Get ready to go on a Super Bowl trip with me. Not to Tampa, but down memory lane. I’ve watched most every minute of every Super Bowl and if you name a year, I can tell you who won, although the last 10 years are harder to keep straight in my mind than the first 44.
So, yes, the Super Bowl has always meant a lot to me, and once you have a string going, you want to keep it going, right? I’ll be in front of the TV watching the Kansas City Chiefs play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, too. Below are my recollections of the first 54 Super Bowls. If you don’t care for self-indulgent stories by authors, this is not for you.
Franco Harris is one of my favorite players of all-time. He won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Photo taken from Pinterest).
Super Bowl 1, January 1967 (Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs)
In January, 1967, at age 7, and living in Marlboro, Mass., I remember my dad, Nicholas Abramo, tuned in for the first NFL-AFL Championship game (to be renamed the Super Bowl three years later) and he was totally convinced that his favorite team at that time, Green Bay, was going to crush Kansas City. So did just about everybody else in the nation, and that’s just what the Packers did. I didn’t really watch a lot of the game, but I remember it being on the set, and it was kind of an afterthought for everybody since Green Bay had wrapped up the NFL (the nation’s premier league) championship two weeks earlier by beating the Dallas Cowboys.
>> Rooted for: Green Bay
>> Winner: Green Bay
Super Bowl 2, January 1968 (Green Bay Packers vs. Oakland Raiders)
For the second year in a row, I did not watch much of the action, but I did watch a TV pregame story about Vince Lombardi that caught my attention. It made me think that Vince Lombardi was somebody really special, someone to be revered. My dad and brother, Dave, told me that there was no way the Oakland Raiders of the AFL could possibly beat the Packers. Most everybody thought the same thing and it turned out to be right on script. Also, I vividly remember watching the highlights of the NFL championship game two weeks earlier, when Green Bay beat Dallas on Bart Starr’s late quarterback sneak. My sister Cyndi and I mimicked that quarterback sneak in the living room, and for some reason, we thought Starr went through the legs of his center, so that’s how we acted it out. The end zone was near the fireplace.
>> Rooted for: Green Bay
>> Winner: Green Bay
Super Bowl 3, January 1969 (Baltimore Colts vs. New York Jets)
This game I watched alone. Shockingly, my dad had died two months earlier from complications caused by an old World War II leg injury. During the latter part of the season, Dave (who began a few-year job as my de facto dad) was showing me the ins and outs of what football was all about. I watched Baltimore beat the Cleveland Browns in a playoff game, and I remember thinking how intriguing it was when the quarterback came to the sidelines to talk to the coach at the 2-minute warning. When the Jets wound up getting to the Super Bowl, nobody gave them a chance. I was stunned to see the Jets actually win, based on how much of an inferior league my brother and dad told me the AFL was. Late in the game, I kept thinking the Colts would come back and win it. Later, while playing with other friends in the neighborhood and my cousins who were visiting from Lexington, I kept thinking how incredible it was that the Jets were actually victorious.
>> Rooted for: Baltimore
>> Winner: New York Jets
Super Bowl 4, January 1970 (Minnesota Vikings vs. Kansas City Chiefs)
For sure, I was thinking the AFL’s Chiefs had no chance. Plus, Minnesota was near the top of the list of my favorite teams at the time. I loved how they played in the snow and frigid weather and how rugged their defensive line was — and of course how much Fran Tarkenton could scramble. Looking back, though, it’s obvious that Minnesota had no creativity on offense and Kansas City was much more of a high-octane outfit on that side of the ball. But, after Kansas City won, it put the score at NFL 2, AFL 2 going into the merger. The next season, three of the 16 NFL teams joined the 10 AFL squads to create the AFC. The 13 other NFL franchises formed the NFC.
>> Rooted for: Minnesota
>> Winner: Kansas City
Super Bowl 5, January 1971 (Dallas Cowboys vs. Baltimore Colts)
This is the first Super Bowl I did not watch. Missed all of it. But I had a good excuse. I was planning to watch it, when my best friend Bob McMahon called and asked me if I wanted to play hockey. His father, Joe McMahon, was a plumber and one of his jobs was at Fay School in Southboro. So, it turns out, he knew the head of school really well and they invited the McMahons over to their house. Being head of school, Mr. McCaw was his name, somehow allowed him to have a really cool mini rink in his back yard. We had a blast and our tootsies froze. The game that I missed was won on a field goal late and, since I didn’t really care that much for either team, for years it was hard to remember which team won. They both wore blue and they were both original NFL teams.
>> Rooted for: Baltimore Colts (never liked Dallas)
>> Winner: Baltimore Colts
Super Bowl 6: January 1972 (Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins)
Having missed the Super Bowl the year before and being a year older (12) with a growing appreciation for football, I watched every play of this one. I was intrigued that an upstart team, Miami, made it in. Even though it was not close, I remember being interested in how technically good the Cowboys were and had a full appreciation that history was being made.
>> Rooted for: Miami (because they were in the game, seemingly, out of nowhere)
>> Winner: Dallas
Super Bowl 7: January 1973 (Washington Redskins vs. Miami Dolphins)
I definitely had a full appreciation for the Dolphins, but sided with Washington because their “over the hill gang story” was compelling to me. However, it was fascinating that the Dolphins were about to become the first team to win all 17 (14 regular season and three postseason) games. At halftime, the Dolphins were dominating so much so I decided to go down to Erolani’s pond to skate and play hockey. A neighborhood friend, Wesley Wall, was there and I recall talking to him about how Miami was about to make history. I got back home in time to see Garo Yapremian’s goofed field goal/pass attempt that led to Washington’s only touchdown. I really liked Redskins running back Larry Brown at the time. But Miami had an amazing backfield of Larry Czonka, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris, with Bob Griese at the controls.
>> Rooted for: Washington
>> Winner: Miami
Super Bowl 8: January 1974 (Minnesota Vikings vs. Miami Dolphins)
I still liked the Vikings at the time, but it turned out they were no match for Miami and so I was disappointed that Minnesota failed in the big game again. Hunter S. Thompson, my favorite author, wrote the following example of a lead story for the game, and even though it was pretty much a joke, it still is my favorite sports lead of all-time. You may disagree, but here goes: “The precision-jackhammer attack of the Miami Dolphins stomped the balls off the Washington Redskins today by stomping and hammering with one precise jackthrust after another up the middle, mixed with pinpoint precision passes into the flat and numerous hammer-jack stomps around both ends … .”
>> Rooted for: Minnesota
>> Winner: Miami
Super Bowl 9: January, 1975 (Minnesota Vikings vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
Since 1972, the Steelers (and not the Vikings) were my favorite NFL team and they still are today. Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, Mean Joe Greene and all of those other stars caught my attention in a big way, and the fact that they had gone 1-13 in 1969 was a great upstart story line. So I was totally in Pittsburgh’s corner for this one and every other future Super Bowl the Steelers were in. However, I missed most of this game because I had a Midget hockey game in Auburn, Mass. I remember checking the score on the radio and hearing the Steelers were ahead. I think I caught the last part of it on TV at home.
>> Rooted for: Pittsburgh
>> Winner: Pittsburgh
Super Bowl 10: January 1976 (Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
Unlike the year before, there was no conflict about who to root for. I never liked the Cowboys and loved the Steelers. Our family had relatives over that year, so there were about 10 people watching. I was so happy that Pittsburgh won, even though it was super close. I remember predicting a few days earlier that it would be 17-13. I told my friend Mark Torre that at school lunch period. It ended up being 21-17.
>> Rooted for: Pittsburgh
>> Winner: Pittsburgh
Super Bowl 11: January 1977 (Minnesota Vikings vs. Oakland Raiders)
Once again, no problem on who I wanted to win, and I thought the Vikings could finally do it, but I was wrong. This was the last Super Bowl I didn’t watch any part of. My friend, Dave Lively, asked me to go skiing on a parks and recreation trip to Pat’s Peak in New Hampshire. Yes, the now-famous Marcia Cross (Bree on “Desperate Housewives”) was on the trip. I remember that mostly because I had a crush on her friend and I knew Dave knew Marcia very well. I was bummed that I didn’t get to watch the Super Bowl, but I remember hearing the final score on the ride home. I didn’t have enough money to rent ski boots, so I was quite the sight and the cause of much laughter, falling everywhere with skis coming off because my regular boots did not attach very well. Go ahead, try that nowadays, I dare you!!!! I could have stayed in the lodge, but what fun would that have been? Funny stuff.
>> Rooted for: Minnesota
>> Winner: Oakland
Super Bowl 12: January 1978 (Dallas Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos)
Yup, you guessed it. I wanted Denver, a true upstart team, to win. The Orange Crush. But Dallas had Roger Staubach, who is still among the 1o greatest quarterbacks in my book. Two other things I remember about this game. It was indoors at the Superdome in New Orleans and I recall the bright lights shining off of the Cowboys’ helmets. For sure, it was a different look. It seemed to me like the league’s glitziness was just beginning. Also, I was nervous because I had a first date coming up the next night with Lisa Curry, who I ended up going out with for a long time. We went to see “Heroes” with Henry Winkler and the song “Carry on my Wayward Son” at the Marlboro Twin Cinema. Little did I know, within about a year I would be working there at the cinema, which was owned by my friend Bob Battaglino’s father John Battaglino, who also built all the houses in my neighborhood and many other homes nearby.
>> Rooted for: Denver
>> Winner: Dallas
Super Bowl 13: January 1979 (Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
It was such a great thing to see a rematch of these two great teams. The week of the game, I remember driving home from Worcester State College as a freshman commuter and thinking how awesome this was going to be. And it was, with Pittsburgh winning barely.
>> Rooted for: Pittsburgh
>> Winner: Pittsburgh
Super Bowl 14: January 1980 (Los Angeles Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
After many years of trying and coming close, Los Angeles was finally in the Super Bowl. I went to the Battaglinos house for this one and I think I was the only one out of about a dozen people watching who wanted Pittsburgh to win. The others were were sick of the dynasty, I guess. I wasn’t. Bob also liked Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo.
>> Rooted for: Pittsburgh
>> Winner: Pittsburgh
Super Bowl 15: January 1981 (Philadelphia Eagles vs. Oakland Raiders)
This one was the first time I saw the Super Bowl in a bar. Dave Lively was bartending at the Union House in Framingham, Mass., and we watched it there. I think he was working. I did not care for either team, but was pulling for Philadelphia (first time in the big game) by default. I have also never liked the Raiders. Also, there wasn’t hundreds of fans at the bar with nachos and chicken wings. Just a regular crowd enjoying a Sunday game. My, how things have changed.
>> Rooted for: Philadelphia
>> Winner: Oakland
Super Bowl 16: January 1982 (San Francisco 49ers vs. Oakland Raiders)
Joe Montana was a starter for the first time at the start of the season and he was magical. I got the sense of his greatness and tagged along as a fan for a decade. He was a WINNER. And it wasn’t with garish stats. In this Super Bowl (just looked it up), he completed 14 of 22 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown. Also, I was at a bar again for this game, somewhere in Ashland, Mass., and I’m pretty sure it snowed heavily. On the way out, I ran into Lisa Ward from Marlboro, who I hadn’t seen since high school days.
>> Rooted for: San Francisco
>> Winner: San Francisco
Joe Montana is still my favorite quarterback of all time. I yield, however, to anyone who ranks Brady higher, which is most people in the world. Montana never lost a Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 17: January 1983 (Washington Redskins vs. Miami Dolphins)
It wasn’t like I was a true fan of either team, but I kind of edged toward Washington with John Riggins and a huge offensive line. And Riggins got it done in the end. It was the first Super Bowl I was not living at my mom’s home at 129 Grace Circle. I had moved out at the beginning of the year/month, to Essex St. with Dave Lively and Tommy Sullivan. We also got an unofficial roommate, Jim Hutch. That place lasted three months before I moved home. We didn’t have HEAT!!! Thank goodness Tommy let me use his space heater. Friends would visit throughout the week, calling it the “Hideout.” Stephen Patulak was a regular and even Sal “Piledriver” Turieo came over for a game of whiffle ball once. There was pro wrestling in the living room. The TV we watched the game on? The swiveling color TV (Motorola or RCA) that was given to our family in 1969 by Anderson Furniture after my dad died. The TV was kind of on its last legs. It made it to Essex St. and back home to Grace Circle and finally gave out, circa 1984.
>> Rooted for: Washington
>> Winner: Washington
Super Bowl 18, January 1984 (Washington Redskins vs. Los Angeles Raiders)
I thought the Redskins were going to rout the Raiders, but I was wrong. Marcus Allen ran all day long and the result was the exact opposite of what I imagined it would be. I watched this one back at Grace Circle on that swivel TV.
>> Rooted for: Washington
>> Winner: Oakland
Super Bowl 19, January 1985 (San Francisco 49ers vs. Miami Dolphins)
Dan Marino was a rookie and a phenom. I thought there was no way he was going to lose and I thought it would be one of many Super Bowl victories for him. I was wrong. Bill Walsh, Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott had other plans. It was the only time I did not root for the 49ers when they were appearing in a Super Bowl. I wanted to see Marino do his magic. A group of us Grace Circle-area friends, including both Bobs, watched this at Rose White’s house in Newton.
>> Rooted for: Miami
>> Winner: San Francisco
Super Bowl 20, January 1986 (Chicago Bears vs. New England Patriots)
Well, this was an amazing year for the Patriots, my hometown team, but never my favorite team. They won three wild-card games and it was super interesting to see them finally get there. But they went up against the NFL’s best defense — ever — and never had a chance. Ralph Grasso, the longtime sports editor of the Marlboro Enterprise, laughed heartily when I asked him who he thought was going o win. He knew it was in the bag for the Bears. Me and roommate Mark Torre and some other friends watched this at our Boston Post Road apartment.
>> Rooted for: New England
>> Winner: Chicago
Super Bowl 21, January 1987 (New York Giants vs. Denver Broncos)
I didn’t really have a horse in this one, but I liked the Giants a little better. I’ll always remember watching Phil Simms’ masterful performance on TV at the Boston Herald, where I worked briefly part-time.
>> Rooted for: New York Giants
>> Winner: New York Giants
Super Bowl 22, January 1988 (Washington Redskins vs. Denver Broncos)
I leaned toward the Redskins on this one and thought they were going to get smoked when Denver took a 10-0 lead. But Doug Williams brought Washington back in a big way. I watched this one with roommate Matt Gardner and other friends at a new apartment on Farm Rd.
>> Rooted for: Washington
>> Winner: Washington
Super Bowl 23, January 1989 (San Francisco 49ers vs. Cincinnati Bengals)
I was with Joe Montana all the way for this one and he made an incredible drive and the winning pass to John Taylor on a slant route late in the game. By this time, we had a new roommate, Pete Reynolds, and we watched it at a condo we were renting at the far west end of Marlboro — on Elm St.
>> Rooted for: San Francisco
>> Winner: San Francisco
Super Bowl 24, January 1990 (San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos)
I thought for sure San Francisco and Montana would beat John Elway and Denver, and that’s what happened. I had moved to Kauai, Hawaii, in September 1989 and watched it at my apartment. I remember falling asleep in the second half of the rout and waking up to see Montana celebrating his fourth Super Bowl victory.
>> Rooted for: San Francisco
>> Winner: San Francisco
Super Bowl 25, January 1991 (New York Giants at Buffalo Bills)
At midseason, I predicted in The Garden Island newspaper that these two teams would meet in the Super Bowl. It turned out to be true, but I had the score down as something like Buffalo 23, New York Giants 21. It ended up with the Giants winning 20-19 on the Bills’ missed field goal. I watched this at a bar in Poipu with Dave and Treva Kilcoyne.
>> Rooted for: Buffalo
>> Winner: New York Giants
Super Bowl 26, January 1992 (Washington Redskins vs. Buffalo Bills)
I was visiting Bob McMahon in San Diego when this game happened. We threw the football around all the way down the street to get more beer at halftime. We both agreed that we wanted to see an AFC team win it, so we sided with Buffalo. Didn’t happen that way. The last AFC team to win had been the Los Angeles Raiders in 1984.
>> Rooted for: Buffalo
>> Winner: Washington
Super Bowl 27, January 1993 (Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills)
Again, Bob and I wanted the AFC to win and we could not stand the Cowboys. This time, he was visiting me on Kauai. The Cowboys were actually “too good” in a way. We knew they were going to be super hard to knock off. The Bills met their match. Bob arrived about four months after Hurricane Iniki, which had hammered Kauai on Sept. 11, 1992. He saw the rubble, but he also saw the fine natural beauty of the island. In recent years, he told me that he remembered I took him “everywhere.” So I was glad to know we didn’t sit around instead of surfing and seeing all the sights Kauai has to offer.
>> Rooted for: Buffalo
>> Winner: Dallas
Super Bowl 28, January 1994 (Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills)
This time, I was not with Bob. However, I did call him on the phone to discuss how much we disliked Dallas, etc. I watched this game in Eleele, Kauai, with my girlfriend at the time and future wife Vince Abramo.
>> Rooted for: Buffalo
>> Winner: Dallas
Super Bowl 29, January 1995 (San Francisco 49ers vs. San Diego Chargers)
Montana was not playing for the 49ers any more, but I still liked many of the players from those amazing teams. I didn’t think San Diego had a chance. Vince and I went to the bar where we met at the Hyatt Regency to watch it on a big screen. There was a huge buffet and lots of people there.
>> Rooted for: San Francisco
>> Winner: San Francisco
Super Bowl 30, January 1996 (Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
It had been a long time since these two teams met for the big prize. I didn’t think my Steelers had a chance, but they played an amazing game in a loss. Very proud. I watched it with Vince (and first child, daughter Carlyn) at a restaurant in Nawiliwili, Kauai.
>> Rooted for: Pittsburgh
>> Winner: Dallas
Super Bowl 31, January 1997 (Green Bay Packers vs. New England Patriots)
It was cool to see the Packers back as one of the best NFL teams after so many years of mediocrity. But it was also great to see New England back in it for the first time in 11 years. In October 1997, I visited Marlboro and watched a Patriots game at Peter and Robin Reynolds’ house in Northboro. At the time, I didn’t think the Patriots would be good enough to get as far as the Super Bowl, but they did with Drew Bledsoe as the quarterback. I watched the game with my brother, sister-in-law and niece, Joe, Jane and Jackie, along with Vince and Carlyn. Joe and Jane were house sitting on Kauai’s North Shore. I think the whole place was made out of marble. I also recall that Steinlager was my beer of choice at the time.
>> Rooted for: New England
>> Winner: Green Bay
Super Bowl 32, January 1998 (Green Bay Packers vs. Denver Broncos)
I thought the Packers were going to repeat as champs and it looked like it was going to happen until John Elway finally got it done for the Broncos at the end. I was with the Pack for this one. I watched it at Kalaheo Golf Course restaurant, which was owned by good friends Zac and Marina Octavio. I played golf with friend Marc Gagnon that day and missed the first half, but saw the whole second half.
>> Rooted for: Green Bay
>> Winner: Denver
Super Bowl 33, January 1999 (Atlanta Falcons vs. Denver Broncos)
The Broncos were heavily favored and the easily routed the Falcons. I didn’t like either team that much, but wanted to see an upset. I was at Rob’s Good Times Grill in Lihue, Kauai, for the big show. It was far from a great game.
>> Rooted for: Atlanta
>> Winner: Denver
Super Bowl 34, January 2000 (Los Angeles Rams vs. Tennessee Titans)
Go Eddie George!!! He played great and the Titans almost won, but Mike Jones made the saving tackle at the end for the Rams. This was my son, E.J. Abramo’s first year. I remember holding him in my arms on a rocking chair. By now, we were living at a place in Kalaheo, Kauai. This season, I really liked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of their awesome defense. They nearly knocked off the Greatest Show on Turf in the NFC title game.
>> Rooted for: Tennessee
>> Winner: Los Angeles Rams
Super Bowl 35, January 2001 (New York Giants vs. Baltimore Ravens)
The Ravens had the second-best defense of all time in this one and so I didn’t give the Giants much chance but still I wanted to see an upset. I watched it at Chili’s in Waikele, Oahu. We had recently moved over from Kauai.
>> Rooted for: New York Giants
>> Winner: Baltimore Ravens
Super Bowl 36, January 2002 (Los Angeles Rams vs. New England Patriots)
Wow, New England in the Super Bowl again!! Wow, Tom Brady looked like a sure-fire winner in the snow game against Oakland. Wow, I thought he was a great game manager and thought that’s what he would be known as. I was wrong. He proved to be so much more. Still, when Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal, I was in disbelief. And also very happy. I did not think the Patriots would ever win a Super Bowl. I was wrong. I watched the game at my place of employment, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
>> Rooted for: New England
>> Winner: New England
Super Bowl 37, January 2003 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Oakland Raiders)
The Bucs all the way!!! Derrick Brooks, Mike Alstott, John Lynch, Warren Sapp. What a defense!! Plus, I never liked the Raiders. Watched the first half at home in Waikele (Village on the Green, the first property we ever owned) and the second half at work, a pattern that followed for many years.
>> Rooted for: Tampa Bay
>> Winner: Tampa Bay
Super Bowl 38, February 2004 (Carolina Panthers vs. New England Patriots)
I was still totally in the Patriots’ corner at this time, but that would change somewhat later in the decade. Watched the first half at home and the second at work.
>> Rooted for: New England
>> Winner: New England
Super Bowl 39, February 2005 (Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots)
Ditto all the information above from Super Bowl 38. So far, the Pats had won three Super Bowls, all by a field goal.
>> Rooted for: New England
>> Winner: New England
Super Bowl 40, February 2006 (Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
Glad that the Steelers got back to the promised land. Split watching the game between home and work. From what I remember, the Seahawks got the short end of about three bad calls in the first half and never had a chance the rest of the way. It was the first time I thought the refs may have had an effect on the outcome of a Super Bowl.
>> Rooted for: Pittsburgh
>> Winner: Pittsburgh
Super Bowl 41, February 2007 (Chicago Bears vs. Indianapolis Colts)
For the the first time, I did not pick a team to root for. Split the game between home and work. A very non-memorable Super Bowl.
>> Rooted for: Neither
>> Winner: Indianapolis
Super Bowl 42, February 2008 (New York Giants vs. New England Patriots)
Ahhh, New England fans got really, really cocky this time around and it turned me a bit sour toward the team. For example, one person said that he wished the Patriots were playing Green Bay instead of New York in the Super Bowl because the Packers would give the Pats a better game. Well, I watched the regular-season finale, when the Giants gave everything they had and nearly beat the Patriots, so I thought that it had a great chance to be a good one. The Patriots and their fans thought for sure they were going to be the first team to go 19-0. They had it won before the game started. I loved watching the Giants win — while at the workplace. Dave Swann, a co-worker, could not stand the Patriots was convinced they would win another Super Bowl. He was on vacation at the time, to Indonesia or Thailand, I think, and purposefully did not want to know the score until he returned home. He was really surprised when he found out the Patriots lost. Confidence is great. Cockiness is not.
>> Rooted for: New York Giants
>> Winner: New Y0rk Giants
Super Bowl 43, February 2009 (Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
One of the few times in the last 15 years that I did not have to work the night of the Super Bowl. Our whole family went to Joe and Holly Lyons’ family’s house for this one. Larry Fitzgerald gave the Steelers fits and the Cardinals almost pulled it out. But my Steelers prevailed.
>> Rooted for: Pittsburgh
>> Winner: Pittsburgh
Super Bowl 44, February 2010 (New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts)
Back to work for this one. Watched the whole thing there. I thought Peyton Manning would get Super Bowl victory No. 2, but I was wrong. I didn’t realize how good the Saints were.
>> Rooted for: Indianapolis
>> Winner: New Orleans
Super Bowl 45, February 2011 (Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)
Totally bummed that the Packers proved to be better than the Steelers this year. Watched it at home in Mililani before heading into work for the second half.
>> Rooted for: Pittsburgh
>> Winner: Green Bay
Super Bowl 46, February 2012 (New York Giants vs. New England Patriots)
Same scenario as when the last time these two played. I wanted the Giants. The Patriots fans were kind of insufferable.
>> Rooted for: New York Giants
>> Winner: New Y0rk Giants
Super Bowl 47, February 2013 (San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens)
Wanted the 49ers, but they lost it by being unable to score late in the game. Once again, watched the second half at work.
>> Rooted for: San Francisco
>> Winner: Baltimore
Super Bowl 48, February 2014 (Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos)
A ho-hum game, with Seattle winning by blowout. Didn’t really have a dog in the race here. Played hockey at Kapolei during the first half and watched the second half at work.
>> Rooted for: Neither
>> Winner: Seattle
Super Bowl 49, February 2015 (Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots)
By now, I was back in New England’s corner (not that the Patriots wanted or needed my fair-weather fan-ness) and my son Nicholas (who watched at home) told me the next day that he had had an inkling that the Patriots were going to intercept a pass on that fateful, deciding play that doomed Seattle.
>> Rooted for: New England
>> Winner: New England
Super Bowl 50, February 2016 (Carolina Panthers vs. Denver Broncos)
Bleh. Did not care for either team. Barely remember watching it, but I did watch it.
>> Rooted for: Neither
>> Winner: Denver
Super Bowl 51, February 2017 (Atlanta Falcons vs. New England Patriots)
I had no reason to root for Atlanta. But by the second half, I did just that. I did not want to see the Patriots come all the way back and hear the real New England fans brag about how great they were by pulling it out. But it happened, the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.
>> Rooted for: Atlanta (I guess)
>> Winner: New England
Super Bowl 52, February 2018 (Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots)
Not an Eagles fan, but I thought I could still argue that Montana had a claim to the title of best QB of all time if the Patriots lost. Brady ended up falling to 5-3 and by now he had appeared in four more Super Bowls than Montana, which, to some, proved Brady was better. I wasn’t convinced about Brady, yet.
>> Rooted for: Philadelphia
>> Winner: Philadelphia
Super Bowl 53, February 2019 (Los Angeles Rams vs. New England Patriots)
Our whole family went to Mike and Jenn Betz’s house for this one and it was a lackluster game (16 total points), even though I usually like defense. I left at halftime to go to work. Brady improved to 6-3 in the big one.
>> Rooted for: Los Angeles Rams
>> Winner: New England
Super Bowl 54, February 2020 (San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs)
Totally thought San Francisco was going to win and the 49ers were in control most of the way, but let it slip away.
>> Rooted for: San Francisco
>> Winner: Kansas City
Super Bowl 55, February 2021 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs)
Feb. 7 is my wife Vince’s birthday, so our family is going to stay home and watch this great matchup together. Salt and vinegar wings, nachos and pigs in a blanket are on the menu.
>> Will be rooting for: May the best team win; If Tom Brady deserves a seventh Super Bowl title, so be it; Part of me wants him to be 6-4 just so there will a smidgen of evidence that Joe Montana (4-0 in Super Bowls) is the best QB ever. But I realize the argument that Montana is the best is, I’m afraid, not really winnable. So I guess I kind of want the Chiefs, but I know Brady could do it and get a seventh Super Bowl victory. I don’t think Tampa has a chance if the Chiefs’ defense gets in his face. Patrick Mahomes is poised to win a couple of these Super Bowls and may be the best ever at the position when all is said and done. Tyreek Hill is an absolute beast — sometimes nearly uncoverable. And Travis Kelce is in the top 5 of all tight ends who have played the game.
>> Winner: ????
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Author’s note: If you made it this far, I applaud you. May be a boring to some. But what good are memories if you can’t share them?
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ALSO AT BedrockSportsHawaii.com: High Tops And No Socks: An Ode To The Doctor
