I couldnt even name the last 5 super bowl winners, nor do I care.  Can football even be called a sport after this weeks Collts game?   A lineman touches Mannings helmet (and it was just a touch) and gets flagged for a hit to the head.  He was going for the ball.  this league is a joke.  Complain all you want about drunks and ladies showing mid-thigh but all of it is better then paying attention to what is taking place on the field.

"My wife goes to the bedroom to watch Victim T.V"

My wife watches midgets and angry housewives. Usually on different shows.

Going back to Super Bowl XXXII (Favre vs. Elway), there have been some very entertaining games.

2000 - Rams vs. Titans
2002 - Rams vs. Patriots
2004 - Panthers vs. Patriots
2007 - Bears vs. Colts
2008 - Giants vs. Patriots
2009 - Cardinals vs. Steelers

Ravens-Giants, Bucs-Raiders, Steelers-Seahawks and Colts-Saints were duds, as was the Broncos-Falcons matchup in '99. Eagles-Patriots was close, but it never felt like Philadelphia was going to win. And there's only been two blowouts in the past two years.

tkihshbt wrote:

Going back to Super Bowl XXXII (Favre vs. Elway), there have been some very entertaining games.

2000 - Rams vs. Titans
2002 - Rams vs. Patriots
2004 - Panthers vs. Patriots
2007 - Bears vs. Colts
2008 - Giants vs. Patriots
2009 - Cardinals vs. Steelers

Ravens-Giants, Bucs-Raiders, Steelers-Seahawks and Colts-Saints were duds, as was the Broncos-Falcons matchup in '99. Eagles-Patriots was close, but it never felt like Philadelphia was going to win. And there's only been two blowouts in the past two years.

Wow Tk, you're pretty tough on the "duds" classification.  Colts-Saints?  I found that game extremely enjoyable to watch.  Payton's decision to open the 2nd half with an onsides kick was one of the ballsiest coaching decisions ever.  And in contrast to that NE-Eagles game, throughout the whole NO-Indy game I figured Manning would bring the Colts back.  At least until he threw that interception that was returned for a TD.

I remember reading somewhere some speculation that Fisher might have gone for 2 if Dyson had scored on the last play.  The idea being that they didn't want the outcome of the game to hinge on a coin toss, and the Rams defense was so tired they felt pretty confident in their ability to convert.

artie_fufkin wrote:

"one big problem with the superbowls i have watched is that about 80% of them are blowouts where there's not much excitement after the first quarter."

That was the mantra in the '60s and '70s, but there have been some close and exciting Super Bowls in the last decade, Max. I think six of the last seven have been decided in the last few minutes, and four of those were decided in the last minute.

Well, there's the evidence of how little football i have watched in the past 10-20 years.  I lived in st. louis 98-00, and experienced the kurt warner phenomenon (and won my FF league, the only other time i played).  those were two superbowls (99-00) that were unwatchable for all the non football watchers glued to prime viewing positions as they chomped on chips and dip and talked about anything except the game.  I can't remember a thing from either, except that I think the Rams one at least one of them.

artie_fufkin wrote:

That game was so lopsided it rendered Joe Theismann speechless. Not an easy thing to do.

Were you aware that his last name was pronounced "Theesman" until his final year at Notre Dame?

Mags wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

That game was so lopsided it rendered Joe Theismann speechless. Not an easy thing to do.

Were you aware that his last name was pronounced "Theesman" until his final year at Notre Dame?

I was. My hatred of Notre Dame football is genetic.

tkihshbt wrote:

Max wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

And the best Super Bowl of all-time is .

Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10

Super Bowl XLII - New York Giants 17 New England Patriots 14

It had the most improbable catch of all-time (David Tyree, he of 54 career receptions, making a third down catch with help from his helmet), Steve Spagnuolo eating Belichick and his wunderkind McDaniels alive and Tom Brady getting ragdolled for 60 minutes.

That's in the top four. I loathed the Giants and their fans up until that point, but all of it went away that day.

artie_fufkin wrote:

Max wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

And the best Super Bowl of all-time is .

Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10

The Patriots weren't nearly as annoying then as they are now. In fact, I probably would have rooted for them in that Super Bowl if they hadn't knocked off the Raiders along the way.
And I didn't buy Jim McMahon's act a bit. He was a very un-like-able quarterback who had very little to do with that team winning, in spite of how much he tought of himself.

I had probably watched every Bear game from the 1977 when Greg Latta caught a Hail Mary from Bob Avellini to beat the Rams through the 1984 loss to the 49ers for the NFC championship.  Then I moved to LA and missed every game of the 1985 season . . . except the Monday Night game against the Dolphins.  So, watching the playoffs that year was a lot of fun.

I couldn't disagree more about McMahon.  The key to the Bears offense was obviously Payton, as it had been since '77, and to some extent the previous season.   But defenses keyed on him and in all those years, McMahon was really the only guy who was able to make them pay for that.

"In an early-season Thursday night game at Minnesota, McMahon was slated to back up Steve Fuller, as McMahon had missed practice time earlier in the week due to a neck injury that required an overnight hospital stay. Midway into the third quarter, the Vikings held a 17–9 lead. McMahon lobbied to get into the game until well into the third quarter. Once finally on the field, his first play was an opportunistic 70 yard touchdown pass to Willie Gault. His very next offensive play was a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon, making him 2–2 for 95 yards and two touchdowns. He followed up with another successful offensive drive, including a crucial third and short sneak to set up another 43-yard touchdown pass to McKinnon. The Bears led 30–17 and went on to win the game 33–24."

He was amazing, it was a realy shame that jackasses like those on the Los Angeles Raiders (lacerated kidney from a tackle?!?  Send those thugs to jail!) and Charles Martin (also should have done time for the hit he put on McMahon that basically ended his effectiveness as a QB).

Last edited by Max (11/08/2010 10:36 pm)

artie_fufkin wrote:

Yes, women and sissy men still get tears in their eyes recounting the night McMahon replaced Steve Fuller. I think that episode was the inspiration for The Natural.

Rather than relying on whimsical anecdotes on Wikpedia from CubFans, here's a list from a real website of QBs with higher career ratings than Amos Alonzo McMahon:
(Elvis Grbac?!?)

1. Philip Rivers (28) 96.9  2004-2010  sdg
2. Steve Young+  96.8  1985-1999  2TM
3. Aaron Rodgers (26) 95.8  2005-2010  gnb
4. Tony Romo (29) 95.5  2004-2010  dal
5. Peyton Manning (33) 95.2  1998-2010  clt
6. Kurt Warner  93.7  1998-2009  3TM
7. Tom Brady (32) 93.5  2000-2010  nwe
8. Joe Montana+  92.3  1979-1994  2TM
9. Ben Roethlisberger (27) 92.1  2004-2010  pit
10. Drew Brees (30) 91.9  2001-2010  2TM
11. Matt Schaub (28) 90.8  2004-2010  2TM
12. Chad Pennington  90.1  2000-2009  2TM
13. Daunte Culpepper  87.8  1999-2009  4TM
14. Jeff Garcia  87.5  1999-2009  5TM
15. Carson Palmer (30) 87.4  2004-2010  cin
16. Otto Graham+  86.6  1946-1955  cle
17. Dan Marino+  86.4  1983-1999  mia
18. Brett Favre (40) 86.3  1991-2010  4TM
19. Trent Green  86.0  1997-2008  4TM
20. Donovan McNabb (33) 85.9  1999-2010  2TM
David Garrard (31) 85.9  2002-2010  jax
22. Joe Flacco (24) 85.8  2008-2010  rav
23. Matt Ryan (24) 85.7  2008-2010  atl
24. Rich Gannon  84.7  1987-2004  4TM
25. Jim Kelly+  84.4  1986-1996  buf
Marc Bulger  84.4  2002-2009  ram
27. Jay Cutler (26) 84.1  2006-2010  2TM
28. Mark Brunell (39) 84.0  1994-2010  5TM
29. Roger Staubach+  83.4  1969-1979  dal
30. Steve McNair  82.8  1995-2007  2TM
31. Neil Lomax  82.7  1981-1988  crd
Brian Griese  82.7  1998-2008  4TM
33. Sonny Jurgensen+  82.6  1957-1974  2TM
Len Dawson+  82.6  1957-1975  3TM
35. Brad Johnson  82.5  1994-2008  4TM
Matt Hasselbeck (34) 82.5  1999-2010  2TM
37. Jason Campbell (28) 82.2  2006-2010  2TM
38. Ken Anderson  81.9  1971-1986  cin
39. Neil O'Donnell  81.8  1991-2003  4TM
Bernie Kosar  81.8  1985-1996  3TM
41. Danny White  81.7  1976-1988  dal
42. Troy Aikman+  81.6  1989-2000  dal
43. Randall Cunningham  81.5  1985-2001  4TM
Dave Krieg  81.5  1980-1998  6TM
45. Jake Delhomme (34) 81.4  1999-2010  3TM
46. Matt Cassel (27) 81.2  2005-2010  2TM
47. Boomer Esiason  81.1  1984-1997  3TM
48. Warren Moon+  80.9  1984-2000  4TM
49. Damon Huard  80.6  1998-2008  3TM
50. Bart Starr+  80.5  1956-1971  gnb
Jeff Hostetler  80.5  1985-1997  3TM
52. Fran Tarkenton+  80.4  1961-1978  2TM
Ken O'Brien  80.4  1984-1993  2TM
Eli Manning (28) 80.4  2004-2010  nyg
Jeff George  80.4  1990-2001  5TM
56. Steve Beuerlein  80.3  1988-2003  6TM
57. Dan Fouts+  80.2  1973-1987  sdg
58. John Elway+  79.9  1983-1998  den
59. Kyle Orton (27) 79.7  2005-2010  2TM
Tony Eason  79.7  1983-1990  2TM
61. Byron Leftwich  79.6  2003-2009  4TM
Elvis Grbac  79.6  1994-2001  3TM
63. Chris Chandler  79.1  1988-2004  7TM
64. Mark Rypien  78.9  1988-2001  5TM
65. Jim Everett  78.6  1986-1997  3TM
66. Aaron Brooks  78.5  2000-2006  2TM
Phil Simms  78.5  1979-1993  nyg
68. Johnny Unitas+  78.2  1956-1973  2TM
Jim McMahon  78.2  1982-1996  6TM

Excellent job supporting the age old wisdom that statistics don't tell the whole story, and maybe not even the half of it.  Just look at the names at the bottom of that list: Unitas. Elway, Fouts, Tarneton, Starr . . . that's some heady company that McMahon is in.

artie_fufkin wrote:

none of those QBs had what was generally considered to be one of the best defenses ever and one of the top 5 RBs in the history of the game bailing him out. McMahon is an afterthought on that team. He's Trent Dilfer, the guy who won a ring because he didn't screw up.

Everything McMahon ever accomplished was because Walter Payton and Buddy Ryan's D held his hand and spoon fed him.  He was an afterthought!  Of course, 3 TDs in the final four minutes of a bowl game isn't bad, and he didn't have Payton of Buddy Ryan that time. 

"McMahon's finest hour at BYU came in the 1980 Holiday Bowl. The Cougars faced a tough SMU team. Behind star running backs Craig James and Eric Dickerson, the Mustangs built a 45–25 lead over BYU with just four minutes left in the game. As Cougar fans headed for the exits, McMahon screamed that the game wasn't over yet. He calmly guided BYU's offense to three quick touchdowns, including a 41-yard Hail Mary pass to Clay Brown to win the game[1] as time expired. It is regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in college football history; BYU fans refer to it as the "Miracle Bowl"."

Speak of the Devil, look who is in the news:

McMahon to raise money for brain research

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-mcmahon-brainstudies