Super highlights are good anytime
They never get old. For reasons beyond my comprehension, they never, ever get old. I’m talking about Super Bowl highlights shows, Super Bowl anecdotes and of course Super Bowl sound bites. Bill Cowher’s mic’d up masterpiece from Super Bowl XXX stands out.
I was flipping channels the other night and stayed on that one. Of course I did. I’ve heard it all before, probably 50 times, but I had to hear it again. Cowher was so great.
“Hey, let’s do it, surprise onside,” he excitedly tells his staff. “Not leavin’ anything in the bag.”
Then, after it worked, he turns to the ref: “That was a gutsy call on the onside, right?”
I know some of the lines from those halfhour highlights shows by heart. Like this one:
“Cliff Harris celebrated the kicker’s misfortunes with glee, but No. 58, Jack Lambert, quickly came to the rescue.”
Even the smallest anecdotes mesmerize. That’s why I listened so intently Thursday as Joe Greene spoke on the other end of the phone. One topic was his immediate reaction when Glen Edwards clinched Super Bowl X with an end-zone interception … only to run it out instead of kneel.
“I just remember saying, ‘Get down, Glen! Get down!’ ” Greene recalled, laughing. “He was probably so excited he didn’t think.”
Edwards’ name came up because I’ve been thinking of all the unsung heroes and underrated plays from
Steelers Super Bowls past. I could absolutely watch Ben’s throw and Santonio’s catch and James Harrison’s return and Willie Parker’s run and Lynn Swann’s ballet moves on a never-ending loop and stay fascinated with each — how about the way defenders immediately morphed into maniacal blockers on Harrison’s return? — but I find the more obscure-yet-critical plays equally captivating. The more obscure players, too.
It wasn’t just the Hall of Famers who made the 1970s teams tick, you know. Those teams had a thick second layer of really good players.
Larry Brown was one. He was a tight end when the Steelers won their first Super Bowl. He led the team in receiving yards that day with 49 on three catches, including a touchdown. He later transitioned to tackle. But he didn’t want to talk about himself when I caught up with him Thursday. He wanted to talk about Larry Anderson, who returned five kicks for 162 yards in the Super Bowl XIV win over the Rams.
“Just saw him at a reunion,” Brown said. “His returns impacted that game as much any of the other plays we remember.”
How about Ike Taylor’s interception in Super Bowl XL? It might have been the most impactful forgotten play in Steelers Super Bowl history.
First, Ike held onto a football. That was miraculous enough. But it was a pretty big moment, as well. The Seahawks were down just four early in the fourth quarter, with a third-and-18 at the Steelers 27. Taylor then stepped in front of Darrell Jackson at the 5 and returned a Matt Hasselbeck pass 24 yards. Four plays later, Antwaan Randle El connected with Hines Ward on a play everybody remembers.
How about Edwards popping Vikings receiver John Gilliam just before the half in Super Bowl IX, resulting in a Mel Blount interception? If that doesn’t happen, Minnesota probably takes a lead — even a 3-2 lead — into the half.
Greene and then-Steelers PR man Joe Gordon remember something else about Edwards that day. Apologies if you’ve heard this story (though I’m guessing you’d like to hear it again).
“Before the game, the teams were both in the tunnel at Tulane Stadium, about 2 yards apart,” Gordon recalled. “Edwards looks over at the Vikings and says, ‘Buckle up. You’re going to get your [expletive] asses kicked.’ ”
I’ve heard variations of that story, one alleging Edwards spotted an old college teammate on the Vikings, addressed him politely and did not get a response, prompting the threat.
In any case, Greene certainly enjoyed it. We were talking about Edwards’ big plays when Greene said, “Probably his biggest play was before the game when the guy didn’t speak back to him, and he said, ‘OK, buckle up then, ’cause we’re gonna kick your ass today!’ ”
Greene, 73, laughed at the memory.
“I heard it, and I just got so excited. That’s why I ran out of the tunnel holding the ‘No. 1’ sign up in the air.”
Greene was in Miami Thursday, headed to Franco Harris’ annual Super Bowl party, where he figured to see plenty of his old pals. He spoke of players such as the late Sam Davis and Gerry “Moon” Mullins when the topic of unsung heroes arose, and all those unsung plays.
“As Chuck [Noll] used to say, ‘You never know when the big play will come,’ ” Greene said. “And it’s all those little plays, the plays you think are insignificant, that when you string them together lead up to the big plays.”
Greene had to run. I could have talked all day. I wanted more stories.
They never get old.