E.K. NATION

You might know that a 49ers fan is talking to you. I could very well say that Montana-to-Taylor is the most important play in Super Bowl history. But I won't. I mean, for me personally, it is. But there are a few differences between the two situations. Let's assume for a second that Manning-to-Tyree and Montana-to-Taylor are our only two options to consider as the most important play in Super Sunday history:

1. The 49ers were trailing by three points late in Super Bowl XXIII against Cincinnati. They did not need a touchdown to keep the game alive; they could have gotten a field goal to tie the game. The Giants, down 14-10, needed to score a touchdown.

2. Joe Montana's touchdown pass to John Taylor occurred on 2nd down, from the Bengals' 10-yard-line. The 49ers would have had at least one more play to go for a touchdown, or even just a first down for a new set of downs. New York faced a 3rd-down situation in their own territory in the final 90 seconds. If Eli gets sacked, they're left with just one 4th down play for the game.

3. The Bengals were not a juggernaut in 1988. They were 11-5. The 49ers were 10-6 but were favored in the Super Bowl by a touchdown. The New England Patriots, well, obviously, they were undefeated and the Giants were a big underdog and faced the task of ending the Pats' run at the first ever 19-0 season.

4. Montana was leading the 49ers down the field with what seemed like a professional ease. It almost seemed inevitable that San Francisco was going to score. Eli Manning was about to get sacked, but he managed to avoid the grasp of what seemed like six Patriots players and only then scurried away into open field. Montana threaded the needle and it was a great pass, but it was right to Taylor's hands. David Tyree needed to leap to get Manning's desperation toss, fight off Rodney Harrison, cradle the ball against his helmet, and somehow, as he was falling over backwards and having his spine bent out of whack, manage to not let the ball touch the ground. Level of difficulty: Tre-freakin'-mendous.

There aren't any other plays that so dramatically helped to alter the outcome in a Super Bowl as Manning-to-Tyree did. Lynn Swann's catch didn't change Super Bowl X's outcome. Scott Norwood would have changed the outcome of Super Bowl XXV, but he missed the field goal wide right to keep it a Giants' victory. John Elway's jaunt towards the goal line against the Packers in 1998 is a bit overrated as a dramatic play, and it didn't change the outcome anyway; the game was tied at that point.

I just don't see any other play in Super Bowl history being as important as Manning-to-Tyree. That's my case. And I think I'm right.