Super Bowl Anniversaries – 11: Raiders vs. Vikings

By Dave “Large” Larzelere
When: January 9th, 1977, 31 years ago today
Where: It was the first of five Super Bowls to be played at the Rose Bowl
Why: They were the two best teams in the NFL – Vikes went 11-2-1 in the regular season and breezed through the playoffs, and the ’76 Raiders were just ridiculously awesome – they only lost one game all year and have to be considered among the greatest teams ever.
How: The Vikings’ formidable offense was able to bend but not break the fearsome Raider D. Vikes’ QB Tarkenton moved the ball effectively in the air but just couldn’t score in the big moments – Minnesota got its first score with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. As they had all season, the Raiders executed on both sides of the ball and cruised to an easy victory.
Who: Ken Stabler, the Bert Bell winner in ’76, was solid for Oakland, 12/19, 180 yds, 1 TD, and so was RB Clarence Davis, who doesn’t get mentioned much for this game despite his 137 yards rushing. WR Fred Biletnikoff won the MVP although he only caught 4 passes for 79 yards and no TD’s – he’s the only WR ever to win the Super Bowl MVP without 100 yards worth of catches. On defense, LB Phil Villapiano had a great game and DB Willie Brown had a big fourth-quarter interception for the Silver and Black. The Assassin, Jack Tatum, also deserves a mention for his legendary and positively sick hit on Sammy White, which sent the wide receiver’s helmet flying and caused many in the moment to think White had been beheaded.

National Anthem: Vicki Carr. If you’ve never heard of her, don’t feel bad, because she’s kind of nobody. Dean Martin once called her “the best girl singer in the business,†but one has to imagine that he was pretty loaded when he said that.
Notable Entertainment: Ashley Whippet the Frisbee-catching dog. Man, I swear, I would take that over freakin Aerosmith any day of the week.

Nuggets: The game was played in the afternoon and is the last Super Bowl to be completed in daylight. There were 103,438 fans on hand, the third highest attendance in Super Bowl history. MVP Biletnikoff was a two-pack-a-day smoker throughout his Hall-of-Fame career. Ah, the bad old days.
Final score: Oakland 32, Minnesota 14↵