A Super Bowl Filled With Drama

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 17, 1999 / 10:56 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

Dan Reeves hired Mike Shanahan. Dan Reeves fired Mike Shanahan (or at least they came to a parting of the ways).

And many people think Reeves was fired by Denver after the 1992 season because of a rift with John Elway.

In two weeks, Reeves takes his upstart Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl to meet up with Shanahan, Elway and the defending champion Broncos, who beat the New York Jets 23-10 Sunday.

Like the Minnesota Vikings, whom the Falcons upset 30-27 in overtime Sunday, Denver is heavy favorite -- the line was 7 points within an hour of Denver's victory.

But forget for a minute who might win.

The real drama here is Reeves, who underwent quadruple bypass surgery just a month ago.

"If I can stand today, my heart's got to be in great shape," Reeves said after the win over the Vikings.

"It's incredible when you think about it," added Reeves, who took over a team that was 3-13 in 1996 and began 1-7 last season. "Coming from 1-7 halfway through your first year, to be in the Super Bowl your third year."

Reeves is no stranger to Super Bowls -- this will be his ninth appearance in the 33 games. He made it as a player with the Cowboys and an assistant coach with the Cowboys before losing three times as head coach of the Broncos.

Now, he faces Shanahan, fired by Reeves as offensive coordinator in 1992 because Reeves thought Shanahan had taken some power and was too influential with Elway.

"I'll be honest," Shanahan said after he coached the Broncos to their second straight Super Bowl. "We were best friends."

Elway later said playing for Reeves was "hell" when the coach was fired after the '92 season.

As for other matchups Jan. 31 in Miami:

Elway will attract almost all of the attention when it comes to quarterbacks. He's expected to retire after the game, ending a Hall of Fame career.

Atlanta's Chris Chandler is with his sixth team in 11 NFL seasons and had never been in a playoff game until a week ago. But he was downright Elway-esque on Sunday, directing an eight-play, 71-yard drive to tie the Vikings with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter and directing a 70-yarder that set up Morten Andersen's winning field goal.

The Broncos bring NFL MVP Terrell Davis, only the fourth 2,000-yard rusher in league history and MVP of last year's Super Bowl. But Jamal Anderson of the Falcons rushed for 1,846 yards, just 152 fewer than Davis.

Atlanta's scrappy defense stopped a Vikings team that set an NFL record with 556 points during the regular season, and did it at the Metrodome. If the Falcons can repeat that performance on a neutral field, they will have a chance against Denver.

But the matchup everyone will be talking about in the two-week buildup will be Reeves vs. Shanahan and Elway.

Reeves will have a lot of motivation against a team that fired him after he led them to three Super Bowls.

He'll say all the right things about Elway and Shanaan. And Elway and Shanahan will say all the right things about Reeves.

But deep down?

We all know, don't we?