Super Bowl XXXIV
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Super Bowl XXXIV was the 34th Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game was played on January 30, 2000 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia following the 1999 regular season.
The National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Tennessee Titans, 23–16. This was the Rams' first Super Bowl win and their first NFL championship since 1951.
On the final play of the game, St. Louis linebacker Mike Jones tackled Tennessee wide receiver Kevin Dyson one-yard short of the goal line to prevent a game-tying touchdown. This play later became known as simply "The Tackle".
Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, who broke the Super Bowl record with the most passing yards in a game (414), was named Super Bowl MVP. He completed 24 out of 45 passes and threw 2 touchdowns.
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Background
NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXXIV to Atlanta during their October 31, 1996 meetings at New Orleans. This was Atlanta's second time hosting the game; the city previously hosted Super Bowl XXVIII on January 30, 1994.
St. Louis Rams
The Rams, who shocked the NFL in 1999 with an NFC-best 13-3 regular season record, were making their first playoff appearance in 10 years and only the second Super Bowl appearance in team history. They were led by undrafted and former Iowa Barnstormers and Amsterdam Admirals quarterback Kurt Warner, who was originally the backup to Trent Green, lost to an injury suffered in the preseason.
In his first NFL season in 1998, Warner had played only one game and threw just 11 passes. But in 1999, he had one of the most spectacular seasons in NFL history by recording a passer rating of 109.2, completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 4,353 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just 13 interceptions, earning him the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Warner was not the only player on the team that was recording significant statistics. Running back Marshall Faulk, in his first year with the Rams after spending 5 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. He scored 12 touchdowns, rushed for 1,381 yards, and recorded a team leading 87 receptions for 1,048 yards. In all, Faulk gained over 2,000 yards (2,429) for the second year in a row, and became just the second running back ever to gain over 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in one season (Roger Craig was the first). Warner also had several other weapons to throw to in addition to Faulk. Veteran receiver Isaac Bruce was the top Rams receiver with 77 receptions for 1,165 yards and 12 touchdowns. On the other side of the field, rookie wide receiver Torry Holt was also a major deep threat, recording 52 receptions, 788 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Even the team's third wide receiver, Az-Zahir Hakim, was a big contributor by catching 36 passes for 677 yards and 8 touchdowns, while also returning punts for 461 yards and another touchdown. The Rams' offensive line was led by Pro Bowlers Orlando Pace and Adam Timmerman. Timmerman was a recent acquisition from the Green Bay Packers who had previously assisted them to a championship win in Super Bowl XXXI.
Overall, St. Louis' offense led the league in total yards gained (6,639), scoring (526 points), and passing touchdowns (42).
The Rams' defense did not get as much attention as the offense, but it was still extremely strong, leading the league in fewest rushing yards allowed (1,189) and fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (4). Overall, the defense ranked 7th in the league in fewest total yards allowed (5,056).
Their line was anchored by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kevin Carter and defensive end Grant Wistrom. Wistrom led the team with 8.5 sacks; and recorded 2 interceptions, returning both for touchdowns for a combined total of 131 yards. Behind him, the Rams had 3 extremely talented linebackers: London Fletcher (66 tackles and 3 sacks), Mike Jones (4 interceptions for 96 return yards and 2 touchdown, and 2 fumble recoveries for 51 return yards and 1 touchdown), and Billy Jenkins (72 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 interceptions for 16 yards). The defense was led by Pro Bowler Todd Lyght (6 interceptions), Dexter McCleon (4 interceptions), and Dre' Bly (3 interceptions).
Tennessee Titans
The Titans advanced to their first Super Bowl in team history. From 1960 to 1996, the team was known as the Houston Oilers, an original charter member of the American Football League (AFL). Houston, Texas businessman Bud Adams owned the Oilers since its inception and guided the team through the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.
But by 1995, Adams was lured to move his team from Houston to a new stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Although this new stadium was not ready until the 1999 season, Adams decided to move his team to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee in 1997 after playing before sparse Houston crowds in 1996. However, the renamed Tennessee Oilers also played before sparse Memphis crowds, and thus spent the 1998 season playing at Nashville's Vanderbilt Stadium. After the new Adelphia Coliseum, now known simply as The Coliseum, was completed in 1999, the team's name was changed to Tennessee Titans.
The 1999 Titans were led by two veterans: quarterback Steve McNair and running back Eddie George. McNair had missed 5 games due to injuries during the season, but he was still able to put up solid numbers, throwing for 2,179 yards and 12 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions. Despite his injury problems, McNair was also an outstanding scrambler and finished the season as the second leading rusher on the team with 337 yards and scoring 8 touchdowns. George also had an outstanding season, rushing for 1,304 yards, and catching 47 passes for 458 yards (his receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns were all career highs). In all, George scored a grand total of 13 rushing and receiving touchdowns, and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl for the 3rd consecutive year.
Another contributor on the Titans offense was fullback Lorenzo Neal, who frequently served as George's lead blocker and was widely considered one of the best blocking backs in the league. The team did not have any outstanding deep threats, but wide receivers Yancey Thigpen recorded 38 receptions for 648 yards, Kevin Dyson had 54 receptions for 658 yards, and tight end Frank Wycheck gained 69 receptions for 641 yards. Up front, their line was anchored by Pro Bowl tackle Bruce Matthews.
Tennessee's defense was also extremely effective. Pro Bowl defensive end Jevon Kearse anchored the line and recorded 14.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. The linebacking core was led by Eddie Robinson, who recorded 64 tackles and 6 sacks. Their secondary was led by defensive back Samari Rolle, who led the team with 4 interceptions.
The Titans finished the regular season with a 13-3 record, but finished second behind the 14-2 Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Central. The Jaguars' only two losses were to the Titans, but Tennessee's three losses forced them to enter the playoffs as a wild-card team.
Playoffs
In the Wild Card Playoff Round, the Titans beat the Buffalo Bills, 22-16, with a touchdown on the last play of the game that became known as the Music City Miracle. Tennessee then went on to beat the Indianapolis Colts, 19-17, in the Divisional Playoffs and then defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars for the third time that season, 33-14, making the Titans the seventh wild-card team to make it to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings, 49-37, and then they narrowly defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 11-6.
Television and entertainment
ABC televised the game in the United States with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentator Boomer Esiason. Chris Berman from Disney-owned corporate sibling ESPN hosted all the events. Berman was joined by fellow ESPN analyst Steve Young, while ESPN's Mike Tirico was on hand for the post-game presentation of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The overall theme of the Super Bowl entertainment was to mark the turning of the new millennium.
Pregame ceremonies
The pregame show featured a tribute to "The Great American Music of the 20th Century". Narrated by The Smothers Brothers, the show highlighted some of the unique American musical styles such as Gospel, Big Band, Classical, Country and Rock. Singers Tina Turner and Travis Tritt along with the Georgia Tech Marching Band and the Georgia Mass Choir performed during the show.
Country singer Faith Hill then sang the national anthem.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Super Bowl IV, the following participants of the game were featured during the coin toss ceremony: Bud Grant, Lamar Hunt, Bobby Bell, Paul Krause, Willie Lanier, Alan Page, and Jan Stenerud.
Halftime show
The halftime show was produced by Disney and titled "Tapestry of Nations". The show, narrated by actor Edward James Olmos, was inspired by Walt Disney World's millennium celebration. It featured a full symphony orchestra; a multi-generational, 80-person choir; and singers Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, and Toni Braxton.
Game summary
The two teams' defenses seemed to dominate most of the first half. The Rams started the game out strong by taking the opening kickoff and marching to the Tennessee 17-yard line. But on third down, safety Blaine Bishop pressured quarterback Kurt Warner to throw an incomplete pass. Then the ensuing field goal attempt failed when punter/holder Mike Horan fumbled the snap. The Titans responded by moving the ball to the St. Louis 29-yard line, aided with running back Eddie George's 32-yard reception. But they also came up empty after kicker Al Del Greco missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
For the rest of the half, the Titans were forced to punt on all of their possessions. In contrast, the Rams were able to reach inside the Tennessee 20-yard line on all 4 of their remaining drives before halftime, but on each one, the Titans defense forced St. Louis to settle for field goal attempts from kicker Jeff Wilkins, who was successful in making 3 of them, but missed one attempt from 34 yards. The Rams ended up leading at halftime, 9-0, but their scoring margin over the Titans seemed somewhat small considering they drove into scoring range on every one of their first half possessions and outgained Tennessee in total yards, 294-89.
Both teams' offenses started to get going in the second half. The Titans took the opening kickoff of the third period and drove 43 yards to the St. Louis 29-yard line. But Tennessee remained scroeless after defensive back Todd Lyght blocked Del Greco's 47 yard field goal attempt. With 7:20 remaining in the third quarter, the Rams drove inside the Titans 20-yard line for the sixth consecutive drive, this time scoring on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to rookie receiver Torry Holt, giving St. Louis a 16-0 lead.
Tennessee wide receiver Derrick Mason returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the 34-yard line. From there, 5 runs by George and two completions from quarterback Steve McNair to tight end Frank Wycheck advanced the ball to the St. Louis 29-yard line. Then McNair scrambled 23 yards to the 2-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by George 2 plays later. The touchdown cut the Titans' deficit to 16-6 after McNair's pass to Wycheck on the two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete.
The Titans first score sparked them to rally. After forcing the Rams to punt on their ensuing possession, a pair of 21-yard completions from McNair to wide receivers Jackie Harris and Isaac Bird aided a 13-play, 79-yard drive that was capped by George's 2-yard touchdown run to cut the score, 16-13. The Tennessee defense then forced the Rams to a three-and-out, and Horan's 30-yard punt gave them the ball back at their 47-yard line. The Titans offense then drove only 28 yards on their ensuing possession, but it was close enough for Del Greco to attempt a 43-yard field goal. This time, Del Greco's kick was good, tying the score 16-16 with just 2:12 left in the game.
However on the Rams' first play of their ensuing drive, Warner threw a long pass that was caught by Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce at the Titans' 38-yard line, who then ran it all the way into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown completion to give St. Louis a 23-16 lead.
Image:The Tackle SBXXXIV.JPG The Titans took over the ball at their own 10-yard line with 1:54 left in the game after committing a holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff. McNair started out the drive with a pair of completions to Mason and Wycheck for gains of 9 and 7 yards to reach the 28-yard line. Then after throwing an incompletion, defensive back Dre' Bly's 15-yard facemask penalty while tackling McNair on a 12-yard scramble gave the Titans a first down at the St. Louis 45-yard line. On the next play, St. Louis was penalized 5 yards for being offsides, moving the ball to the 40-yard line with 59 seconds left. McNair then ran for 2 yards, followed by a 7-yard completion to wide receiver Kevin Dyson. Three plays later, with the Titans facing 3rd down and 5 to go, McNair completed a 16-yard pass to Dyson to gain a first down at the Rams 10-yard line. Tennessee then used up their final timeout with just 5 seconds left in the game, giving them a chance for one last play. McNair threw a short pass to Kevin Dyson down the middle, which looked certain to tie up the game, until Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Dyson at the one-yard line as time expired. Dyson tried to stretch his arm and the football across the goal line, but he had already gone down, so it was too late. This final play has gone down in NFL history as simply "The Tackle".
The game featured many great performances from players on both teams. Bruce caught 6 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, an average of 27 yards per catch. Holt had 7 receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown. Rams starting running back Marshall Faulk was held to just 17 rushing yards, but gained 90 receiving yards on 5 receptions.
McNair set a Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback, recording 64 yards on 8 carries. He also completed 22 out of 36 passes for 214 yards. George finished the game with 95 rushing yards, 35 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns. Harris was the top receiver for Tennessee with 7 catches for 64 yards. Mason returned 5 kickoffs for 122 yards, and caught 2 passes for 18 yards.
Scoring summary
- STL - FG, Wilkins 27 Yd
- STL - FG, Wilkins 29 Yd
- STL - FG, Wilkins 28 Yd
- STL - TD, Holt, 9 Yd pass from Warner (Wilkins kick)
- TEN - TD, George, 1 Yd run (pass failed)
- TEN - TD, George, 2 Yd run (Del Greco kick)
- TEN - FG, Del Greco 43 Yd
- STL - TD, Bruce, 73 Yd pass from Warner (Wilkins kick)
Commercials
This game is often referred to as the "dot-com" Super Bowl since it was held during the height of the dot-com boom, and several internet companies purchased television commercials. Pets.com famously paid millions for an advert featuring a sock puppet. The web site advertisers and their fates were as follows:
- Pets.com (mail-order pet supplies): ceased operations in November 2000
- Oxygen Media (television entertainment): survived the dot-com boom
- E*Trade (online financial services): survived
- OurBeginning.com (mail-order stationery): filed bankruptcy in December 2001
- Netpliance (low-cost internet terminals): cancelled product line in November 2000
- Epidemic Marketing (incentive marketing): closed in June 2000
- Britannica.com (encyclopedias): survived
- OnMoney.com (financial portal): Ameritrade subsidiary, no longer operating
- AutoTrader.com (car shopping portal): survived
- Agillion (customer relationship management): filed bankruptcy in July 2001
- MicroStrategy (portal): closed online operation in September 2001, investigated for fraud
- Computer.com (computer retail): ceased operations in October 2000
- Hotjobs.com (job search portal): acquired by Yahoo!
- LifeMinders.com (e-mail marketing): acquired by Cross Media Marketing in July 2001
- Kforce.com (temporary job placement): survived
- Dowjones.com (financial information): survived
- Monster.com (job search portal): survived
Trivia
- The 19 years between Dick Vermeil's Super Bowl head coaching appearances is the longest time span between Super Bowl head coaching appearances. Vermeil coached the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV.
- In sports betting, this game was the second push in Super Bowl history, after Super Bowl XXXI. The Rams were favored by 7 and won the game by 7.
- This was the 4th Super Bowl to be held a week after the conference championship games. The previous Super Bowl (XXVIII) also had only one week between games, and like this game, was also played on January 30 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
- The Titans' 16-point deficit was the largest deficit to be erased in a Super Bowl and the first greater than 10 points, but they only tied the game and never gained the lead.
- The Titans were the first team since the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI to go scoreless in the 1st half, and the 10th time overall that a team had done so. No team has won the game after going scoreless in the first half.
- The Rams became the first team in Super Bowl history to take 5 straight possessions into the red zone but come away with zero touchdowns. They finally scored their first red zone touchdown on their first possession of the second half with Holt's 9-yard reception.
- The game-winning touchdown pass from Warner to Bruce was the Rams' only pass completion in the final period.
- Warner became the 6th player to win both the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the Super Bowl MVP award during the same season. He follows Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Emmitt Smith and Steve Young.
- This was the second Super Bowl, after Super Bowl XXV, in which neither team committed a turnover.
Officials
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- Umpire: Ron Botchan
- Head Linesman: Earnie Frantz
- Line Judge: Byron Boston
- Field Judge: Al Jury
- Side Judge: Tom Fincken
- Back Judge: Bill Leavy
- Alternate Referee: Walt Coleman
See also
References
- Super Bowl official website
- NFL Record and Fact Book(ISBN 193299436X)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0062701746)
- The Sporting News: History of the Super Bowl (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
- Super Bowl play-by-plays from USA Today (Last accessed September 28, 2005)
- All-Time Super Bowl Odds from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)
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