Growing up in Tennessee, I never had an NFL team to root for, until the Houston Oilers relocated to Memphis in 1997. In just two years, after moving to Nashville and changing their name to the Titans, they had won the AFC Championship and were ready to face the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. So my friends and I planned a party to be remembered, as we just knew our Titans were going to win it all.
After a first half that was anything but enjoyable, the Titans were trailing the Rams 9-0, which would soon be extended to 16-0 in the third quarter. Everyone at the party was pretty bummed out as the commentator announced that no team had ever come back from a sixteen point deficit in Super Bowl history. But like any good sports fan, I had faith that my team would make the last minute comeback, and did they ever.
The Titans quickly scored two touchdowns, followed by a game tying field goal. It was happening–we were going to be the Super Bowl Champions. The very next play, the Rams scored another touchdown on a big play. Needless to say, that deflated everyone’s excitement pretty quick. Less than two minutes to play, down seven points, another comeback seemed unlikely.
Once again, led by quarterback Steve McNair, the Titans relentlessly drove down the field. With only six seconds to play, and no time outs left, McNair passed to Kevin Dyson, who was stopped on the one yard line with no time left. Dyson’s outstretched arm was a mere inches away from making Tennessee the champions.
While it was a very disappointing ending, it was one of the greatest football games I’ve seen in my life, and definitely the best Super Bowl. Everyone at our party was sad, to say the least, but we all agreed, “we’ll get ‘em next year.” Now, twelve Super Bowls later, we are all still hoping and waiting, like only good fans can.