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Pausing to replay a few Super moments

MILWAUKEE — There are some who would make this Super Bowl, whatever its Roman numeration is up to now, a referendum on Mike Tomlin and Ken Whisenhunt.

And that’s fine... for the people in Pittsburgh.

Whisenhunt wanted the Steelers job a couple of years ago. It went to Tomlin, who has been superb. Meanwhile, Whisenhunt has performed the NFL version of water into wine by coaching the Arizona Cardinals to the big game. So who was the better choice?

Let’s leave it to the good ’Burghers.

There are some who would use the game as an example of how a money-printing new stadium can elevate even a sad-sack of a franchise to the top.

And that’s fine, too . . . for the people in Phoenix.

Will another Lazarus act by Kurt Warner get him into the Hall of Fame?

That’s for the sentimentalists.

How about the best player on the field this Sunday, Troy Polamalu or Larry Fitzgerald?

That’s for the fantasy geeks at their next draft.

So what about the rest of us?

Before the hype machine hits full-tilt boogie somewhere around Tuesday in Tampa, let’s take the remaining peaceful hours to reflect on Super Bowls past. What are your favorite memories? Best games? Worst games? Defining moments? Janet Jackson malfunctions, at least the ones on the field?

For best Super Bowl ever, XXXIV is hereby nominated. I was watching from a hotel room in Canada when Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson a yard short at the gun. A few minutes later on a Vancouver street, I overheard someone excitedly talking up Canucks-Blackhawks.

Thankfully, I was in the stadium last year when the Giants took down the undefeated Patriots. How did David Tyree even make that catch? How did Eli Manning escape? Maybe the greatest play in possibly the greatest Super Bowl.

Likewise, you cannot have this conversation without Joe Montana’s 92-yard drive in XXIII. Or Adam Vinatieri’s winning kicks in XXXVI, perhaps the best-played Super Bowl, and XXXVIII. Or, alas, Scott Norwood’s miss in XXV.

To this day, does anyone in sports engender more sympathy than Norwood . . . or Jackie Smith? How unfortunate that a solid tight end’s career was somehow defined on a dropped pass in XIII.

As for the Super Bowls that reflexively caused you to switch to “MacGyver” reruns, two involved the San Francisco dynasty: 49ers 55, Broncos 10 in XXIV, and Niners 49, Chargers 26 in XXIX. Similarly, Bears-Patriots in XX was hard on the eyes, for a lot of reasons.

No Super Bowl changed things like quite like III, when the Jets upset the Colts to legitimize the other league, as well as the event itself. Joe Namath trotting off the field with his index finger in the air, validating his brash guarantee that the Jets would win, is among the indelible images.

Growing up as a Raiders fan, for me it would be Willie Brown’s 75-yard interception return in XI. How many times have you seen the slow-mo replay and heard the call? Old man Willie Brown. . . .

The great Willie Brown had just turned 36.

Of course, we cannot leave without mentioning the joyful Brett Favre, the groggy Max McGee or the delightfully politically incorrect Vince Lombardi, who said after the first one: “I don’t think Kansas City compares with the best teams in the NFL. Dallas is a better team. There. That’s what you wanted me to say, isn’t it?”

Well, yes.

Here’s wishing you a pleasantly ad-diminished XLIII.

Michael Hunt is a sports columnist for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.