 Last Updated: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 08:26 PM |
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Bowl XVI: The Greatest Game Cincinnati Bengals 22, Atlanta Falcons 21
The
league's 16th Super Bowl was not expected
to be a landmark game, but hours before
kickoff, Commissioner Lewis announced that
the league had just signed an exclusive
deal with a small radio network to
broadcast the game live-by-tape. Word
spread around the league quickly. The
broadcast would be played over the
RealPlayer networks at 8am that Saturday
morning. For the fans of the USAFL, it
didn't matter if their favorite team was
playing ... what mattered was they would
be listening to a real USAFL game live
over the radio. What
they heard over the next hour or so was
history. Perhaps it was the players
entering Riverfront Stadium that cold
January afternoon with the wind whipping
around the field at 17mph made the 14
degree temperature feel like -3 degrees.
For years they had played in virtual anonymity
with only their names being published on
the stat pages. But on this day, fans all
over the world would listen in while they
played the game of their lives. Over
the next 60 minutes, the Cincinnati
Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons battled it
out until the gun went off to end the 4th
quarter, giving the league it's greatest
game to date.
The
14-2 Bengals were
excited to be hosting the league's
championship, especially considering the
weather. The AFC was considered by many to
be the weaker conference. GM Ryan Silvis
was concerned that his Bengals were so
thin on defense that they only had two
veteran linebackers, both 9yr veterans,
the rest of their LB corps were all
rookies. Their defensive line had one
rookie, Linus Shepard, starting at DT2. He
was award the League Rookie of the Year
honor, but by today's standard he was
clearly undersized and outmatched. But
their offense was the reason they were in
this game. RB Robert Kane and QB Robert
Hines had brought this Bengal team to
prominence with their offensive power.
With
that in mind, get a bowl full of your
favorite munchies, a tall glass of your
favorite beverage, get your PC speakers
warmed up, kick back in your best chair
..... and listen to this landmark
broadcast of the league's 16th
championship. A
make sure to not miss the closing quarter
... the game might seem boring the first
three quarters, but the action turns up
with 15 minutes to go ... and the points
come fast and furious. It all comes down
to who has the ball last.
BONUS:
During this era of the league, the website
also featured screenshots from playoff
games. This was before we started using
images from actual NFL games. Check out
the screenshots from each of the playoff
games: NFC
First Round: Atlanta 13, Tampa Bay 5 Return
to
the Countdown To A Century Main Page |
Nearly
a decade earlier, the USA Football League
had found it's way onto the internet and
within a few seasons they expanded from 12
teams to 18. The charter members of the
league were opening the doors and allowing
one-third of the league to essentially be
new-comers to the world of the USAFL.
Looking back, that expansion was the
riskiest decision ever made by Commissioner
Andrew Lewis. But as everyone would soon
learn, the USAFL never acts impulsively.
The incoming GMs were each assigned a
veteran mentoring GM to usher him through
the learning process. Within three to four
seasons, all 18 General Managers were
fluent with the game and the competition
increased. 
The
13-3 Falcons were the clear favorite going
into the game, despite being the visitors
and having to travel to windy Cincinnati
for a bitter winter afternoon. The Falcons
offense featured the NFC's Offensive MVP
in RB Jonnie Dunaway and AllPro QB Larry
Hill. GM Tim Arkwright had already begun
making a name for himself in the USAFL as
the scouting genius he is now known for.
He had won his first Super Bowl two
seasons earlier and three seasons after
this loss to the Bengals, his Falcons
would begin their dynasty run of
championships, winning 6 championships in
8 seasons. But as of this game, his
mystique had yet to emerge.
But
you have to understand that the kind of
football being played in this era is
nothing like the game you see today. Back
then, the game was dominated by the
defensive linemen. The rules clearly
favored the aggressive nature displayed by
these supermen of the scrimmage line.
Imagine how excited we are today with
dunks or homeruns. Back then the fans of
the USAFL felt that way about sacks and
blocked punts and FGs. If your team didn't
have a powerful defensive end, there was
no way you would even get close to the
post-season. The game was all about how
many points your defense could score.
Listen
to the SuperBowl XVI broadcast by opening
up your 
