The Team of the Decade

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Twenty–five years ago today, Joe Montana became the second quarterback to win four Super Bowls.

Terry Bradshaw is the only other quarterback to record that achievement — if Tom Brady beats the Seahawks this Sunday, he will become the third man to do it. And one suspects that Brady will have few, if any, additional chances. This will be his sixth Super Bowl; he will be 38 years old before next season begins.

The quarterbacks who faced each other in Super Bowl XXIV in New Orleans 25 years ago had been to five Super Bowls between them. Montana was 3–0; Denver's John Elway was 0–2.

The 49ers came into the game 12–point favorites. I guess the oddsmakers knew what they were doing because Super Bowl XXIV remains, 25 years later, the most lopsided Super Bowl ever played.

The 49ers never trailed. On their first possession, San Francisco marched 66 yards in 10 plays and scored their first touchdown on a familiar combo — Montana to Jerry Rice. San Francisco led, 7–0.

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The Broncos kicked a field goal when they got the ball back, but San Francisco retaliated with another touchdown — and what was probably the 49ers' only mistake all evening, a botched point–after attempt.

After one quarter, San Francisco led, 13–3. Montana had already thrown two touchdown passes.

The 49ers scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter and took a 27–3 lead to the locker room.

At this point, I ought to mention that I was in graduate school, and I was working at the local newspaper on the sports side. We had an outdoor writer who was, essentially, a freelancer. He brought his copy in to the office on Fridays, and we published it on Sunday.

Anyway, this writer and I were chatting about the game, and he asked me if I would be willing to bet with him. He wanted to take the Broncos. I agreed to bet with him, and I'm sure he thought I was being generous when I told him he could have however many points were being offered; the truth is that I just believed the 49ers could win by a couple of touchdowns. In more than half of their wins all year (and the 49ers were 14–2 during the regular season), the 49ers could have covered a 12–point spread, and they won both of their previous playoff games by more — far more — than 12 points.

So he started with a 12–0 advantage. Obviously, though, that lead evaporated rather quickly. He was just narrowly holding on to the lead at the end of the first quarter, but he couldn't have been encouraged. The Broncos only had five first downs at halftime. By that time, of course, they trailed by 24 points.

The Broncos finally got a touchdown in the third quarter — but it was after the 49ers had added two more touchdowns to their total. It was 41–10 at the end of the third quarter, 55–10 when the final gun sounded.

The 49ers were sharp, precise, not to be denied. Punter Barry Helton only had to kick the ball away four times all day. That is how efficient the 49ers were, scoring on two–thirds of their possessions.

If you looked at the time of possession, though, and did not know the final score, you'd be convinced that Denver won the game. The Broncos held the ball twice as long as the 49ers — but the 49ers scored on long plays, four of their touchdowns coming on gains of 20 yards or more. When you can pick up big chunks of yards like that, time of possession becomes irrelevant. After all, the Broncos only had three gains of 20 yards or more all day, and none resulted in a touchdown.

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Elway was the only Bronco who was really in the 49ers' league. The rest of the team simply didn't have what it took to compete with the 49ers.

San Francisco was the team of the decade. Of that, they left no doubt 25 years ago today.

On that day, it was probably hard to find someone who could conceive of a time when Elway would return to the Super Bowl — and not only play in it but actually win it. In fact, he did return to the Super Bowl eight years later, and he won, beating the Green Bay Packers.

Montana's Second Super Bowl Victory

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I remember this day in 1985. I was working on the sports desk of the Arkansas Gazette on what is always the biggest day in sports every year — Super Bowl Sunday.

Everything else that would ordinarily demand our attention always took the night off on Super Bowl Sunday. They used to play the Super Bowl in the afternoon — until they discovered they could get a bigger TV audience by playing the game at night. So they moved it to nighttime, and since that time there have been some basketball games played in the afternoons of Super Bowl Sunday. Never very many, just a few, usually featuring big–name programs. Occasionally, sports fans have had the option of watching a hockey game or perhaps Olympic qualifying competition for skiers or skaters.

All that other stuff was usually over by the kickoff of the Super Bowl, though. We didn't have a TV in the newsroom in those days, but someone usually brought a portable TV to the office so we could watch the game. And it promised to be a good one.

It seems to me that maybe the worst thing that can happen to a professional athlete is to achieve great success very early in his career.

Because that tends to make the athlete believe that climbing that mountain is much easier than advertised, and the athlete expects to return to the championship level every year. Few athletes have made it to that level multiple times in their careers, let alone every year.

In truth, that is probably easier for athletes who participate in individual sports to accomplish than it is for those who compete in team sports.

That may have been what happened to Dan Marino, who came into the NFL as a first–round draft choice after the 1982 season. The Dolphins made it to the Super Bowl in 1982 and went 12–4 in Marino's rookie season but lost to Seattle in the divisional round of the playoffs.

In 1983, the Dolphins were 14–2 and crushed their opponents in the AFC playoffs. Waiting for them in Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California, 30 years ago today were the Joe Montana–led San Francisco 49ers.

It is important to remember that Montana was not a sure bet to be in the Hall of Fame yet. The 49ers had won the Super Bowl three years earlier, but that had been their only appearance. They were not the juggernaut that they would become, and their performance 30 years ago had a lot to do with that transformation.

Going into the game that was played three decades ago today, the 49ers were favored — but only by 3½ points.

It was billed as a showdown between Marino and Montana. Marino was everyone's MVP, having completed more than 64% of his passes (he averaged almost three dozen attempts per game) for more than 5,000 yards and four dozen touchdowns.

Marino may have thought it was all incredibly easy when the gun sounded ending the first quarter. Miami led, 10–7, thanks to Uwe von Schamann's 37–yard field goal and Marino's two–yard touchdown pass to tight end Dan Johnson. But Marino, who averaged three touchdown passes per game during the regular season, would have no more touchdown passes on this day.

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Montana and the 49ers seized the lead in the second quarter. Montana threw a touchdown pass to running back Roger Craig, then Montana ran in from six yards out, then Craig scored again.

Von Schamann kicked two field goals to cut the deficit to 28–16 at the intermission, but the Dolphins were done scoring for the day.

The 49ers got a field goal from Ray Wersching and Montana threw another touchdown pass to Craig, and it was over. The 49ers had won in convincing fashion, 38–16.

And Montana, who had not been named the MVP of the season, was named the MVP of the Super Bowl. As a two–time Super Bowl–winning quarterback, he joined an exclusive club. In a few years, he would win back–to–back Super Bowls and join an extremely exclusive club of four–time winners. So far, the only other member is Terry Bradshaw, who won his fourth Super Bowl 35 years ago today. New England's Tom Brady will be seeking to join that club a week from Sunday.

No doubt, many people believed on this day 30 years ago that Marino would soon win a Super Bowl. He might even win multiple Super Bowls in his career. He was, after all, only 23 years old, and, if he stayed healthy, he clearly had the skill.

But he never made it back to the Super Bowl. The closest he got was conference championship games following the 1985 and 1992 seasons. The Dolphins lost both.

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For the second time, the 49ers gave coach Bill Walsh a victory ride. He would get another four years later.

A Drive for the Ages

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Super Bowl XXIII is remembered for one thing — the magnificent game–winning touchdown drive engineered by quarterback Joe Montana in the closing minutes — even though it was noteworthy for other things, too.

San Francisco trailed Cincinnati by a field goal with a little more than three minutes to play. The 49ers had the ball at their own 8–yard line; Montana led the offense down the field and threw the winning touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds to play.

They called him "Joe Cool" during his playing career, and that really described his demeanor as he directed the 49ers on that game–winning drive.

Repeatedly that day, the Bengals' defenders made the plays they needed to make, but the 49ers won, anyway, 20–16, possibly securing Montana's induction into pro football's Hall of Fame. He entered the game already having won two Super Bowls. Four quarterbacks with at least two Super Bowl victories — Bart Starr, Bob Griese, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach — had been chosen for the Hall of Fame, and other two–time winners would follow.

Nearly every quarterback who has started for at least two Super Bowl winners has wound up in the Hall of Fame (although Jim Plunkett has never been selected for induction in spite of being a two–time winner). A pretty convincing case can be made that Montana would be in the Hall of Fame, regardless of what happened 25 years ago today.

There was every reason to believe that Montana, who had been MVP in his first two Super Bowls along with being a five–time Pro Bowler, would be inducted, too. And he was, in his first year of eligibility. The stirring game–winning drive simply added to his remarkable resume.

Super Bowl XXIII had a little something for everyone. For Montana, it was a third Super Bowl victory as starting quarterback — and the only one of the four Super Bowls in which he played that he was not named the MVP. For Taylor, it was a game–winning reception.

And for future Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, it was the Most Valuable Player award. He caught 11 passes for a record 215 yards against the Bengals.

The game itself was a rematch of Super Bowl XVI, the third such rematch in Super Bowl history. The score was 3–3 at halftime, the first time a Super Bowl was tied at intermission.

San Francisco coach Bill Walsh retired after the game. So far, he is the only man to end his pro football coaching career with a Super Bowl victory.

But "The Drive" is what fans remember 25 years later.

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On that final drive, Montana completed eight of nine pass attempts. He was calm and cool as he completed three to Rice for 51 yards, but he covered the last 10 on a pass to Taylor.

That last play was probably the most astonishing play of the drive. As I say, Rice caught 11 passes in that game, three of them on the final drive (a fourth pass was thrown his way on that drive as well). Mere words aren't sufficient to describe the brilliance of his performance. He was clearly the game's most valuable player.

With the ball resting on the Cincinnati 10, everyone in the stadium probably expected Montana to throw to Rice. I was watching the game on TV with my parents, and I know the three of us expected Montana to look for Rice.

But, instead, he threw to Taylor for only the fourth time in the game. And Taylor, who nearly fumbled away a punt earlier in the quarter, made his only reception of the day.

It was a brilliant piece of strategy from the mind of a truly brilliant strategist, Bill Walsh, and it was executed flawlessly by his field general, Joe Montana.

Rice was the logical target. Taylor had been a non–factor all day, but "Joe Cool," calmly and confidently, threw the ball to Taylor and joined the exclusive club of football players who have won more than two Super Bowls.

The Montana legend was really born 25 years ago tonight. He was already regarded as one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks; "The Drive" made it official.

The Value of a Single Catch

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I have often wondered how different professional football would have been if the San Francisco 49ers had not won the NFC championship on this day 30 years ago.

I've been following sports since I was a child, and if there is one thing I have learned, it is that there really is such a thing as destiny — at least when it comes to sports teams.

Some franchises never overcome their initial reputations as losers, and some allow those reputations to continue to hinder their progress long after they have risen above those reputations.

Sometimes franchises that have been struggling surge to the top from nowhere, get close to grabbing the brass ring but come up short and then fall back into relative obscurity — after which you might hear from them again in another 10 or 15 years.

But sometimes those franchises that surge to the top break on through to the other side and win it all — and a dynasty is born.

I believe that's what happened with the San Francisco 49ers 30 years ago today.

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The 49ers weren't strangers to the playoffs, but they hadn't been participants in the postseason for nearly a decade.

Shoot, it had been five years since they had had a winning season.

In their memorable showdown with the Dallas Cowboys on that Sunday afternoon, the 49ers introduced the West Coast Offense to football fans, many of whom were seeing it for the first time. If it had failed, Joe Montana might never have enjoyed the career that he did — and the West Coast Offense might not have risen to the prominence it did.

At least, at that time.

It's safe to assume that, if Dallas had won the game, something else would have been the popular offense — and some other quarterback would have emerged as the NFL's top signal–caller — of the 1980s.

Failure on this day would have meant that the Cowboys would return to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in seven years. Success for the 49ers, however, brought the energy and excitement of a new team in the Super Bowl — and that is what the 49ers were in January 1982, first–timers in the Super Bowl (as were their opponents, the Cincinnati Bengals).

But it might never have happened if Montana hadn't completed a six–yard pass to Dwight Clark in the end zone, an iconic moment that was captured in photographs that appeared in newspapers across the country the next day.

It isn't hard for me to imagine Bill Walsh and his coaching staff abandoning the West Coast Offense if it failed to produce a conference championship on this day in 1982.

Walsh was kind of like football's version of Franklin D. Roosevelt. From the moment he became the 49ers' coach, his mission was to revive a foundering franchise, just as it was Roosevelt's mission to revive the nation. FDR's presidency in the 1930s was very experimental; if something didn't have the desired effect, it would be scrapped and something else would replace it.

If the 49ers had failed to win the NFC championship on this day 30 years ago, Walsh and his staff certainly would have re–evaluated their roster — and they might well have concluded that their personnel was better suited for a different strategy.

That doesn't mean that the West Coast Offense would have died three decades ago today, never to be seen on an NFL field again.

No, I'm sure someone would have resurrected it — and probably thrived with it — if it had gone unused for years following a 49ers defeat 30 years ago today because defensive coordinators would have spent little, if any, time planning for it.

But Montana completed that pass to Clark — and the 49ers went on to win four of the next nine Super Bowls.

And the West Coast Offense set the pace in professional football for the next two decades.