BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — There have been 52 MVPs of the first 51 Super Bowls, the award being shared by Dallas Cowboys defensive linemen Harvey Martin and Randy White in XII.
Quarterbacks have overwhelmingly dominated the voting, winning 28 times. There have been five multiple winners and all are QBs, with Tom Brady topping the chart with four MVP awards.
The biggest stage in North American professional sports lends itself toward the [...]
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — There have been 52 MVPs of the first 51 Super Bowls, the award being shared by Dallas Cowboys defensive linemen Harvey Martin and Randy White in XII.
Quarterbacks have overwhelmingly dominated the voting, winning 28 times. There have been five multiple winners and all are QBs, with Tom Brady topping the chart with four MVP awards.
The biggest stage in North American professional sports lends itself toward the game’s biggest players, ones like Brady, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw.
But one of the things that makes the Super Bowl unique is it provides an opportunity for players who aren’t household names to become overnight sensations, what with some 100-plus million viewers tuning in, as has been the case for the last six years.
No one knows that more than Malcolm Butler. A rookie cornerback who went undrafted in 2014, he burst into national prominence when he made an end-zone interception in the waning seconds to clinch the Patriots’ 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.
“It’s the last game so everyone is watching,” Butler said. “People who don’t even watch football are watching, so you have a lot of eyes on you. If people already know you, they assume you’re going to make a good play.
“But if they don’t know you and you go out there and make a good play you can be Malcolm Butler or the helmet catch guy. So you just have to be ready, man, anything could happen.”
Butler had been playing Division II ball at West Alabama the previous year and working as a cook at Popeye's not long before that. Suddenly, he was appearing on “The Today Show” and “The Tonight Show” and being gifted a pickup truck from Brady.
Butler has since gone on to be named to the Pro Bowl in 2015, an All-Pro in 2016 and, on Sunday, will play in his third Super Bowl in four years when the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles meet at U.S. Bank Stadium.
A play he “remembers like yesterday” proved to be a springboard to success.
As for “the helmet catch guy,” that would be David Tyree. The little-known receiver submarined the previously perfect Patriots with a 32-yard reception off his helmet on the New York Giants’ last-minute, game-winning touchdown drive in Super Bowl XLII.
Tyree never caught another pass in the NFL, but his legend remains intact in Super Bowl folklore.
“You never really know who it’s going to be,” running back James White said. “It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been here or if you haven’t been here before. It’s guys trying to put their best foot forward and play their best game yet.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so you just want to make the most of it and it doesn’t matter if you have a name or not. It’s football and at the end of the day and you just go out and play your best.”
White is another one who went from afterthought to the spotlight as he set Super Bowl records for points (20) and receptions (14) in a game and scored the winning touchdown in overtime as the Patriots upended the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28, last February in Houston.
White wasn’t named MVP — that went to Brady — but he’ll always, truly be known as the hero of Super Bowl LI.
“It’s about preparation and seizing the moment and taking advantage of your opportunities,” fullback James Develin said.
As for who might be the surprise star when the Patriots and Falcons square off?
“You’re guess is as good as mine, but you never know,” White said.
A few names to mull while waiting for that 6:30 p.m. kickoff include running back Rex Burkhead and defensive end Trey Flowers of the Patriots and Nick Foles of the Eagles.
Yes, Foles is a quarterback and should he lead the Eagles to victory he’ll likely be named MVP. But he’s not much of a household name and he’d certainly surprise football followers — even a few in Philly — by producing a play or performance for the ages.