This coming Sunday, we Americans will eat 4,000 tons of tortilla chips, dipped in 50 million pounds of guacamole. Consequently, 90 million toilets will be flushed at halftime, and antacid sales will increase by 20 percent the next day. Oh, and there's a game.

So what's the best Super Bowl ever? There's been a lot of print about the last 2 Super Bowls...but let's be honest -- both games had great ENDINGS. But for the most part, Supes 42 & 43 sucked it hard for the first three quarters. I'm talking about the best overall GAMES. Here's my criteria for being anointed the "greatest game of all time":

1. Star Power. Montana? Check. Bradshaw? Yup. Elway? Absolutely. Brady? Without question. Delhomme? Huh? Sorry, but the name "Jake Delhomme" cost SB 38 some brownie points -- top five game maybe, but not number one. 50 years from now, no one will be telling their grandkids, "I saw Jake Delhomme throw that incredible pass in the Super Bowl". And don't even get me started on Trent Dilfer.

2. Dramatic Finish. The contest has to have been decided in the last five minutes, or at least in the fourth quarter. If it was over at halftime, it ain't cuttin' the mustard. So that pretty much rules out every Super Bowl my Vikings have played in. (By the way, I need to stop using food-analogies like "brownie" and "mustard" in every paragraph.....it's not helping my diet.)

3. Historical Importance. Whether it was Elway finally getting his ring, Montana marching towards his place in immortality or Tom Brady having his coming-out party and scoring a mammoth upset, the game has to have something historic to hang its hat on. (And no, "coming-out party" was not a gay joke about Brady.)

So keeping those points in mind, let's begin the countdown of Mookie's Top Five All-Time Super Bowls:

Number Five:

Jan. 21, 1979
Orange Bowl
Miami, Florida
MVP: Terry Bradshaw, QB, Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Steelers 35
Dallas Cowboys 31


I got yer "star power" right here, buddy -- Bradshaw, Staubach, Swann, Stallworth, Dorsett, Too Tall, Franco. It was almost as if they played the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl on the same day. A back-and-forth first half with big pass plays from Terry and Roger, a furious two-touchdown rush in the final minutes by the Cowboys that almost pulled it out. If Dallas tight-end Jackie Smith doesn't drop that potential TD pass in the third quarter, the Cowboys last touchdown sends it in the first Super Overtime.

SB13's place in history? This matchup determined who would wear the crown of "Team of the 70s" -- both had already won two during the decade. Plus, this game bears the dubious distinction of Best Trash-Talk Quote, when Dallas linebacker Hollywood Henderson said of Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw, "He couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the C and the A."

Tomorrow: Number Four -- "The Silence Of The Rams".