SUPER BOWL THOUGHTS FROM KEITH GROLLER

From Keith Groller

I was driving down Lehigh Street in Allentown the other day and one of those electronic billboards had a countdown to this year's Super Bowl flashing in bright colors. It said something like two days, nine hours, and nine minutes to go until kickoff.

Despite that billboard, I am not doing a countdown to this year's game. It doesn't excite me one way or the other.

Saints-Colts just doesn't provide passion on either the root for or root against scale. I guess I am rooting (gently) for the Saints because they haven't been there before and because New Orleans was basically down and out as a city after Hurricane Katrina a few years ago.

Other than that, I don't care.

But so many of the previous 43 Super Bowls did provide strong rooting interests.

As a Rams fan, there were three in particular that had me worked up.

And also as a Rams fan, there were many more when I was rooting against a particular team just because they were Rams rivals -- mostly notably the Vikings, Cowboys and 49ers.

And since that bitter Super Bowl loss that ended on Adam Vinateri's long field goal on the final play a few years ago, I have been rooting against the Patriots.

So, in compiling a list of Top 10 Super Bowls for me, you have to keep all of those feelings in mind.

For me, the No. 1 memory has to be the Rams' win over the Titans exactly 10 years ago in a game that ended on the Rams 1 yard-line, or maybe 2-foot-line.

Next up would be that Pats' upset win two years later that sent the Rams spiraling toward the bottom of the barrel where they have been for the last 5-6 years.

And third, for me, you'd have to go back to 1980 when after years of frustrating NFC title game losses, the Rams finally broke through with a mediocre team that went just 9-7 but somehow won the NFC crown and then gave the heavily favored Steelers all they wanted before losing 31-19 in Pasadena.

So, taking those three out of the equation because of obvious bias, here is my list of favorite, non-Rams Super Bowls.

10. Super Bowl V in 1971, Colts 16, Cowboys 13: Since I was 10, this is the first SB I really remember fully and it was a sloppy game with lots of bizarre plays and ended on Jim O'Brien's field goal.

9. Super Bowl XVI in 1982, 49ers 26, Bengals 21: I remember this one more for where I was then the actual game. I was at Penn State as a college junior and the game brightened up an otherwise dreary, cold January Sunday in State College.

8. Super Bowl XIX in 1985, 49ers 38, Dolphins 16: Remember this one more for the hype about the quarterbacks than the game itself. This was Montana vs. Marino and you thought at the time it would be the first of many Super Bowl appearances for Marino, but it proved to be his one and only.

7. Super Bowl XVIII in 1984, Raiders 38, Redskins 9: Remember it for two plays: the fantastic run by Marcus Allen and the terrible interception Joe Theismann threw just before halftime that Jack Squirek ran back for a TD.

6. Super Bowl X in 1976, Steelers 21, Cowboys 17: While Tom Landry was classy, the rest of the Cowboys were not and even though I have never been a PIttsburgh fan, I was on this day. Lynn Swann put on a show and Jack Lambert buried Cliff Harris after Harris tapped Roy Gerela's helmet after he missed a field goal. The second meeting between these two a few years later also was close, but also went the Steelers way. I admit it, I enjoyed each Dallas loss in the big game.

5. Super Bowl XXII in 1988, Redskins 42, Broncos 10: I don't know why, but I was never a John Elway fan and I just loved the performance Doug Williams put on in this game. if you love explosive offenses, this Washington display was as good as it gets.

4. Super Bowl VII in 1972, Dolphins 14, Redskins 7: I somehow won a national contest run by Sports Illustrated before the season started by picking the Redskins and Dolphins to play in the Super Bowl. I still have the clock somewhere and Paul Reinhard even mentioned me in a column. I was rooting hard for the Dolphins in this one because my father knew punter and Allen High grad Larry Seiple well. The game was kind of boring except for the Garo Yepremian gaffe. But it capped a perfect season that has never been repeated.

3. Super Bowl XXV in 1991, Giants 20, Bills 19: I remember the emotion of Whitney Houston's national anthem and a great game. I was rooting for fellow Dieruff and Kutztown U alum Andre Reed, but Scott Norwood's kick missed and it turned out to change an entire team's legacy and has made them a punchline for teams that finish second.

2. Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, Steelers 27, Cardinals 23: I think the world of Curt Warner and was rooting for him to pull off a miracle. He pretty much gift-wrapped the game for the Steelers with that James Harrison interception just before halftime, but as he did so many times with the Rams, he brought the Cardinals back. Arizona just couldn't stop the Steelers at the end, although I had a feeling that if Arizona had just 45 more seconds to work with, they would have won.

1. Super Bowl XLII in 2998, Giants 17, Patriots 14: I don't like the Pats. I like Danny Koppen but not the team. I remember how the organization didn't even want me talking to Koppen when he was a rookie and I visited him in the locker room in Philly after his first exhibition. They are absolute control freaks. Arrogant, too. Billy B sets the pompous tone. So, I was happy they didn't duplicate the 1972 Dolphins and go unbeaten through the whole season. The game itself was incredible, filled with so many memorable plays. While not a Giants fan, I appreciated the struggles of Eli Manning and how he overcame them and also came to admire a team that beat Dallas in Dallas and Favre in Green Bay. Beating New England as they did, ripping their hearts out at the end, well, the only time I screamed louder with delight was when the Rams held on to beat the Titans.

That's it. If you get 100 people to pick their favorites, I'm sure you'd get 100 different lists. But this was mine.

From Keith Groller