It is almost amazing to me seeing how big the Super Bowl has become through the years. In fact, it's popularity has grown so much that some people consider it a national holiday in the United States, which isn't surprising considering that it generates ratings of over 100 million viewers every year, including people in other countries of the world making it a worldwide phenomenon as well. However, what makes the Super Bowl so special is that it's not only about a football game that decides the new world champions of the NFL, it is also about traditions too such as featuring some of the most popular musicians to perform the halftime show, watching the new "Super Bowl commercials" during the TV station breaks every year (many of which have companies paying over five million dollars to put their ads on during the "big game," so this pretty much tells you the Super Bowl is about more than football since it seems like the only day of the year when people are actually excited to watch commercials and major businesses are willing to dish out huge amounts of cash to show off their product in the best way possible), and lastly the Super Bowl brings friends and family together giving them a chance to communicate and eat delicious food (including a giant Super Bowl cookie for me personally) with one another while watching America's favorite past time (sorry baseball I love ya, but as of right now football's king of the sports world). So since it is coming upon us pretty soon here, this is a list of some of my favorite Super Bowl games I have ever watched so far throughout my life, and boy were they great contests. Keep in mind that the games I picked were from the Super Bowls of the past decade because these are the ones that I actually watched from start to finish, so if you don't see any Super Bowl that was played before 2007, just know that I never got the chance to watch the entire game, only highlights.

1. Super Bowl XLI: Indianapolis Colts (12-4) 29, Chicago Bears (13-3) 17

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Date: February 4th, 2007

Stadium (City): Dolphin Stadium (Miami, Florida)

Super Bowl MVP: Peyton Manning

Halftime Show Performer: Prince

While he was already considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL, many people were wondering if Peyton Manning was ever going to win the "big one" at some point in his career to put him among the greatest in history to play the position. Well, after this game all those questions and wonders went away as Manning ended up winning his first of two Super Bowl victories during his career, and was named the game's MVP for completing 25 of 38 pass attempts for 247 yards while throwing one touchdown pass and one interception. Some big highlights from this particular Super Bowl include Bears wide receiver/return specialist Devin Hester returning the game's opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, which was the first opening kickoff returned for a touchdown in Super Bowl history, Peyton Manning's 53-yard touchdown pass to Colts receiver Reggie Wayne, and Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden's 56-yard interception return for a touchdown, which really was the sealer of this game as it put the Colts up 29-17 and that ended up being the final score. Other things that made this game so special was that it was the first Super Bowl to be played under rainy conditions, and Colts head coach Tony Dungy as well as Bears head coach Lovie Smith became the first African-American NFL head coaches to coach in a Super Bowl, with Dungy becoming the first African-American head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl since the Colts ended up getting the victory.

In addition, this was actually the first Super Bowl I ever watched and it was pretty fun to see my favorite athlete, Peyton Manning, finally get his first championship, and I was thrilled for the Colts too as I was a fan of them back then. Super Bowl XLI was also the first time I was exposed to the late, great R&B/Pop singer Prince, as he was the music act of the halftime show, and after seeing his performance during that game, I became instantly hooked to his music and have continued to listen to him ever since. This game will always be a special one for me to look back on since it was around the time I was becoming a true football fan and it was the first Super Bowl I ever saw.

2. Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants (10-6) 17, New England Patriots (16-0) 14

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Date: February 3rd, 2008

Stadium (City): University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)

Super Bowl MVP: Eli Manning

Halftime Show Performer: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

This game has been considered by many to be the greatest Super Bowl in history, and I would not disagree with that statement based on its significance. You had one of the greatest teams in NFL history in the New England Patriots who were trying to become a true dynasty by winning their fourth Super Bowl title in eight years, and complete what would have been the greatest season in NFL history at 19-0 ever since the league expanded to a 16 game regular season schedule in 1978, but they would have been the second team to accomplish the feat in the Super Bowl era as the Miami Dolphins completed a perfect season by going 17-0 in 1972. Then you had the New York Giants who were looking to become the first NFL wild-card team to win the Super Bowl but had nobody expecting them to win this game by a long shot, especially since the Patriots were favored to win by 12 points and had the league's MVP that year in Tom Brady who set the then NFL record for most touchdown passes in a season with 50, as well as wide receiver Randy Moss who set the NFL record for the most touchdown catches in a season with 23. However, despite the doubt and little faith they had behind them going into the big game, the Giants shocked everyone around the world as their defense held the Patriots, (who also set NFL records that year for the then most points in a single season with 589, as well as the most touchdowns in a single season with 75), to just 14 points in the game and their offense completed what is considered by many to be the greatest final drive in not just Super Bowl history, but NFL history.

With two minutes and 39 seconds left on the clock and the Giants down 14-10, quarterback Eli Manning led the offense on an incredible 83-yard game winning drive which began from their own 17-yard line. The two most memorable plays from that drive for me, and obviously I assume from everyone else, were the 32-yard one-handed leaping catch made by Giants wide receiver David Tyree which he held on to by the top of his helmet that helped keep the team's final drive alive, and the 13-yard game winning touchdown pass that Manning lofted to Giants receiver Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left in the game. I can still remember myself shaking with anticipation and then jumping up and down like a kangaroo when Burress caught the game winner because I wanted the Patriots to lose since I hate those suckers. While Manning did deserve the MVP award for the game as he put on a great showing by completing 19 of 34 pass attempts for 255 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, plus leading that game winning drive, I personally thought that Tyree should have been named MVP for making that "Helmet Catch" because first of all that was no easy reception, and secondly without that catch being made, there would have been no game-winning touchdown for the Giants and Manning wouldn't have been standing at the podium at the end of the contest holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy, just saying. Overall, while it wasn't a high scoring game, it certainly was one of the biggest upsets and underdog stories in the history of sports, and I'm happy to say that I witnessed it!

3. Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants (9-7) 21, New England Patriots (13-3) 17

Date: February 5th, 2012

Stadium (City): Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Super Bowl MVP: Eli Manning

Halftime Show Performer(s): Madonna featuring Cee-Lo Green, M.I.A., Nicki Minaj, and LMFAO

To think that the Patriots and Giants would meet again in the Super Bowl four years after Super Bowl XLII honestly blew my mind, and they were both in similar situations as they were last time going into the "big game." Once again, the Patriots, while not going for a perfect season this time, not breaking the insane amount of records they did during that perfect regular season back in 2007, and not posting the best regular season record in the league that season as the Packers finished with a 15-1 record, were the best team in the AFC once again going 13-3 and held the number one seed in the AFC for the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Giants once again came into the playoffs as a wild-card team finishing with a 9-7 regular season record and holding the number four seed, and people once again had doubts of the Giants even having a chance at winning the championship against the highly-favored Patriots, especially since New England was looking for revenge in response to the outcome of Super Bowl XLII. However, once again the Giants continued their "miracle-like" winning ways by upsetting the NFL's greatest dynasty once again surprisingly in the same fashion as their last matchup in the title game. With the Giants down 17-15 in the fourth quarter with three minutes and 46 seconds left in the game, quarterback Eli Manning led the team on a nine play 88-yard drive from their own 12-yard line that resulted in the team scoring the game-winning touchdown giving them their second Super Bowl victory in four years and fourth title in franchise history.

One memorable play from this game was the 38-yard pass from Manning to Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham that he caught near the left sideline at midfield, which kept the Giants final drive alive and forced Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to challenge the catch, but he failed to overturn the call of it being a complete pass and the team lost one of their timeouts as a result. Another big play from this contest included the six-yard touchdown run by Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw that put the team up 21-17 with 57 seconds left in the game and ended up giving them the win. Lastly, the play that everyone seems to remember the most from this Super Bowl is the final play in which Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a Hail Mary pass from the Patriots 49-yard line that was deflected in the air by Giants defenders and it came up about a yard short of landing in the arms of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski to win the game. Once again, Manning won his second Super Bowl MVP award by putting together a great performance completing 30 of 40 pass attempts for 296 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, and for another game winning drive like in Super Bowl XLII. Other key things to note is that this particular Super Bowl set the record for the most tweets per second during a sporting event which ended up being 13.7 million tweets according to Twitter, the New York Giants set an NFL record by becoming the Super Bowl champions with the lowest amount of regular season wins in NFL history, and this game set the then record for the most watched program in the history of American television with a total audience of 166.8 million according to the Nielsen ratings, so pretty much half of the American population watched this game which is amazing. Overall, this game proved that while the Patriots almost got revenge on the Giants for what happened in their previous matchup in the "big game," they still came up one-yard short of getting back at them.

4. Super Bowl XLVII: Baltimore Ravens (10-6) 34, San Francisco 49ers (11-4-1) 31

Date: February 3rd, 2013

Stadium (City): Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Super Bowl MVP: Joe Flacco

Halftime Show Performer(s): Beyoncé featuring Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams

This was by far one of the most incredibly bizarre Super Bowls I had ever watched based on one particular incident during the game and how one of these two teams seemed to make a comeback for the ages after the incident happened, but came up just short in the end. The Baltimore Ravens came into this Super Bowl after posting a 10-6 regular season record and looking to win their second title in franchise history, while the San Francisco 49ers finished the season with an 11-4-1 regular season record behind both the leadership of quarterbacks Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick over the course of the season, and they were looking to win their sixth championship in franchise history which would have tied them with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins by one team in NFL history. While it was difficult for 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh to make the decision on whether he wanted Smith or Kaepernick to start in the playoffs, he ended up going with Kaepernick since he had started the last five games of the team's regular season. The one thing that makes this game special for both teams is that this was the first Super Bowl in NFL history that two brothers were coaching against each other in the "big game" as Jim Harbaugh was the head coach of the 49ers and his brother John Harbaugh was the head coach of the Ravens. After Ravens wide receiver/return specialist Jacoby Jones returned the second half opening kickoff 108-yards for a touchdown, which became and is still the longest play ever made in Super Bowl history, putting the Ravens up 28-6 over the 49ers, it seemed that the game was now far out of reach and was going to be a blowout.

However, immediately after the Ravens scored and the 49ers were starting their next drive, the power went out in half of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome due to equipment failure in the building. As a result of this happening, the game was delayed over 30 minutes and once play resumed, it was like a light sparked the 49ers. After the power outage, Colin Kaepernick and the 49er offense scored 17 straight points in the third quarter and cut the score to 28-23 with the Ravens now only up by five. Now, late in the fourth quarter, the score was 34-29 with the Ravens still up by five and the 49ers were at the Ravens seven-yard line with four downs to score a touchdown to take the lead and possibly even win the game. However, this would not happen as the 49ers ended up turning the ball over on downs with one minute and 46 seconds left after an incomplete pass thrown by Kaepernick that was intended for receiver Michael Crabtree, which resulted in the Ravens running down the remaining time on the game clock and winning their second Super Bowl in franchise history with a final score of 34-31. While this call was never reversed or fixed, In the days after this Super Bowl many fans began to question if there should have been a pass interference penalty called against Ravens defensive back Jimmy Smith for making too much contact with Crabtree resulting in the incomplete pass thrown by Kaepernick. Regardless of that controversy, the Ravens played a great game overall, and quarterback Joe Flacco was named Super Bowl MVP after completing 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. To sum this Super Bowl, which has been known to some people as the Blackout Bowl, up in a nutshell, it was incredibly exciting but absolutely strange at the same time.

5. Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) 23, Arizona Cardinals (9-7) 17

Date: February 1st, 2009

Stadium (City): Raymond James Stadium (Tampa Bay, Florida)

Super Bowl MVP: Santonio Holmes

Halftime Show Performer: Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band

Obviously, I think you all know why I would name this as my favorite Super Bowl that I've ever watched. Sure it's because it was the first time I ever watched my Steelers play in the "big game," but it's also my favorite Super Bowl of all time because of the game itself. The Steelers came into this Super Bowl after posting a 12-4 record and holding the second seed in the playoffs, while the Cardinals finished with a 9-7 record just barely making it into the playoffs holding the fourth seed. However, this was a special game for the Cardinals as it was their first and still to this day only Super Bowl appearance in their franchise history. Some memorable plays and highlights from this "big game" include Steelers linebacker James Harrison returning an interception thrown by Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner 100-yards for a touchdown, which at the time was the longest play made in the history of the Super Bowl, 18 seconds before halftime increasing the Steelers lead to 17-7. Another great play that happened in this Super Bowl was Warner's 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to give the Cardinals their first lead in the game making the score 23-20. At this point in the game when I was watching it, I remember feeling so mad and throwing a fit, give me a break I was 13 years old at the time so I was still a little immature and was learning to control my emotions better, after that touchdown that Fitzgerald caught. However, the last and probably most memorable moment from this game was the Steelers final drive right after the Cardinals scored to take the lead.

With two minutes and 37 seconds left in the game and starting from their own 22-yard line, quarterback "Big" Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers on an eight play 78-yard drive that led to Santonio Holmes game winning six-yard touchdown catch from Roethlisberger that he caught in the back right corner of the end zone with 35 seconds left in the game that gave the Steelers a 27-23 victory. To this day, I still don't understand how Holmes caught what I now call the "Ballet-Tippy Toes" touchdown pass and I probably never will. While this was obviously the play that led to Holmes winning the Super Bowl MVP award, he did have a great game overall with nine catches for 131 yards and one touchdown. Some other key things that made this Super Bowl win extra special for the Steelers was that this victory made them pass the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers as the team with the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history with six. Also, Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, became the youngest head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl at age 36. Most importantly, while I was coming around to be a Steelers fan even before this game was played, I officially became a true, loyal and life-long fan of the Black and Yellow after watching this Super Bowl. So whenever anybody asks me when I became a Steelers fan, I point out or bring up this game to them as the answer to that question.