“This one’s for John” was the famous line from Broncos owner Pat Bowlen after Super Bowl 32, when Broncos quarterback John Elway won his first of two Super Bowls after coming up short three times before. But a decade later, looking back at what happened that January in San Diego, the words might as well have been, “This one’s for the AFC.”

In a remarkable game that saw a 37-year-old Elway get helicoptered on the way to a key first down and Terrell Davis scoring the decisive points after the 2-minute warning, Denver upset Brett Favre’s defending champion Packers. The Broncos win not only provided the championship that had eluded Elway but it also ended 13 years of NFC dominance in the NFL championship and, best of all, rang in the current era of compelling and competitive Super Bowls. Only three of the past 10 games have been blowouts, and the AFC teams have captured the Lombardi Trophy eight times.

No other 10-year Super Bowl stretch has offered as much excitement. Even the dynastic Patriots haven’t won easily. Each of their three victories was by three points, making for some of the best contests in the game’s 41-year history. There was the win over the heavily favored Rams on a field goal by Adam Vinatieri as time expired in Super Bowl 36, followed two years later by a thrilling triumph over the Panthers, again on a late Vinatieri field goal. A 24-21 win against an Eagles team with Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens in Super Bowl 39 put an exclamation point on the Patriots’ rise to power.

The best finish in the past 10 years, and perhaps ever, was in Super Bowl 34. The Rams culminated their amazing worst-to-first season when Mike Jones made The Tackle on the last play of the game, holding back the Titans by the longest of yards.

Along the way, there have been many notable feats. We’ve seen the Steelers became the first franchise to win “one for the thumb.” We’ve seen St. Louis’ Kurt Warner rack up the most passing yards (414) and Oakland’s Rich Gannon throw the most interceptions (five).  We’ve seen both the longest run (Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker for 75 yards) and the longest pass play (Carolina’s Jake Delhomme to Mushin Muhammad for 85 yards). We’ve seen back-to-back kickoffs returned for touchdowns (the Giants’ Ron Dixon and the Ravens Jermaine Lewis). We’ve seen Tom Brady, then Ben Roethlisberger, become the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl. We’ve seen Brady develop into perhaps the best postseason quarterback in Super Bowl era.

And who could forget the Colts’ win last year in South Florida. One of the league’s most accomplished players, Peyton Manning, finally won his first ring, and, more important, the Colts’ Tony Dungy and the Bears’ Lovie Smith became the first African American head coaches in the Super Bowl. 

Despite the increasing hype and celebrity pizzazz surrounding the event, the game itself is no longer a one-way coronation between comedic commercials. More often than not, it’s a darn good game.

So before you think the perfect and seemingly unbeatable Patriots will make it 19-0 in an old school romp, remember that winning Super Bowls hasn’t been a snap for New England. And considering that the Giants nearly ended the Patriots’ perfect run once, the recent past should make for quite a Super present.