Josh Berenter

Growing up a die-hard Michigan sports fan, I was particularly interested in football in 1997 just before Michigan was on their way to winning a share of the NCAA National Championship.  But that January, it was a former Michigan football player, and Heisman Trophy winner that stole the show in the NFL.

In Super Bowl XXXI, Desmond Howard, and the Green Bay Packers were leading the New England Patriots 27-21, just after Drew Bledsoe led the Patriots on a scoring drive to tighten the game in the third quarter. But on the ensuing kickoff, Howard took the ball from his own 1-yard line and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown. 

The Packers went on to win 35-21 and to date; Howard is the only kick returner to be named Super Bowl MVP.  In his extraordinary performance, he rolled up 244 yards in kick returns - 154 on kickoffs, 90 on punts. His 99-yard return for a touchdown remains a Super Bowl record.

 

Jerry Taylor

 

My Super Bowl moment came way back on Jan. 28, 1998. The game pitted two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game: Brett Favre and his Green Bay Packers against John Elway and the Denver Broncos.

It's third-and-6 from the Packer's 12-yard line. Elway drops back, sees no one open and decides to try and run for it. Elway is hit by two Packers at the 6-yard line, as the 37-year old quarterback's body is spun completely around in the air as he dives for the first down.

As hard as he got hit, Elway jumped right back up with a huge smile on his face as if nothing had happened. It was a brutal hit. The Broncos got the first down, scored two plays later and eventually won the game 31-24.

Elway retired after that game. He led the Broncos to two straight Super Bowl appearances (1997, 1998) and won them both. Elway rode off into the sunset, on top of the professional football world.

Alek Frost

My favorite Super Bowl memory was a moment in time that many, unless you were made aware of it, watched fall by the wayside. The New England Patriots were tied 17-17 in the final minute of regulation of Super Bowl XXXVI. 

Second-year quarterback Tom Brady led the upset-minded Pats down the field. After completing a big pass to Troy Brown that landed New England on the cusp of field goal range, Brady completed a short pass to Jermaine Wiggins that setup the game-winning field goal.

What happened next I will always remember, it foreshadowed what was to come, in the final seconds and over the next several years. With less than 10 seconds remaining and the clock ticking away, Tom Brady urged his troops to the line to spike the ball and stop the clock.

Brady recieved the snap and spiked it but instead of the ball veering off to the side, it floated in the air as if Brady were guiding it with his mind and as it gently, harmlessly glided into his hand, we knew. Adam Vinatieri was going to make that field goal, Tom Brady was going to be the Super Bowl's MVP and guide the Patriots to future glory.

 

Doug Sears Jr.

 

There were a lot of special moments in the 2002 Super Bowl: The New England Patriots famously being introduced as a team. U2's emotionally charged and moving halftime performance dedicated to the tragedy of 9/11. The upstart underdog we had no idea was actually a young dynasty.

But for me, the game was defined by my long held love of the University of Michigan. I had chosen the Oakland Raiders as my preseason pick, and they had been dethroned by Tom Brady, a Michigan Quarterback who I loved in the winged helmet, even if few others did.

I had no idea that it was another Wolverine who would make me sure the Patriots would prevail over the heavily favored Rams. Early in the game, it seemed the Rams were just getting their high-powered offense rolling, when suddenly a Pat had the ball. In my disbelief I realized it was not just any Patriot, it was Ty Law, having snared a Kurt Warner pass and looking at nothing but green turf, a blue end zone with "Patriots" emblazoned across it, and his own right hand extended to the sky, one finger raised, cementing in my mind that this game belonged to the New England Patriots by way of the Michigan Wolverines.

 

Jason Shubnell

 

 

It is not Manning to Tyree. It is not Plaxico Burress's game-winning touchdown catch. It is not even the most impressive performer of Super Bowl XLII (defensive tackle Justin Tuck). Michael Strahan's sack of Tom Brady represented what 15 years of hard work can do for a player and a franchise.

The New York Giants were the ultimate underdog in this day and age's NFL. A wild card team, they scrapped their way to the Super Bowl, doing most, if not all, of their damage while on the road. Quarterback Eli Manning and the offense had a decent, if not fairly consistent year, but it was the defense that did most of the work.

So when the New England Patriots put their undefeated season on the line in the Meadowlands, and came away with a 38-35 victory, it was all but a technicality for them to lay claim as the best team ever to play.  Brady laughed off a comment made by Burress leading up to the game, saying the Patriots would be defeated 23-17.

"Ok, I wish he had said 45-42 and gave us a little credit for scoring more points," said Brady. If only he could have been so lucky.

Controlling the ball most of the game, New York was able to stabilize the most potent offense in NFL history. Still, they were trailing 7-3 in the middle of the third quarter. Facing third-and-7 from the Giants 25, Tom Brady took a three-step drop, and went down immediately. The Giants abused Brady the entire game, shocking many with their dominating performance.

Strahan had done everything he could in the NFL. But he could never call himself a champion. For 15 years, he put one of the NFL's greatest and most storied franchises on his back. And with the final sack of his legendary career, he helped stomp out a game and a team that will be remembered for a very long time.

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