The Best Super Bowls of the Past Decade

Often regarded as the pinnacle of sporting events, the NFL's Super Bowl commands the attention of an entire Nation for a given night.  Last night saw the 49th installment of this incredible showcase and captivated audiences down to literally the final second.

Now, picking the four greatest of anything in sports will often lead to fury-filled debate ultimately ending with personal attacks and fractured relationships.  Picking the four greatest Super Bowls is as tall a task as one can take on with the theme of Mount Rushmore-esque write-ups.  Narrowing it down to games from strictly the past decade allows for a more centralized viewpoint -- and a more fair bias considering yours truly does not remember a Super Bowl before John Elway's game-winning drive.

Admittedly the drama and pageantry of America's game coming down to just one night warrants pages of debate, but here are the four greatest Super Bowls of the past decade.

4 - New Orleans Saints defeat Indianapolis Colts 31-17 (XLIV)

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The score can be misleading on this one.  Sean Payton's shocking onside-kick call to open up the second half turned out to be one of the gutsiest and best playcalls in Super Bowl history.  The Saints went 58 yards with ease as the touchdown led to their first lead of the game with the help of a two-point conversion, 24-17.  The Colts put forth their response as Peyton Manning and the offense marched down the field in an attempt to tie the game.  Deep inside the Saints' territory, late in the fourth quarter, Manning fired a pass that was picked off by Saints defensive back, Tracy Porter -- the first takeaway of the game -- who took it to the house for a 74-yard touchdown.  The Saints captured their first Super Bowl en route to a dramatic 31-17 victory.

3 - Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Arizona Cardinals 27-23 (XLIII)

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The Cinderella story versus the team with the storied history, Super Bowl XLIII was hardly devoid of any compelling storylines.  Pittsburgh became the first team in history to win six Super Bowls thanks in large part to one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history.  The amount of historic moments in this game is enough to make any sports fan drool.  James Harrison's lumbering 100-yard pick-six at the end of the first half (the longest play in Super Bowl history), Larry Fitzgerald's huge 64-yard touchdown to give Arizona their first and only lead of the game and obviously Santonio Holmes' game-winning toe-tap touchdown to clinch the Steelers' sixth ring.

2 - New England Patriots defeat Seattle Seahawks 28-24 (XLIX)

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The Seattle Seahawks were looking to become the first NFL franchise to win back-to-back championships since their opponents did so in 2004-05.  The Patriots gave up 17 unanswered points to Seattle who dominated the third quarter.  However it was the New England defense that muscled up in the fourth quarter and shut down Seattle's offense, allowing Tom Brady and the Patriots to score two touchdowns via long drives to take the lead.  The Seahawks answered back defiantly thanks to a miraculous circus catch by Jermaine Kearse with his butt on the field and the ball tipping off multiple limbs.  Reporters began to wax poetic about yet another miracle play doing the Patriots in just as undrafted rookie Malcolm Butler shocked the football world and intercepted Russell Wilson's pass at the one-yard line.  The controversial call to not run with Marshawn Lynch will go down as one of the worst ever.

1 - New York Giants defeat New England Patriots 17-14 (XLII)

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The legendary Patriots' season was supposed to end with perfection.  An undefeated regular season cumulated in a Super Bowl appearance and an attempt at immortality for the storied New England franchise.  Ever the underdogs, New York managed to topple the 12-point favorites and dash the dreams of the Patriots becoming the first undefeated team since 1972 -- also being the first since the expansion to 16 games in 1978.  The Patriots went ahead thanks to a Randy Moss touchdown with 2:42 left in the game, 14-10.  Eli Manning led one of the most-clutch drives ever -- 83 yards in two minutes, including a do-or-die fourth-down conversion.  Moments later, the "Helmet Catch" rocked the sports universe and awed fans everywhere.  Manning impossibly eluded the Pats' pass rush and David Tyree's vertical leap led to arguably the most amazing catch in NFL history, the ball pressed against his helmet, good for 32 yards.  Plaxico Burress' 13-yard touchdown clinched the upset victory for New York.