-deflected ball that went off Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler and into Kearse’s ready arms earlier than he was tackled on the 5-yard line with a minute left.
That was adopted by a Marshawn Lynch run right down to the 4-yard line, and the Patriots burned a timeout to cease the clock with 26 seconds left, hoping to have slightly time to reply with the Seahawks set to punch this one in for the go-ahead rating…
That’s when some of the beautiful moments in NFL historical past occurred.
Sitting on the 1-yard line with one timeout remaining, it felt like a lock that the Seahawks had been punching this one in. Seattle might have simply gotten three extra performs in earlier than time expired. Heck, they seemingly might have simply run it three straight instances and gotten in earlier than the ultimate horn sounded.
And why wouldn’t you, whenever you had one of many NFL’s greatest operating backs in Lynch, a two-time speeding touchdowns chief who was additionally a First-Staff All-Professional in 2012 and a Second-Staff choose that very season…
That’s when Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made a name that may dwell in infamy.
With New England on its heels and Lynch able to pound it in for the win, Carroll opted to let Wilson drop again and throw a slant that was intercepted by Butler, who performed the route with absolute perfection to seize the ball earlier than Ricardo Lockette might get to it.
Watching this second on TV was like seeing a Shakespearean tragedy play out earlier than my very eyes on the world’s largest stage. By no means had there ever been a Tremendous Bowl second the place issues shifted so drastically from one play to the following.
A digital lock of a win for Seattle was instantly changed into a tragic defeat, all by only one superbly timed play by Butler, an undrafted rookie who, simply moments earlier, had allowed that batted ball to fall into the arms of Kearse and seemingly put Seattle in place to win the sport.
To be there dwell to see that second play out would have really been a sight to behold.
Jared Mueller— Tremendous Bowl XLII
Whereas I don’t have the identical private connection as others, seeing the New York Giants upend the Patriots with David Tyree’s helmet catch would have been wonderful. As an Ohioan, I all the time are likely to root for the underdogs. (Want there was any type of Cleveland Browns second I might add to this listing.) Calling a New York workforce an underdog feels bizarre however New England was the Goliath of that period so Eli Manning grew to become the David opposing them.
I didn’t really feel a variety of hope for the Giants watching the sport on tv however Tyree’s catch and their win was thrilling nonetheless. Being within the stands for it could have been nice particularly if any smug Patriots followers had been close by. (My pals Mark and Bernd aren’t smug and in the event that they had been there I might have consoled them first.)
Invoice Williamson — Tremendous Bowl XXV
To me, sports activities is an extension of my household. Sports activities grew to become my livelihood as a result of I used to be obsessive about it from a younger age. It’s all I used to be targeted on and I owe that to my father. He, too, was a sports activities addict. Our shared ardour fuels my recollections of him now, much more than 34 years after his loss of life.
My dad was a lifelong New York Giants fan. Whereas I did observe his path as a baseball Giants fan, I by no means actually purchased into the soccer Giants regardless that one my early recollections was strolling about with a type of basic Nineteen Seventies winter beanies (compete with the obnoxious coloured fuzzy ball on high) with the G-Males’s brand on it.
Nonetheless, I all the time although my dad’s fandom of the Giants was cool particularly after they drafted Lawrence Taylor (my goodness, did my father love himself some LT) and reworked their group. For a man who traveled from his residence within the Bronx to Philadelphia to have the ability to watch the basic Giants-Baltimore Colts 1958 NFL Championship recreation on tv, that was dubbed “The Best Sport Ever Performed”, my dad deserved all of the Giants’ success he received.
It was enjoyable seeing the Giants beat the Denver Broncos in XXI for dad because the Giants received their first Tremendous Bowl. I used to be away at school and wasn’t in a position to watch the sport with him. However I known as (accumulate) throughout the recreation because the Giants pulled away to listen to and really feel his pleasure.
That was the final Giants Tremendous Bowl we skilled collectively.
He died early within the 1990 season after a brief sickness. I used to be simply starting my skilled journalism profession, overlaying slightly little bit of the whole lot for a Bay Space newspaper’s sports activities part.
One among my most vivid and greatest recollections of my profession was overlaying the NFC Championship Sport between the Giants and the 49ers at Candlestick Park in January 1991. I used to be standing immediately behind the Giants’ bench when Matt Bahr’s 42-yard area objective sailed via the uprights to ship New York to Tremendous Bowl XXV and forestall the 49ers from making an attempt to turn out to be the one workforce to three-peat as a Tremendous Bowl champion.
I felt my dad throughout that kick. To this present day, It was the one recreation I’ve lined and was rooting for an consequence. I don’t apologize for it.
I want I used to be in a position to see the Giants end the journey in particular person on January 27, 1991, as they beat the Buffalo Payments in Tampa simply 4 months after they misplaced considered one of their largest followers.
I’ve all the time felt I owed Scott Norwood a stable. Large proper could have had some assist that day.
David Fucillo — Tremendous Bowl XXIII or XXIV
I grew to become a 49ers fan in 1988, the 12 months they ultimately received Tremendous Bowl 23 in opposition to the Bengals. It was a formative expertise as I’ve been a 49ers fan ever since. That recreation is without doubt one of the all-timers in Tremendous Bowl historical past due to Joe Montana main a game-winning drive he capped with a landing go to John Taylor.
It might be straightforward to say that’s the second I want I’d seen dwell. And if I’m being trustworthy with myself, it most likely was that drive. And but, as a child who liked the 49ers and liked speaking smack to individuals who preferred different groups, the following 12 months might need been even higher. The 49ers bulldozed the Broncos in what continues to be a record-breaking efficiency. Whereas there was not a single second about that recreation that stands out as an iconic second, the entire recreation was a second by which the 49ers made it clear they had been the workforce of the last decade. I can solely think about how a lot enjoyable I might have had sitting within the stands watching the 49ers completely decimating an extremely proficient Broncos squad. As a fan, I both need to see an epic tight recreation with a wild end, or I need to see my workforce absolute crush the opposition.
