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Game was good, but great?
By Greg Garber
Special to ESPN.com
ATLANTA -- The airport was mobbed Monday morning, as all the beautiful people departed this elegant but wind-chilled southern city. One of them, arms spread wide for the metal detectors, looked vaguely familiar behind a pair of wide sun glasses and a pulled-down hat.
"Hey, Joe Willie!" someone yelled. "Was that the best Super Bowl ever?"
|  | | | Kurt Warner celebrated a remarkable fourth quarter. |
Joe Namath himself turned and smiled. He saw the XXXIVth version of the NFL's championship in person at the Georgia Dome. He witnessed the St. Louis' Rams' Kurt Warner lob a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce to break a 16-all tie with 1:54 left. He watched the Tennessee Titans' chance to tie fall inches short when Rams linebacker Mike Jones wrapped up Kevin Dyson as time ran out.
"Uh, well ..." Namath began. "I am kind of biased."
Namath laughed. Clearly, Super Bowl III remains his favorite. When Namath's New York Jets stunned the Baltimore Colts 16-7, the NFL's merger with the old American Football League was legitimized. That was probably the most important game in Super Bowl history. But was Super Bowl XXXIV the best ever, as many around the country have said?
Those involved didn't argue.
Warner had to agree after a night that included a little of everything but not a moment of sleep.
"Not a wink," he said. "But it was all right. It was a great game. Been a great year. It is going to be busy, but that is all right. I have got plenty of time to catch up before mini-camp starts."
The best ever? No. Great games have an ebb and a flow but are compelling from the opening kickoff. Super Bowl XXXIV's first half was brutal. You know you're in trouble when the pregame show is better than the first 30 minutes; Tina Turner's backup singers were, as always, exceptional.
The game's first three drives wound up with field goal attempts and only one of them was good. Warner threw 35 passes in the first half -- a Super Bowl record -- and the Rams amassed 294 yards. Still, the score was only 9-0. The high-caliber Rams offense was reduced to three Jeff Wilkins field goals. The Titans? Steve McNair completed only 5 of 14 passes and Eddie George only ran 7 times for 18 yards. The closest the Titans came to scoring was Al Del Greco's missed 47-yard field goal on their first drive.
When Tennessee strong safety Blaine Bishop left the game with a sprained neck in the middle of the third quarter, the Rams appeared unassailable. They pushed the score to 16-0 three plays later when Warner hit Torry Holt with a 9-yard slant.
The Titans responded with a muscular drive that featured seven runs by George, the last a 1-yard touchdown.
And then came the fourth quarter, the best 15 minutes of Super Bowl action for pure theater.
The Titans drew even, teeing up Warner for one last mortar shot.
But Tennessee responded, as it has all season long, and very nearly forced the game to overtime. When St. Louis head coach Dick Vermeil saw Dyson heading across the middle with Jones in his wake, he was already looking ahead.
"Right away, my thoughts went to overtime," Vermeil said Monday. "Because I didn't know if he was going to tackle him. My thoughts were overtime, 'Hey, let's get ready to go.' Fortunately, Mike Jones made the play."
Sensational stuff. A great finish, but not enough to erase the memory of these more complete classics:
Super Bowl V -- Four lead changes and the Baltimore Colts' Jim O'Brien beats the Dallas Cowboys with a 32-yard field goal with five seconds left.
Super Bowl XIII -- A wild affair, spiced with Hall of Famers on both sides. The Pittsburgh Steelers outlast the Cowboys 35-31.
Super Bowl XXIII -- Similar, in some ways, to Super Bowl XXXIV. This one is 3-3 at the half, but there are five lead changes in the second half alone. Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnai Bengals 20-16 on an 11-play, 92-yard drive punctuated by a Montana-to-John Taylor 10-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds left.
Super Bowl XXV -- Five lead changes. Matt Bahr's 21-yard field goal is the winner, but no one remembers that. Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal attempt is wide right and the Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills 20-19.
Super Bowl XXXIV -- It featured a 16-0 deficit, eight field goal attempts and only three touchdowns. Still, the ending was heart-stopping. And remember, it's not how you start, it's...
"Just was a hell of a football game," said NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue Monday, not pausing to pardon his French. "It would have been appropriate last night if Al Michaels had ended the game by talking about miracles, bring us back to the hockey game in 1980.
"It was a miracle."
Greg Garber is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. His column has appeared every day during Super Bowl week.
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