Beezid's Favorite Super Bowl Moments

With just a couple of days before our Pimp My Super Bowl Party event, we here at Beezid have been discussing our all-time favorite Super Bowl moments. Some took place during the game, some took place before, but all have stayed with us as enduring, and sometimes very special memories. So, without further ado, here are our favorite Super Bowl moments as chosen by all the staff here at Beezid.

10. Super Bowl I: The Second 2nd Half Kickoff

The Super Bowl wasn't always granted the reverence that it is now by major networks. In fact, in Super Bowl I, during halftime, NBC's broadcaster Charlie Jones interviewed Bob Hope and the interview went so long, with neither of them paying attention to what was happening on the field, that the network completely missed the 2nd half kickoff. Although CBS was also covering the game, NBC asked the league if they wouldn't mind so much if the teams went ahead and redid kickoff.

Legend has it that moustachioed legend Pat Sumerall was on the sidelines as the CBS sideline reporter and that he was asked to go tell Packer's coach Vince Lombardi what had happened, and why the kickoff was being redone. Summerall had played for Lombardi in New York. He flatly refused to go anywhere near the coach. It's more than likely that he made the right decision.

9. Super Bowl XIII: Bradshaw's Cat

There was something about the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers that just seemed to get under peoples' skin – unless you were a Steelers fan, of course. Super Bowl XIII was the first to garner the kind of attention that it did, given its showdown between the grizzly, unlikeable Steelers and the wholesome, loveable Cowboys.

Displaying his disdain for Bradshaw, the Steelers’ quarterback, Cowboys linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson said of Bradshaw, “[he] couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the 'c' and the 'a'.” Bradshaw was unperturbed and did his talking on the field, leading the Steelers to a 35-31 victory, and claiming the MVP award.

8. Super Bowl III: NostraNamath

The 1969 Super Bowl was expected to be a blowout victory by the heavily favored Baltimore Colts who had gone 13-1 that season over the 11-3 New York Jets led by quarterback Joe Namath. At a press conference a few days before the game, Namath was being heckled by a Colts fan, and responded by saying, “We're gonna win the game. I guarantee it,” which became one of the most famous utterances by any sports figure in history.

The Jets, as you well know, went on to win and, despite not throwing a single touchdown, Namath took home the MVP award. It's possible they granted him the honor based solely on his ability to predict the future.

7. Super Bowl III: Namath Gives the Crowd the Finger

Of course, we could have added this to the one above, but the image of Namath walking off the field with his index finger raised high has become one of the most indelible images in sports history, made all the more poignant by his refusal to utter a single syllable until he had left the field. He didn't have to. The salute said all that needed to be said.

6. Super Bowl VII: Garo Switches Positions

With just 2:07 left on the clock and his team, the Miami Dolphins, up by a score of 14-0 over the Washington Redskins, Garo Yepremian set up to kick a field goal to put the game out of reach. However, the ball was handled poorly, and he was unable to kick the ball. Picking up the tumbling football, Garo decided his best option was to switch positions and be the quarterback, and pass the ball down the field. Unfortunately, the task was not quite as simple as it looked, and he ended up dropping the ball. The Redskins' Mike Bass picked up the ball and took the ball to the end zone to put them within one touchdown of a tie.

Luckily for Garo, the Dolphins were able to hold on and win the game, otherwise he could have been out of two jobs: kicker and quarterback.

5. Super Bowl XXXV: Whitney's Waterworks

On January 27, 1991, the world was preoccupied with the Gulf War, so much so during the halftime of Super Bowl XXXV, instead of broadcasting the halftime proceedings, ABC elected to broadcast a a special news report hosted by Peter Jennings on the current Gulf War situation.

And while it was a great game, the thing that everyone will remember the most about that day is the tearful and heartfelt rendition of the Star-Spangled banner sung by a young Whitney Houston. Watch the video below. If you're not all teared-up by the end, then you're not human (despite the fact that she later admitted to lip syncing). If not for the actual rendition of the song, but for the memory of a Whitney Houston who could carry a tune.

4. Super Bowl XXXII: Elway in The Air Up There

It was a tie game between the Broncos and the Packers with the game tied at 17. The Broncos had the ball on third-and-six. Dropping back to find a receiver, John Elway found none, and took off to his right, scrambling hard, and then headed for the first-down marker with a full head of steam. Just shy of the first down, Elway was crushed by LeRoy Butler of the Packers and was sent flying through the air like a helicopter. If that wasn't enough, Elway was once again hammered by Mike Prior, but Prior's hit sends Elway in the right direction and, upon landing, he has a first down.

While many quarterbacks – indeed, many players – would have been unable to move after the savage beating he'd just received, Elway jumped up immediately and pumped his fists in the air in victory. The entire stadium saw the game change at that moment. Looking back on it, the Bronco's Terrell Davis would say, “As soon as I saw John do that, I knew the game was ours.” Denver won the Super Bowl 31-24 with Davis scoring the touchdown that put them ahead on the very same drive.

3. Super Bowl XXI: I'm Going to Disneyland

The phrase, “I'm going to Disneyland” has become such an integral part of popular culture that every time a 12-year-old boy catches a football and runs for a touchdown, there is a 98.735% chance that he will yell those words as loudly as he can after spiking the football. That is an actual statistical fact gathered by the good people at PricewhaterhouseCoopers.*

The first time this phrase was uttered on television was after Super Bowl XXI when Phil Simms, leaving the field after his victory with the NY Giants, was asked by a reporter what he was going to do now. The rest is history.

*Not an actual statistical fact gathered by the good people at PricewhaterhouseCoopers.

2. Super Bowl XLIV: Saints Go Marching Onside

If there's one thing that the people of New Orleans believe in, it's their ability to win under any conditions. Case in point: the New Orleans Saints of Super Bowl XLIV.

In a long history of NFL seasons, 2009 was the first year the Saints had made it to the big game, and they were up against the Colts led by Peyton Manning who had gone 14-0 in the regular season before resting the starters for the playoffs. With the Colts in control at halftime, leading 10-6, the Saints surprised everyone by starting the 2nd half with an onside kick. The move stunned the Colts, and the Saints recovered, setting the stage for a touchdown drive, and an eventual Super Bowl victory.

1. Super Bowl XXII: Kevin Arnold Becomes a Man

Our number one, and very favorite Super Bowl moment of all time, came not before the game, and not even during it, but actually came after the game was played. How many of you remember Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper of The Wonder Years? How many of you stayed tuned in to ABC after the Redskins beat the Broncos to see Kevin and Winnie share their first kiss on the pilot of the Wonder Years? Even though he was a Jets fan, Kevin did the right thing and took his Jets jacket off and wrapped it around Winnie, who was shaking from the cold. She warmed up, they both got their first kiss, and The Wonder Years would be America's most-beloved television program for the next six years.

Have a Super Bowl moment that you remember that you'd like to share with us. Please, tell us about it in the comments section.