9902010227
DETROIT FREE PRESS
990201
Monday, February 01, 1999
METRO FINAL CHASER
1D
Photo ELISE AMENDOLA/Associated Press
Denver's Rod Smith beats Falcons safety Eugene robinson on an
80-yeard touchdown play in the second quarter.
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1999, Detroit Free Press
THE GAME WASN'T GREAT, BUT IT WAS A SUPER FINALE FOR ELWAY
MIAMI-- Last year, it was a dive to keep his team in the game. This time, as John
Elway belly-flopped into the end zone, it was a dive that said, "Game's over.
Let the party begin."
You live long enough, you see almost everything. So here, under a blue Miami
moon, were Elway and the Denver Broncos, who not so long ago were a
late-January joke. And now they were sweeping up their second straight Super
Bowl, and doing unto the Atlanta Falcons what had once so cruelly been done to
them -- namely, blowing them out.
Denver ...Dynasty?
"Where do you think this puts you in history?" someone asked Elway, after he
captured a second Super Bowl ring and his first-ever MVP award with 336
passing yards, one long-bomb touchdown, and another on his quarterback draw.
"History?" Elway said. "Heck. I dunno. I'm just thrilled to have hung around
long enough to get a couple of these things."
He's got a couple now. And as the oldest starting quarterback in Super Bowl
history (38), he joins the likes of Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman
and Joe Montana as back-to-back drivers of championship tanks.
Elway's bomb to Rod Smith and his touchdown dive in the fourth quarter put the
cork in Atlanta's dream bottle, and cemented Elway's place as the noted star
of what may have been his final NFL game. When the gun sounded, he raised his
arms over his head, his hair sweaty, his big smile ready to pop out through
his mouth. He could soon join Michael Jordan as a legendary player who said
good-bye on top.
If so, what better snapshot than this?
"We all want him to come back," said Ed McCaffrey, one of his favorite
receivers. "I just hope he doesn't make his decision tonight. Because, with
the way he played today, how could you imagine a better last game?"
True enough -- at least on a personal note for Elway. But overall, let's face
it, this was not a great Super Bowl. It had mistakes, three missed field
goals, and a decided lack of suspense. Missing was the drama of the Broncos'
win last year, their first ever, when Elway showed a career's worth of resolve
by running and diving headfirst to keep a key drive alive against the favored
Green Bay Packers.
This year, the story of the game was mostly this: Denver missed field goals to
give Atlanta a chance, and Atlanta threw interceptions to give it right back.
In the end, Denver took what Atlanta was giving, and de-feathered the Dirty
Birds on a national stage, 34-19. The Falcons failed to score an offensive
touchdown until very late. They failed to shut down Terrell Davis, which
everyone knew was a key. And they had no answer for Elway, who stood in the
backfield all night long, like an aging master with a paintbrush, surveying
his canvas.
This is how many times Elway was sacked:
Zero.
In fact, the only time he hit the ground with the ball was when he landed in
the end zone for Denver's final touchdown. Down, as in history.
Denver ...Dynasty?
One more encore?
"Was this your last game, John?" Elway was asked after the win, so many times,
it sounded like a canyon echo.
"I have to think about it ..." he said at one point, and then, at another,
"Winning this way makes it harder, that's for sure . . ." and then, a few
minutes later, "I worked nine months for this win, I just want to enjoy it
..." and then, a few minutes later, "This win definitely puts a chink in my
thinking ..."
Let me save you some suspense. He has no idea. Elway loves the game so much
that any good-bye, no matter when, will be difficult. He went though this last
year, and had the whole city of Denver holding its breath for months. No
doubt, he will repeat the process again, although perhaps with less hang time.
Meanwhile, he is left with memories of a night that pretty much went his way
from start to finish.
It wasn't just Elway. The entire Denver team played with a patient,
spread-it-around philosophy that spoke of experience. So in addition to the
quarterbacking heroics, there were two interceptions and a Super Bowl-record
108 return yards by cornerback Darrien Gordon.
And there were two rushing touchdowns by Howard Griffith, a journeyman
fullback who normally blocks for the great Davis.
Griffith, earlier in the week, described his low-profile contributions by
saying, "Everybody has to have a niche."
Well, get this. Denver's niche is now as one of the great teams in football
history. Sound crazy? Only five other teams in NFL history have won
back-to-back Super Bowls: Green Bay, Miami, Pittsburgh, Dallas and San
Francisco.
Pretty nice niche, huh?
A distracted flock
OK. About the losers, the Falcons. In truth, they probably left their best
game in Minnesota -- the overtime win to capture the NFC championship. There
were signs that they were getting too wrapped up in the whole madness of Super
bowl week -- witness Ray Buchanan's "guarantee" and the endless yapping about
the Dirty Bird dance.
And then there was Eugene Robinson, who was arrested Saturday night for
soliciting a prostitute who turned out to be an undercover cop. Robinson is
supposed to be a leader, a man of character. You can't believe his arrest, the
night before the Super Bowl, didn't distract the team.
"We heard about it last night," said safety William White. "I talked to him.
It was a slip on his part. But as soon as we heard it, we prayed for him and
for his family. I don't think it affected us. The game wasn't until six
o'clock. I got my eight hours of sleep."
Maybe. But Robinson was burned more than once out there. You don't get taken
to a police station the night before the biggest game of the year and not have
it affect you.
In fairness, I thought Denver had too much for the Falcons even before
Robinson's boneheaded behavior. This is a well-coached team, with a great
offensive line that works miracles for its two marquee stars, Elway and Davis.
The defense was supposed to be the weak point, but it rattled Chris Chandler
into three interceptions and it held Atlanta out of the end zone until it
didn't matter.
As for Elway? He may have played his last game, but he went out slinging like
a freshly minted gunfighter. His passes were sharp as ever, and his relaxed
control of the backfield was evident even from the farthest seats in Pro
Player Stadium.
That shouldn't surprise anyone. In fact, outside of Robinson's behavior and
the fact that Denver may now be considered a dynasty, there were no real
surprises this night.
As he left the podium, someone informed Elway that, in winning the MVP award,
he also got to pick up a free new car.
"I won a car?" he said.
I take it back. One more surprise.
To leave a message for Mitch Albom, call 1-313-223-4581 or E-mail
albom@freepress.com
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