WHAT HAPPENED AT SUPER BOWL 2000?
Super Bowl XXXIV Overview
During an NFL owners meeting on October 31, 1996, Super Bowl XXXIV was awarded to the Georgia Dome, Atlanta. The other cities that had been taken into consideration during the bidding process included Tampa, Miami, and Los Angeles. The owners’ original intention had been to select only two hosts from the three for Super Bowls XXXIII and XXXIV. However, the strength of the bids led to the committee naming the next three Super Bowl hosts:
- XXXIII: Miami, Pro Player Stadium.
- XXXIV: Atlanta, Georgia Dome
- XXXV: Tampa, Raymond James Stadium
Super Bowl XXXIV was played between the AFC’s Tennessee Titans and NFC’s St. Louis Rams on January 25, 2000, at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta to decide which team would be crowned champions of the 1999 football season.
The Rams emerged triumphant, beating the Titans with a score of 26-16.
Notable for:
- Super Bowl XXXIV went down in history as the “Dot-com Super Bowl” as a result of the fact that the advertisements throughout the game were predominantly from dot-com companies.
- Super Bowl XXXIV regularly features in line ups of the best ever Super Bowl game as the One Yard Short game due to the fact that the Ram’s linebackers prevented the Titans from equalizing the game with seconds to go via a perfectly timed tackle inches from the line.
Super Bowl XXXIV opened with very defensive play. Although the Rams had gained 294 offensive yards in the first half in comparison to the Titans’ 89, the Rams only scored three field goals to put themselves 9-0 ahead at halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, the Rams edged further ahead with a touchdown, taking the score to 16-0. However, Tennessee were not prepared to take defeat lying down. They embarked on a 16-point scoring run that led the game to a 16-16 tie with just 2:12 left on the clock. The Rams went into offensive mode, with Kurt Warner completing a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce to put the score at 23-16. For a split second, it looked like the Titans may even the score. However, as the Titan’s Kevin Dyson headed for the end zone, Mike Jones executed a perfectly timed tackle to prevent the touchdown.
Kurt Warner was named MVP for passing 414 yards and 45 pass attempts with zero inception.
Final Score: St. Louis Rams (NFC) – 23 Vs. Tennessee Titans (AFC) – 16
Date: January 30, 2000
Stadium: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
MVP: Kurt Warner, Quarterback
Favorite: Rams by 7
Referee: Bob McElwee
Attendance: 72,625
Pregame: A tribute to “Great American Music of the 20th Century” featuring Tina Turner, Travis Tritt, the Georgia Tech Marching Band and the Georgia Mass Choir. The Smothers Brothers narrated the show.
Anthem: Faith Hill (American Sign Language performance by Briarlake Elementary School Signing Choir).
Coin Toss: Bud Grant, Lamar Hunt, Bobby Bell, Paul Krause, Willie Lanier, Alan Page and Jan Stenerud.
Half time: Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton, 80-person choir.
Halftime theme: Tapestry of Nations
Halftime setlist:
- “When the Heartache Is Over/Proud Mary” (Tina Turner)
- “Reflections of Earth” Instrumental (Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration soundtrack)
- “Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand” (Christina Aguilera & Enrique Iglesias)
- “Tapestry of Nations” Instrumental (Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration soundtrack)
- “Two Worlds” (Phil Collins)
- “We Go On” (Toni Braxton)
It was around the year 2000 that the Super Bowl started to become about much more than football. The pre- and post-game party scene really started to take hold, and more and more organizations started to compete to be THE party everyone wanted to be seen at. In 2000, the Playboy party was held at Tongue and Groove in Atlanta, a fashionable bar that was located in the up-and-coming Buckhead area. This was the first of what was to become an annual tradition for Playboy. The celebrities in attendance included Carmen Electra, Tony Gonzalez, Marcus Allen, and Jerry Jones.
