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MIAMI — In a game in which Ricky Watters played nothing short of phenomenal, and
Jerry Rice was nothing short of, well, Jerry Rice, 49er QB Steve Young was a unanimous
choice as the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXIX.
How could Young have been such an easy choice, when Watters and Rice scored three
touchdowns each and piled up yardage as easily as Carmen Policy signs All-Pro free agents?
Consider that Young was 24-of-36 passing for 325 yards and six touchdowns and didn’t
throw an interception.
And it wasn’t just that Young was near-perfect passing, and that the last three of
his TD passes all came on obvious, third-down passing situations. Young also ran the ball
five times for a game-high 49 yards. One of those attempts was actually a kneel-down to
end the first half which cost him a yard. The other four rushes were for first downs
— two of them on third down. Steve Young played as great a game as any quarterback
has ever played, and he did it in what was easily the biggest game of his career.
Asked what it meant to finally and completely — without any possibility of there
ever again being a second guess — emerge from the shadow of Joe Montana, Young
replied, "It’s just a spectacular feeling to fight through many days a few years
ago where I’d get to work and I’d just want to turn around because it was so
difficult.
"Honestly, I was the one person who faced the kind of scrutiny and skepticism and
tough times … it was very difficult. I look back on that now, and it’s one of
the most precious times in my life that I could fight through that and stand here
today."
One thing that’s clear about Young is that there’s very little "me"
or "I" in his vocabulary. He refused to take any personal credit for his MVP
performance, but, on winning the Super Bowl, he said, "You know, I really wish that
anyone who ever played football could feel this. It’s a wonderful feeling, and
it’s something that is great to share with a lot of guys. I wish this for everyone.
It’s a great feeling."
While Young was willing to take little credit himself for his MVP performance, his
coach and teammates weren’t nearly as tongue-tied. According to coach George Seifert,
"Whatever critics may have said about the way he’s played, he has got to be one
of the greatest quarterbacks of all time to play a game as he did tonight, and to play the
way he has this season … to accomplish what he has accomplished."
All-Pro OG Jesse Sapolu is the elder statesman of this 49er Super Bowl championship
team, the only current player with four Super Bowl rings to his credit. "In the first
quarter, it was like we were a symphony, and Steve Young was the conductor," Sapolu
said. "I’ve always thought that Steve was a great quarterback, and today he
lived up to that standard. He was put in a tough spot following Montana. He already has
been an All-Pro, but this game today will propel him to the Hall of Fame."
What about Watters, who played a phenomenal game himself, but who has never met a
microphone he doesn’t like or passed up a chance to promote himself? Did he have a
problem with the Super Bowl MVP choice?
"Steve Young is the best quarterback, bar none," Watters said. "I would
not trade him for any other quarterback in history, I don’t care who it is."
Don’t think for a moment Young’s San Diego opponents had any doubts about
what hit them, or who was responsible for it.
Charger LB Junior Seau is the man some call the best defensive player in the league
today. Regarding Young and his MVP performance, Seau commented, "He is awesome. Steve
is a great quarterback. He is going to go down as one of the legends. I take my hat off to
him as an opponent. The guy came out and played."
To further illustrate just how much Young took over and dominated SB XXIX from the
opening kickoff, take a look at the 49ers’ now-famous "first 15 plays"
script. According to Young, "We scripted the first 15 (plays). I think we basically
went right through the first 15. It was 14-0 after those first 15, I believe, maybe even
more. We did not deviate very much."
Not only did Young not deviate very much, he threw for touchdowns on the 49ers’
third and seventh plays of the game. And, of the first 15 plays, eight went for either
touchdowns or first downs.
Did Young feel this was his greatest game ever?
"Under the circumstances, with what it meant and everything else, it has to
be," he replied. "It was the kind of performance under the pressure of the Super
Bowl that you have to feel very good about, so I’ll always remember this."
And what does Young think about life in the shadow of Montana?
"Honestly, I really have distanced myself from all that," he said. "I
did so a couple of years ago, and I think you guys (media) will too, in time," he
said. "I want my performance to stand for myself and for my teammates. It does a
disservice to the team when it’s talked about that way."
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