Super Bowl XXXII

Jan. 25, 1998
Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, California
MVP: Terrell Davis, RB, Denver

Green Bay Packers 24
Denver Broncos 31

As a fan of the Raiders AND Vikings, bitter rivals of the two teams involved here, it pains me greatly to place this game atop the pedestal of the pantheon of Super Bowls. But this one was truly Super. The potential pathos of watching John Elway sulk off football's biggest field a four-time loser was hype enough. It seemed like everyone outside of the Green Bay city limits was rooting for John -- if your team wasn't in the game, as announcer Dick Enberg cornily proclaimed, "the right way was El-way". Add in one of the greatest QB matchups in big-game history (Favre vs. No. 7), an epic ending, a watershed moment for the Bronco quarterback (his helicopter spin) -- and you've got the Superest Bowl of 'em all.

You must remember: back then, the AFC was coming off thirteen straight bitch-slaps from the NFC. The American Conference was like the Triple-A affiliate of the NFL -- the NFC Championship was considered almost every year to be the "real Super Bowl". So when some spectacular runs by Terrell Davis and two titanic turnovers by the Pack had Denver leading 17-7 in the 2nd quarter, the football world was on its collective ear. Phones were ringing across the country: "Dude, turn on the game! Denver is actually WINNING!"

And when Elway survives his spectacular third-quarter, mid-air acrobatic, triple-Packer sandwich hit, en route to a first down (and setting up a 24-17 lead), you know something special is happening. Green Bay gamely ties it up in the final period, and Denver gets one final regulation-time drive with two minutes to go. After three consecutive big-games that were mostly over by halftime, this is all John Elway has ever wanted -- the ball in his hand, with a chance to win it all. A few precise passes and some punishing runs by Davis, and before you know it, the Broncos are plowing in for the go-ahead TD with just over a minute remaining.

Favre and the Pack make one last push but come up short, and we hear the announcer uttering the ungodly surreal phrase, "Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos" -- five words we never thought we'd hear in the same sentence. Elway dedicates the victory to all the fans in Denver, across Colorado and the whole Rocky Mountain region, but as Broncos owner Pat Bowlen puts it, we all know that: "This One's For John".