Giants Over Patriots, Jets Over Colts Among Best Super Bowl Games Of All Time (VIDEOS)

It's not easy being the Super Bowl. With so much fanfare and lead time, the expectations by kickoff tend to be sky high. By the time the teams take the field, the media has been hyping the game for at least two weeks, the diehard fans have been scouring prop bets on every last aspect of the game (and the broadcast, and the national anthem length), and NFL novices have been sifting through guacamole recipes looking for the perfect one for their party. On top of all of that, the players on both teams have already been awarded trophies and been feted like champions from the moment they reached the Super Bowl host city. So, yeah, the game itself can feel a bit anticlimactic if it's not a thrilling, back-and-forth affair that ends on a score in the waning moments. Otherwise, what was all the fuss about?

Considering the previous matchup between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, Super Bowl XLVI seems likely to live up to the lofty expectations that we all should have for the game bold enough to put "Super" in its title. After all, these teams faced off in Super Bowl XLII, one of the greatest Super Bowl games of all time.

But what makes a Super Bowl great? For significance, it's hard to beat the Jets' AFL-validating win over the Colts in Super Bowl III. For schadenfreude, Scott Norwood's errant field goal kick as time expired in Super Bowl XXV remains the pinacle. Or do we really just want a reason to watch until the end? If a close contest is all that fans really crave then the first installment of Patriots-Giants has plenty of company in that department. There is Joe Montana's legendary game-winning drive in 1989, Santonio Holme's top-tapping catch to clinch Super Bowl XLIII and several other career-defining, heart-stopping moments -- several involving former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri -- have punctuated the history of the game.

Here are highlights from more than a dozen of the most scintillating and forgettable Super Bowl games of all time. Re-live the most exciting moments in NFL history and vote for the game that you believe is the absolute most thrilling Super Bowl of all time.

RATE IT!   |  

VOTE

Fumble

TD!

CURRENT TOP 5 PICK YOUR OWN TOP 5

USERS WHO VOTED

NEW! CREATE YOUR OWN SLIDESHOW

Comments

[mnwildfan]

04:07 PM on 02/06/2012

IMHO, the Steelers Cardinals game a few years back..100 yard interception to end the first half, A great Larry Fitzgerald TD and a spectacular catch in the end zone.

[six seven]

01:48 PM on 02/06/2012

Elway helicopter!!! XXXII

It was predicted that the Broncos would get crushed by Green Bay.

[tamazul]

11:10 AM on 02/06/2012

Best one, 1985 "wild card" Raiders over "over-rated" Redskins

[phal4875]

01:12 PM on 02/06/2012

Fanned. I fully agree with you. I was both a Raiders and Patriots fan at the time. The Redskins were officially favored, but almost all "experts" picked the Raiders. Their cornerbacks absolutely stopped the Redskins' receivers, as I recall.

[blang84]

12:06 AM on 02/06/2012

January 26, 1986 Super Bowl XX my friends. The day Da Bearsss won the Super Bowl.

[dvglass3]

09:14 AM on 02/08/2012

Come on, that was not a good game.

[GG NV]

10:51 PM on 02/05/2012

Perhaps one of the best finishes in a super bowl.

[mafiaqueen]

10:36 PM on 02/05/2012

Great game!

http://youtu.be/0UjsXo9l6I8

[gremlin1]

08:36 PM on 02/05/2012

Super Bowl XXII was my favorite. Doug Williams was spectacular during that game. What a thrill it was to watch him lead the Redskins over the Broncos!

[Craig Koebelin]

07:54 PM on 02/05/2012

I'm all Pats but my late Dad was a Giants man and I hope he is enjoying this.

[Craig Koebelin]

07:49 PM on 02/05/2012

Pats over Panthers was a great game, my head spun seven times.

Drat these Giants! They never win many games but come on strong in the post-season once again.

[phal4875]

01:14 PM on 02/06/2012

I am a Pats fan, but I hope your late father enjoyed yesterday's game. It was an exciting game, whether one watched it from here or some heavenly place.

The Giants get really good at the end of some seasons.

[nygcruz80]

02:40 PM on 02/06/2012

Hes the 4th quarter king......Hes put up more points in the 4th qtr than anyone ever has...Good Game.

[JessWonderin]

07:16 PM on 02/05/2012

Chevy commercials . . . great STUFF!!!! . . . see what we would be missing if Mitt had been President?

[hlevine127]

12:22 PM on 02/06/2012

That graduation one was awesome!

[phal4875]

01:15 PM on 02/06/2012

If Mitt becomes president, the rich will eat our pets. My icon is very upset about that.

[JessWonderin]

02:55 PM on 02/06/2012

But new GM cars will have roof top dog cages . . . . mandatory . . .

[NealHib]

06:00 PM on 02/05/2012

The Saints game. End of discussion.

[phal4875]

01:16 PM on 02/06/2012

That was a great game for a city that needed something good. Brees and the team were that "something good."

[Justice4rAll]

02:27 PM on 02/05/2012

Here is an excellent link to answer all your questions on the Best Superbowls ever....enjoy!
http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2012-02-04/from-super-to-snoozer-we-rank-the-super-bowls-1-45?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk1%26pLid%3D132875

[NapsWish]

02:07 PM on 02/05/2012

That last New York Giants vs New England Patroits game was THE BEST Super Bowl of my 31 year lifetime. It had everything. I am from the west coast so my dream Super Bowl would be Oakland vs San Francisco but until that happens...New York vs New England 1 was the GREATEST Super Bowl IMO.

[hlevine127]

12:23 PM on 02/06/2012

Agreed!

[nygcruz80]

02:41 PM on 02/06/2012

SB42....THE GREATEST SB EVER!!!!

[Bushisgone]

12:31 PM on 02/05/2012

Its funny

Everyone is talking about recent SB's
None of you were probably alive in the 60's and 70's

Some of those games where great

Opinions are like A..hol.., everyone has one

[blang84]

12:07 AM on 02/06/2012

Other than Super Bowl XIII, most of the games in the 70s were duds. So were the early Super Bowls in the 60s.

[phal4875]

01:19 PM on 02/06/2012

Fanned. I was born two days after World War Two ended, so this 66-year-old remembers the first few very well. The third and four Super Bowls were very unexpected wins for the old AFL and probably caused the merger.

[edenooch]

11:10 AM on 02/05/2012

2012 will be the most boring superbowl ever