Game 29: Warren G. Harding vs. Super Bowl XXIX

In a 1962 survey of historians, Warren G. Harding ranked 31st out of the 31 Presidents who had served up to that time. By 1982, a Chicago Tribune poll placed Harding second to last, edging out William Henry Harrison, who died in office one month after his inauguration. That's like when the Cleveland Browns beat the Detroit Lions.

Harding himself spent only two and a half years on the job, also passing away while in office. He was a charismatic guy and a supporter of civil rights. But things didn't go really well under his watch. That Teapot Dome scandal remains a Superdome of political debacles, still half a page in many U.S. history books.

Super Bowl XXIX, in Miami in 1995, was awful. You might even call it "Hardinglike." In an all-California game, the 49ers creamed the Chargers, 49-26 (ok, it was cool that the 49ers lived up to their name and got 49). Niners QB Steve Young threw for 6 TDs and no interceptions. Yeah, in the Super Bowl. The Chargers made history by scoring the first two-point conversions in a Super Bowl, after two meaningless touchdowns in the second half.  No, not a great game. Not a close game. But sometimes excellence is its own reward. Passing for six touchdowns in the Super Bowl?  Come on.  Score one for the game -- with the Presidents still up a field goal.

Score after this match: Presidents 16, Super Bowls 13

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