SUPER BOWL XI QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Look at Old Man Willie go!"  

-Oakland Radio Announcers Bill King's call of the Wille Brown Pick 6 immortalize by NFL Films.



Super Bowl XI holds a special place in my heart as it was the first Super Bowl I actually remember watching. On a cold northern Michigan winters day, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena looked like the promised man and I was instantly smitten by the swagger of Ken "the Snake" Stabler and the rest of the bad boy Oakland Raiders.  

I would remain a Raiders fan for the rest of my youth . . . until I went to Lambeau Field for the first time in 1989.  A young man never forgets his first love. 

FROM WIKIPEDIA

Super Bowl XI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1976 season. The Raiders defeated the Vikings by the score of 32–14 to win their first Super Bowl. The game was played on January 9, 1977, at the Rose Bowl^[2] in Pasadena, California.

This was the Raiders' second Super Bowl appearance after losing Super Bowl II. They posted a 13-1 regular season record before defeating the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs. The Vikings were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance, and seeking their first Super Bowl title, after posting an 11-2-1 regular season record and playoff victories over the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams. 



Oakland gained a Super Bowl record 429 yards, including a Super Bowl record 288 yards in the first half, en route to winning Super Bowl XI. After a scoreless first quarter, Oakland scored on three consecutive possessions to take a 16-0 lead at halftime. 

 
My man Jack Tatum knocking off Brett McLanahan's helmet. The Ohio State grad and New Jersey native would go on to paralyze Darryl Stingley in a pre-season game and write the autobiography They Call Me Asassin. Yup, I read it.




The Snake was the Alabama QB after Joe Namath. I remember an SI profile of Stabler which showed him shooting pool titled Goin Nowhere Fast.

The Raiders also had two fourth quarter interceptions, including cornerback Willie Brown's 75-yard return for a touchdown. Oakland wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, who had 4 catches for 79 yards that set up three Raider touchdowns and was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player. Among the wide receivers who have won the Super Bowl MVP, Biletnikoff is the only one to not have gained 100 yards in his performance.



My man Pete. Sorry Steegs, but he was the best player ever out of Crivitz.







My man Otis Sistrunk from the University of Mars, another great Raiders character from the 1970s. Oh yeah, the Vikes lost four (4) Super Bowls in that decade.