The 1991 Super Bowl XXV is still the greatest of all time…
The 32nd anniversary of the greatest big game ever played is just one week away. The Buffalo Bills made it to one of the greatest Super Bowls ever during their four consecutive Super Bowl trips in the early 1990s, even though they lost all of them.
As Tom Petty once stated, “even losers can strike it fortunate.”
But more than simply the Buffalo Bills contributed to the uniqueness of this Super Bowl.
In addition, there were the New York Giants, the American cultural milieu at the moment, and the January 1991 political atmosphere. Include in the mix the NFL at its peak, prior to the current phase of decline, and the Super Bowl as a less overly corporate organization.
The game was not as overtly commercialized and crude as it is now, but it was still a huge thing.
The culmination of all these elements made Super Bowl XXV at the Big Sombrero in Tampa, Florida, the greatest Super Bowl experience ever.
Since then, there have been many fantastic Super Bowl games. There will be more in the future. There’s still that football component. However, none will be more fascinating than former Buffalo Bills placekicker Scott Norwood in the human drama of the gridiron.
Ray Finkle, the primary antagonist in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” is undoubtedly modeled by Norwood’s failed kick. Not because of Norwood, per se, but because of the real missed FGA.
Finkle’s misfire was even from precisely the same distance—47 yards!
Whitney Houston is the best singer of the SB national song; who will ever top her? When the Star Spangled Banner held such great cultural and political significance?
That Super Bowl from 29 years ago is the best one we’ve ever had, and it may be the best one ever. Yes, I sound like an old man ordering you kids to get off my lawn.
This is a snippet from the 2016 ESPN the Magazine Super Bowl ad from ESPN PR. It sounds like they concur with what I’ve said.
The Super Bowl’s entire culture was unwittingly altered by Whitney Houston’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The genesis of the anthem is tracked in a piece commemorating the 25th anniversary of that performance, starting with its unconventional arrangement and ending with her surprising success on the charts—wearing red, white, and blue tracksuit, of course.
The opening play of SB 25 was arguably the best performance of the “Star Spangled Banner” in sports history. Rewatch it here and get the same chills we all felt at the time. Thurman Thomas concurs that this song is the most remembered aspect of the game while watching the 30 for 30 (reviewed here):
Houston doesn’t add any more notes; it hits every note. In my lifetime, that was the best version of the Star-Spangled Banner.
That was until Lady Gaga performed the national anthem on the steps of the US Capitol on Inauguration Day in early 2021.
Houston’s version was also the first to gain popularity for the fighter aircraft flyover, which was a very unusual practice back then compared to now. The first Iraq invasion started a few days prior to this Super Bowl, and the teams representing each side are actually red, white, and blue.
Tom Clancy of the New York Giants
During this one, patriotism and jingoism were incredibly high.
Kenneth Davis even has a fascinating idea on how Norwood’s kick might have been impacted by an Apache chopper that was present because of the political context of the game.
Undoubtedly, Norwood did not choke because, in his entire career, he had never made a kick that long outside.
In January 1991, the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants joined together to elevate the Super Bowl franchise. This Super Bowl, aside from the 1988 Bengals-Niners match, was the most intriguing one in a very long time when it was played.
Before then, the Super Bowl was known for being a boring fest where the NFC would annually thrash the AFC. It wasn’t as well-liked back then as it is now.
Even while it wasn’t as significant as it is now in terms of mass pop culture, it was still the biggest sporting event of the year.
Even while the Super Bowl was heavily marketed back then, corporations still did not control it to the same extent as they do now.
Although there was a lot of media excitement for the game back then, it wasn’t as intense as it is now (“STFU already” kind of coverage). It was the NFL championship and a memorable Sunday for sports lovers during the Super Bowl XXV era. Unlike now, when it’s vying alongside Halloween to take the place of New Year’s Eve as yet another unofficial celebration.
While the Super Bowl was quite popular in the 1990s, it wasn’t as obtrusive as it is now. No entertainment product should ever become unavoidable, such as Taylor Swift’s horribly overrated music, which is okay at times.
Perhaps for that reason, an SB as good as 25 will never come along. At that time, the franchise peaked, and it won’t be returning to that height. The reason it’s a stream is because streams are so shallow, but it’s too mainstream these days.
It’s unfortunate that Jim Kelly and the Buffalo Bills were only able to secure one Super Bowl victory. They earned it so much.
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