He Did It Elway

MIAMI: It wasn't much of a game -- unless you happened to be John Elway. The inopportunistic Falcons, who were supposed to be the new comeback kids, never came back. The commercials were boring -- even Macintosh's "Hal 9000" takeoff -- with the possible exception of the NFL's gloating "Thank you" spots (translation: We're much nicer than those nasty NBA players, don't you think?). Also, the Bud commercials (not the lizards, though). But the only reason to watch the second half (the rioting in Denver came later) was the postgame ceremonies, to see if maybe John Elway had gotten his fill of being a winner.

Crowning the Broncos' quarterback as the game's MVP, of course, wasn't some lifetime achievement award. Elway was the one who never let the Falcons get a breath, throwing darts for 336 yards and a score, running for another, and looking like the best 38-year-old quarterback the game has ever seen. Sound like an ex-Bull you know? Postgame, Fox analyst Terry Bradshaw -- well, analyst might be too strong a word -- tried to become Elway's Ahmad Rashad, practically mugging him for an answer to the Elway-in-1999 question with no luck. Conventional wisdom says he's gone, but competitive fire -- no team has ever three-peated -- says maybe not.