Vinnie at the Bat #4

Female Intern Has Platonic Relationship With President!
"Speed 2" is Year's Top Blockbuster!
AFC Wins Super Bowl!

Okay, we know two of these headlines can't be true. But one of them did happen this year, for the first time in 14 seasons.

Terrell Davis led the way with powerful straight-up running, giving the wild card Denver Broncos a thrilling Super Bowl victory against the defending champion Green Bay Packers.

That's the facts -- John Elway finally got by his Super jinx with a little help from his friends. Is this weird occurrence going to set off a decade of dominance for the AFC? Probably not. But what it does give us is hope, instead of hype -- that future Super Bowls might have the chance to be well played, evenly matched games again.

Denver, in previous trips with Elway, once gave up 35 points in a quarter to an offense led by Doug Williams. Another time, The Broncos watched as Montana and Rice kept connecting for a 55-10 debacle.

What explains this AFC drought, and how was a team who epitomized "Super" suffering able to overcome it?

Well, let's look over the last fourteen years. The Niners won five. Cowboys got three. The Skins and New York football Giants each picked up a pair. And the Packers and Bears, "teams of destiny" had one each. In most of these games, the NFC team was clearly better on paper. The AFC squad usually pulled a few upsets to get to the big dance. Just ask Marty Schottenheimer. The Buffalo Bills, four straight times runners-up, were evidently the biggest AFC juggernaut in this period. You don't like to use the word choke, but there was some shortness of breath there. The Chargers, Patriots, and Bengals all fell flat after making amazing runs within their conference.

Little big plays have been the dagger for the AFC. Montana to Taylor. Desmond Howard. Larry Brown's interceptions. The Fridge pounding in for six. Scott Norwood.

In this time, the AFC's only memorable highlight was Don Beebe stripping Leon Lett when it didn't mean anything.

And how about those people who shined from out of nowhere? That darn Timmy Smith factor.

But Elway and the Broncos were probably the most solid offensive AFC team to enter the big game in years. Number 7 had learned from his previous trips -- leading a group of established veterans looking for jewelry--a pretty good shot at breaking the jinx, one would think. However, they remained two touchdown underdogs because of who they were representing.

It's not like they faced an NFC team in an off-year, either. This was the Packers, who hail from Titletown, featuring the league's best big play player and a top defense. Just hard fought, nothing illegitimate about it.

Green Bay or another expected juggernaut might be back next year to thrash another AFC club, but the Broncos will keep the banner flying high for now. Hopefully they'll continue to win more than the coin toss once in a while--it tends to make the Super Bowl interesting when there's a doubt as to its outcome.