Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave and the NZ Herald's Bonnie Jansen get together to preview the weekend's sport.
Video / NZ Herald
The San Francisco 49ers made Riki Ellison the first Kiwi to play in the NFL when they drafted him in 1983. As the 49ers prepare to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Monday, he shared the memories behind his three Super Bowl rings won with the team with Christopher Reive.
Reflecting on his first Super Bowl, Riki Ellison can sum it up in one word: magical.
The Christchurch-born linebacker was only playing in his second year in the NFL after being selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the 117th pick in the 1983 draft. But he played a constant role in the defence of a hugely talented team, led by one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Joe Montana.
But it was a team that had placed 11th in the National Football Conference (NFC) in 1982, a year in which teams were ranked by conference standings rather than divisions due to the season being shortened by a strike. In his rookie year, the 49ers returned to the playoffs but were eliminated in the conference championship.
In the 1984 season, something clicked for the 49ers. They went through the regular season with a 15-1 record – the lone loss coming against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game where Niners kicker Ray Wersching missed a field goal attempt to send the game into overtime.
Their success continued into the playoffs, with wins over the New York Giants and Chicago Bears earning them a place in the Super Bowl against the high-powered offence of the Miami Dolphins led by Dan Marino.
With the Super Bowl being played in California that season, the 49ers got the rare benefit of a hometown advantage.
“Our fans were at the game in overwhelming numbers and the energy from that fanbase was just the best,” Ellison recalls.
Despite that, it was the Dolphins who got going first, leading the game at the end of the first quarter.
Riki Ellison (50) in action against the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. Photo / Getty Images
Ellison says the team had “complete and utter belief” that they weren’t losing that game, so being down early didn’t faze them. The 49ers rattled off 31 points to six across the next two quarters, ultimately winning 38-16 with the defence playing a huge role in the win.
“Our pass rush was off the charts,” Ellison says of the 49ers defence. “We were able to completely disrupt that offence. That offence had not been disrupted in its entire season.
“The best part was the resilience of us. After they looked unbeatable in the first quarter and the adjustments we made, the game was too easy. I shouldn’t say that, but you get that feeling and that’s why it’s so special.”
“This solidified [head coach] Bill Walsh’s way of football, which revolutionised the game back then. There’s nothing but super, super positive memories that I can always go back to for those moments in that game.”
It was the first of three Super Bowl rings Ellison would win during his seven seasons with the 49ers before he joined the Oakland Raiders for the final three years of his career.
It was a comeback in more than one sense of the word that saw Ellison earn a second ring. Over the next three seasons following the triumph over the Dolphins, the 49ers returned to the playoffs but fell at their first hurdle.
In the 1988-89 season, they returned to the biggest stage in the sport – but faced a seven-point deficit heading into the final quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“That was a great game. That was a battle right to the end,” Ellison says.
“They had the game won with [three minutes] left but our offence went out there and it didn’t matter. They couldn’t stop it; we all saw it. [Our offence] just chipped little bits at a time...they dominated and we all watched that domination.
“That was Joe Montana’s remarkable drive, Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Roger Craig, how they pieced that together...the celebration of something like that, it was tremendous. To come back like that, those are the great ones.”
Riki Ellison (50) prepared to tackle Cincinnati Bengals running back Ickey Woods during Super Bowl XXIII. Photo / Getty Images
Ellison’s third and final ring came in the following season as the 49ers went back-to-back, but that Super Bowl against John Elway and the Denver Broncos is not one he holds dearly – and that’s not because he was forced to watch the season from the sidelines due to injury.
“That was a ridiculous blowout. Just not competitive,” he says.
“Those aren’t fun games. You don’t remember those games. Nobody remembers the blowouts. You’ve got to come from behind, and that second one where we came in and won, those are the great Super Bowls.”
Now based in Virginia where he runs the Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance – a non-profit advocating for the development and deployment of missile defence systems in the US – Ellison will settle in on Monday (NZ time) as the 49ers look to add another title to their franchise’s storied history.
The 49ers take on the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in Las Vegas, and Ellison believes there’s the potential for a familiar script to play out.
“It’s football, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Ellison says.
“But my prediction is the Andy Reid’s [Kansas City] team is so well coached that they’ll come out and probably be a score – maybe two of three scores they’ll get up first before we get warmed up and ready to roll.
“But we’re not going to lose. Even if they’re up in the Super Bowl by 20 or 14 or 17, the 49ers thrive in that situation. I don’t think the team is intimidated by that... great teams will find a way to win, no matter what.”
How to watch/stream the Super Bowl in New Zealand?
The Super Bowl will be broadcast free-to-air on TVNZ and also on Sky TV via ESPN on Monday February 12.
For those who are more into streaming, TVNZ+ and Sky Sports Now (via ESPN) are broadcasting the game live.
TV coverage begins at 12pm, with the game due to kickoff at 12.30pm. The Herald will also be running a live blog of all the action.
