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How many Super Bowls did you watch?


notthatbluestuff

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Few (maybe nobody) will care but I feel like reminiscing about each Super Bowl watching experience since I enjoy reading stories like this and hope others will share theirs. So far I have watched each game in a different location:

As I said, I was aware of SB 42 and 43 due to discussion on a sports forum I was a member of at the time but wasn't really an NFL fan yet. Most people were ecstatic about the Giants beating the 18-0 Pats and I knew it was a big deal. 43 got less buzz but I remember feeling bummed that the underdog Cards (apparently) had lost. Since then I've obviously watched both games after becoming an NFL fan.

SB 44 (Saints/Colts) - I became a fan during the 09 postseason so was reasonably excited for this game, though I didn't have a dog in the race. However the game started at 12:30am in the UK. I watched the first half or maybe even just the first quarter before going to bed. I woke up to check the result later and remember feeling happy for the Saints with everything that had happened to New Orleans, and with it being their first title.

SB 45 (Packers/Steelers) - I watched all of this one, proper NFL fan at this time though I still didn't have a particular team I rooted for. I was a freshman at university and watched from my dorm room. That sports forum I read was full of fans of both teams; Steelers fans were ready to throw in the towel for most of the game until they started making their comeback attempt. At the end I enjoyed GB winning because those Steelers fans were pretty grating.

SB 46 (Giants/Patriots) - I was a sophomore and watched the full game, all night in the UK essentially from my student house. None of my housemates cared about the NFL. I thought there was no chance the Giants would beat the Pats again, but was very happy they did. For some reason I remember enjoying Madonna's halftime show.

SB 47 (Ravens/49ers) - My first SB experience in the USA which I thought would mean it would be great, but actually it was the worst. I was studying abroad at Purdue (became a Colts fan at this time) and attended a Super Bowl party. It sucked because everyone just chatted through the whole game and nobody paid attention except for the commercials and Beyonce's halftime show. I felt like I was by far the biggest NFL fan there and just couldn't enjoy it because I couldn't focus on the game.

SB 48 (Seahawks/Broncos) - Back in the UK for my senior year at university. Pretty busy that year so didn't follow the NFL as closely as before. Again I lived in a student house but unlike two years earlier, we had the game on in the living room for maybe the first half. Lost interest pretty quickly and I had to go to bed anyway for class the next day.

SB 49 (Patriots/Seahawks) - At this point I'd gone to work in Beijing, China, but this was during the Chinese New Year holidays so I was visiting Japan and stayed with an American buddy from Purdue who was researching there at the time. For some reason we only watched the second half; I remember being absolutely shocked at the end when Seattle passed when they had Lynch at the ready, yet my buddy somehow didn't think it was such a big deal. 

SB 50 (Broncos/Panthers) - Watched this game in Suzhou, China, with my then girlfriend (now wife). Enjoyed it a lot since I could focus on the game and still have fond memories of this one. I enjoyed Denver's defensive performance and how they shut down MVP Cam.

SB 51 (Patriots/Falcons) - I was on vacation in Thailand at the time and saw parts of the game from my hotel room. I came up from breakfast to watch the Pats mount their comeback; I felt dazed since I was definitely rooting for the Falcons. 

SB 52 (Eagles/Patriots) - Watched from our apartment in Tianjin, China. Great, thrilling game even though I was for some reason rooting against the Eagles.

SB 53 (Patriots/Rams) - I was on vacation in Egypt and watched the second half from the hotel lobby (I'm a nerd). I was shocked by the score when I turned it on. And again was bummed since I was rooting against the Pats. 

For the upcoming game, it's coming full circle since it looks like I'll be leaving China very shortly and I'll watch SB 54 in the UK. 

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On 1/26/2020 at 11:45 AM, m haynes said:

Every single one.

Same. Only one I attended was Jets/Colts in 1969 when I was in elementary school in Miami.

I wasn't surprised in the least that the Jets won. One month earlier my dad took me to see the season finale of Dolphins hosting the Jets. New York toyed with the Dolphins. It was something like 31-7. The Dolphins had a backup field goal kicker hit the upright on a 10 yard field goal early in the game. I can still picture the agony on his face when he missed it. We were sitting not far away in that end zone. Then the rest of the game was all Jets.

During that Super Bowl we were sitting in the same end zone as a family of four, but a higher row. Maybe the 30th row of the lower deck. The nearby fans were part of the Baltimore Colts Corral. They were like professional fans. Dressed impeccably. One guy was walking around with a sign that said, "Earl the Pearl will make Joe the Mouth eat his words." That became a famous sign. You still see it in videos of that game. I always scramble to look for myself and my family because we were right there. The guy holding that sign was literally 5 feet in front of us. But the photos and videos were taken from the wrong angle. We never appear.

That end zone had some of the famous plays from that game. Lou Michaels of the Colts missed a very short field goal early, something like 29 yards after Tom Matte had a very long run. Then a Morrall pass deflected off a shoulder pad near the goal line and went high in the air before being picked off. Just before halftime the Jets led after a Matt Snell touchdown sweep toward the opposite end zone. The Colts were near midfield and ran a flea flicker. Myself and my family gasped. We could see Johnny Orr running free down the left sideline. I mean, he was running smack toward where we were sitting and waving his hand in the air for the ball. I will never lose that mental image. It was a certain touchdown. 

Then somehow Earl Morrall never looked in that direction. We were in family disbelief when Morrall launched it deep over the middle instead. That still looked dangerous but then a Jets safety cut in front at the last second and picked it off. I think it was Randy Beverly. I'm not going to look it up. The Jets safeties Randy Beverly and Johnny Sample were very famous players, well known even to a third grader like myself. People underestimate how immensely talented that Jets team was.

There was only one guy sitting near us also rooting for the Jets. He was one row in front and sitting almost directly in front of me. The entire game he was cupping his hands over his mouth while saying, "Roll 'em Namath...roll 'em, roll 'em."

The Colts fans were mocking him early but soon shut up. They were in stunned silence most of the remainder of the game.

Johnny Unitas made a late appearance and directed a touchdown drive. My dad kept saying how sad it was, that Unitas was physically only a shell of his former self. 

But then Unitas went on to win a Super Bowl in relief a couple of years later, helped by the famous deflection play to Eddie Hinton. Funny how I remember all these 50 years ago names better than anything recent.

When Namath ran off the field waving his index finger in the air as #1, that was also smack toward us and into the tunnel. It is still easily the most colorful game I've ever attended. Field was in immaculate shape. Confetti everywhere as the game ended.

BTW, ticket prices were $15. My dad had me devote my weekly 40 cent allowance to the ticket for nearly an entire year. He wanted to teach me the value of money. But my sweet mom foiled his plans. She would secretly reimburse me the 40 cents every week during our trip to Publix. We delighted in that secret.

When we arrived for the game my dad was absolutely furious at the $4 parking fee. I mean beyond furious. This was in a new gas station smack across the street from the Orange Bowl. As we walked toward the stadium he wouldn't shut up about that $4. It was an unheard of fee at the time. Finally my mom asked him if he was intent on ruining the entire experience based on that 4 dollars.

I've never really wanted to attend another Super Bowl because the one I did attend is probably the most famous NFL game of all time. That will do.

Younger fellow Dolphins fans refuse to believe that Miamians were rooting for the Jets. But that was absolutely the case. The entire neighborhood was thrilled the Jets won, to validate the upstart AFL. My school was thrilled. We loved the Jets and thanked the Jets. Kids in PE class were pretending to be Joe Namath or Don Maynard. Then once the merger happened in 1970 the bitter division rival was the Colts, not the Jets. 

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16 hours ago, Awsi Dooger said:

Same. Only one I attended was Jets/Colts in 1969 when I was in elementary school in Miami.

I wasn't surprised in the least that the Jets won. One month earlier my dad took me to see the season finale of Dolphins hosting the Jets. New York toyed with the Dolphins. It was something like 31-7. The Dolphins had a backup field goal kicker hit the upright on a 10 yard field goal early in the game. I can still picture the agony on his face when he missed it. We were sitting not far away in that end zone. Then the rest of the game was all Jets.

During that Super Bowl we were sitting in the same end zone as a family of four, but a higher row. Maybe the 30th row of the lower deck. The nearby fans were part of the Baltimore Colts Corral. They were like professional fans. Dressed impeccably. One guy was walking around with a sign that said, "Earl the Pearl will make Joe the Mouth eat his words." That became a famous sign. You still see it in videos of that game. I always scramble to look for myself and my family because we were right there. The guy holding that sign was literally 5 feet in front of us. But the photos and videos were taken from the wrong angle. We never appear.

That end zone had some of the famous plays from that game. Lou Michaels of the Colts missed a very short field goal early, something like 29 yards after Tom Matte had a very long run. Then a Morrall pass deflected off a shoulder pad near the goal line and went high in the air before being picked off. Just before halftime the Jets led after a Matt Snell touchdown sweep toward the opposite end zone. The Colts were near midfield and ran a flea flicker. Myself and my family gasped. We could see Johnny Orr running free down the left sideline. I mean, he was running smack toward where we were sitting and waving his hand in the air for the ball. I will never lose that mental image. It was a certain touchdown. 

Then somehow Earl Morrall never looked in that direction. We were in family disbelief when Morrall launched it deep over the middle instead. That still looked dangerous but then a Jets safety cut in front at the last second and picked it off. I think it was Randy Beverly. I'm not going to look it up. The Jets safeties Randy Beverly and Johnny Sample were very famous players, well known even to a third grader like myself. People underestimate how immensely talented that Jets team was.

There was only one guy sitting near us also rooting for the Jets. He was one row in front and sitting almost directly in front of me. The entire game he was cupping his hands over his mouth while saying, "Roll 'em Namath...roll 'em, roll 'em."

The Colts fans were mocking him early but soon shut up. They were in stunned silence most of the remainder of the game.

Johnny Unitas made a late appearance and directed a touchdown drive. My dad kept saying how sad it was, that Unitas was physically only a shell of his former self. 

But then Unitas went on to win a Super Bowl in relief a couple of years later, helped by the famous deflection play to Eddie Hinton. Funny how I remember all these 50 years ago names better than anything recent.

When Namath ran off the field waving his index finger in the air as #1, that was also smack toward us and into the tunnel. It is still easily the most colorful game I've ever attended. Field was in immaculate shape. Confetti everywhere as the game ended.

BTW, ticket prices were $15. My dad had me devote my weekly 40 cent allowance to the ticket for nearly an entire year. He wanted to teach me the value of money. But my sweet mom foiled his plans. She would secretly reimburse me the 40 cents every week during our trip to Publix. We delighted in that secret.

When we arrived for the game my dad was absolutely furious at the $4 parking fee. I mean beyond furious. This was in a new gas station smack across the street from the Orange Bowl. As we walked toward the stadium he wouldn't shut up about that $4. It was an unheard of fee at the time. Finally my mom asked him if he was intent on ruining the entire experience based on that 4 dollars.

I've never really wanted to attend another Super Bowl because the one I did attend is probably the most famous NFL game of all time. That will do.

Younger fellow Dolphins fans refuse to believe that Miamians were rooting for the Jets. But that was absolutely the case. The entire neighborhood was thrilled the Jets won, to validate the upstart AFL. My school was thrilled. We loved the Jets and thanked the Jets. Kids in PE class were pretending to be Joe Namath or Don Maynard. Then once the merger happened in 1970 the bitter division rival was the Colts, not the Jets. 

Namath was a God.  You are very lucky to see that game, it changed not only football but sports.  Namath brought glamor to sports. He was like a movie star, before him football only had die hard men football fans. Many thing happened but you remember some over the others. Hiding in school Russians, JFK assassination, Vietnam, man in space and Joe Willie Namath.

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On 1/26/2020 at 11:24 PM, Neumatic said:

Earliest I can fully remember is 2001 Rams vs Patriots. I’ve watched all but 2010 and 2011 due to some Army stuff.

Also I missed a lot of the 28-3 comeback because my supervisor was on her period and got mad at everyone for watching the game even though there was nothing to do. We were road maintenance/snow plow drivers on a clear night. Mind you, she had the game on in her office and always watch the college games too. She said something along the lines of the game is already over. And that’s when the comeback began. I’m convinced she’s the one that cursed it.

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First and probably best rams vs titans.  Hooked since then. 

 

My top superbowls

 

Rams vs titans

Eagles vs pats

Pats vs seahawks

Saints vs colts

Ravens vs 9ers

Packers vs steelers

Giants vs pats 1

 

Worst 

Seahawks vs broncos

Bromcos vs seahawks

Rams vs pats

Giants vs pats 2

 

It is funny the reactions some games create, the Rams were going to dominate for a decade and the pats were hige underdogs. 

Rodgers was going to dominate the nfl

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