Game 18: Ulysses S. Grant vs. Super Bowl XVIII

How good were the Raiders? Somebody said that over the prior 20 years they had been the winningest team in all of pro sports. Seriously? They did charge hard in Super Bowl XVIII, a game that legendary NFL Films voice John Facenda called "not only a game but a true test of men." (Just like being President.) It finished as the most lopsided Super Bowl to date: Raiders 38, Redskins 9.

The Raiders -- for the time based in Los Angeles -- scored the first touchdown on a blocked punt and never let up. Marcus Allen ran for 191 yards (a new record), including a dazzling 74-yard TD run in the third quarter. After that, TV announcer Pat Summerall said: "The Raiders are starting to shove this one in the winner's column!" On D, the Raiders held Redskins star RB John Riggins to 64 yards. They sacked Redskins QB Joe Theismann six times and intercepted him twice. That included a deadly dagger by one-hit wonder Jack Squirek, a reserve linebacker who, inserted for one play by coaches who anticipated a Washington screen pass, picked off the pass and loped into the end zone.

Ulysses S. Grant was a war hero for the Union Army but hardly a Super President. He associated with the wrong guys and listened to bad advice. His administration oversaw scandals the way a cashier at CVS oversees gum. But Grant did preside over reconstruction and defended civil rights. He served two terms -- even went for a three-peat (unsuccessfully). Look, we've had better. He probably wasn't the right man for a desk job. But Grant beat the pants off that mismatch Super Bowl game. Shove this one in the winner's column for the Presidents.

SCORE AFTER THIS MATCH: Presidents 11, Super Bowls 7


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