Game 34: Dwight Eisenhower vs. Super Bowl XXXIV

Hey, we like Ike. He was the President of the 1950s! The President of Elvis and Buddy Holly and Marilyn Monroe and the '57 Chevy. He took us from postwar gray to Happy Days. Got the space race rolling and the Interstate Highway System blasting off. The economy boomed. The suburbs sprawled.  Adults dressed like adults. Good times. Eisenhower probably would have gone for a third term if not for that pesky Constitutional amendment.

Unfortunately, he was the 34th President, and Super Bowl XXXIV, in January 2000, was one of the best ever. The Rams came in as a scoring machine, led by quick-chucking QB Kurt Warner and speedy WRs Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce -- the greatest show on turf. They jumped out to a 16-0 lead. But back came the Titans. QB Steve McNair threw and ran the ball downfield. RB Eddie George punched it in twice. Al Del Greco nailed a field goal with 2:12 left in the game to tie it at 16. On the Rams' first play with the ball back, Warner found Bruce at the Titans' 38-yard, line and Bruce took it home for a 73-yard TD play, putting the Rams ahead 23–16.

In a final drive, Tennessee got the ball at its own ten with 1:54 left. They drove downfield, and with time for just one more play they had it at the Rams' ten. McNair hit WR Kevin Dyson with a quick pass, and Dyson made it to the two-yard line when Rams linebacker Mike Jones made what's now simply known as "The Tackle." He grabbed Dyson's legs and rolled, as Dyson reached the ball as far as he could toward the plane of the goal line. The ball finished inches short of a score as the clock ran out.

And so, to start the fourth quarter of America Bowl, a decade of newly exciting Super Bowl games would begin. Could the Presidents match the excitement and hold onto their lead? Get the popcorn -- we're heading toward a thrilling finish.

Score after this match: Presidents 18, Super Bowls 16

Go to next match.