These bowls were indeed super -- especially when the Steelers lose: Bill Livingston

A personal list of favorite Super Bowls, which rewarded daring, exposed underachievers and thwarted Pittsburgh.

View full sizeAP file photoThere are always improbable Super Bowl heroes, but few were so clearly fortunate -- and able to turn that good luck into a personal fortune -- than Cowboys defensive back Larry Brown in Big Game XXX, says Bill Livingston.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In Cleveland, Super Bowl Sunday once was a time for what-iffing and shoulda-beening. But it has been so long since the Browns regularly flirted with playing in the game with the Roman numerals that almost all fans here have to cling to is the nickname of Mike Holmgren, the latest czar of all Berea -- The Big Show.

So, when do the Browns get their ticket punched for the Show? Urging patience is an unpopular strategy.

One way, however, to turn that frown upside down is to focus on the moments when the haves had not and when Toto pulled the curtain back, exposing the great and powerful Oz.

That's the selection bias here, not necessarily resentment of Pittsburgh's Super Bowl XLV-bound "Stillers," as their fans term them. (Those charmers also say "you'uns" -- pronounced "yuns" -- because the dears have trouble grasping that the plural form of "you" is still, um, "you.")

Solely on a subjective basis, here's the list of my five favorite Super Bowls. (Heads up, Pittsburgh. Coming right at youns.)

1. Super Bowl XXX -- Cowboys 27, Steelers 17.

Why: It's the only Supe the Steelers have lost. Also, it was the most ridiculous example of pure, dumb luck ever. Although Pittsburgh dominated the second half, beginning with a surprise onside kick recovery, this was remembered ever after as the Neil O'Donnell giveaway game.

The never-to-be-forgotten Stiller QB twice hit Dallas defensive back Larry Brown, who was not only open, but was the only man in the same zip code, for timely interceptions. It was said that Brown won the game's Most Valuable Player award for finding a $50 bill on the sidewalk.

Also memorable: Al Davis, that sharpie, signed Brown to a huge free-agent contract in the off-season. Unable to face O'Donnell consistently, Brown proved to be a huge bust. And who can forget "Neon Deion" Sanders, augering himself into the turf, rather than try to actually hit Steeler monsterback Bam Morris?

2. Super Bowl XLII -- Giants 17, Patriots 14.

Why: Truth, justice and a favorable spin of Fortune's wheel spoiled Bill Belichick and the Pats' perfect season. Eli Manning, who was almost, but not quite, in the grasp of a tackler, slithered away and threw the ball that little-known David Tyree caught with his helmet, setting up the last-minute winning touchdown.

Also memorable: It was the season when Eric Mangini blew the whistle on the Patriots' illegal spying. On the Pats' last possession, Tom Brady's long pass that would have put New England in tying field goal range was one foot beyond the reach of sometimes slacker Randy Moss, who didn't lay out for the ball.

3. Super Bowl III -- Jets 16, Colts 7.

Why: The Delts beat the Omegas. Never was anyone so praised for leading a team to one touchdown as was Joe Namath. The game validated the AFL and probably put Namath in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, despite a horrendous 173-220 career TDs to interceptions ratio. Possibly Baltimore's Earl Morrall was channeling his inner Broadway Joe. He still hasn't seen Jimmy Orr, open in the end zone.

Also memorable: The upset established the notoriety of oddsmaker Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, who installed the Colts as 18-point favorites. It showed that people don't have to be that good at what they did anymore in America. On a big-enough stage, colorful, epic ineptitude worked just as well.

4. Super Bowl XLIV -- Saints 31, Colts 17.

Why: Football is a big-game, peak-experience sport. As was the case with Peyton Manning in college at Tennessee, in the pros, too, his big-game record is one of resounding underachievement. The pick-six he threw clinched the upset for the Saints, who, post-Katrina, were the real America's team. The uh-oh toss also gave Manning a 9-9 record in the playoffs. It's now 9-10.

Also memorable: Sean Payton outcoached Indy's Jim Caldwell as widely as Bill Cowher did to Barry Switzer in Super Bowl XXX. The Saints even recovered a second-half surprise onside kick too. This time, creativity and aggression were rewarded.

5. Super Bowl IV -- Chiefs 23, Vikings 7

Why: Conclusively proved the Jets' victory the year before was no fluke and that AFL coaches were ahead of their NFL counterparts in creativity. It further showed that short-sighted Browns owner Art Modell, by accepting $3 million to leave the soon-to-be-named NFC for the AFC in the coming pro football merger, was sallying forth on his biggest "d'oh" moment since firing Paul Brown. The path to the Super Bowl was exponentially harder in the stronger AFC.

Also memorable: Miked for sound Chiefs coach Hank Stram, inventing a new meaning for the word "matriculate" by babbling, "Keep matriculatin' the ball down the field, boys."

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Source: http://www.cleveland.com/livingston/index.ssf/2011/01/these_bowls_were_indeed_super.html

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