I founded Qoxhi Picks in 1981 and have picked all but one Super Bowl game in the succeeding 44 years. I haven’t won every Super Bowl pick but I got more grief from clients on the one game I didn’t pick than any of them I lost.
Seems no matter what the matchup, clients want a pick in the Super Bowl.
I don’t blame them, but the one time I didn’t pick the game, Super Bowl XXV between the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills, I had my reasons. If I would have picked either side that year, I would have been going against some criteria I just couldn’t justify.
Here was the situation. In 1990, the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers were dominating the National Football Conference, while the Buffalo Bills appeared enroute to their first ever Super Bowl appearance. Both the eventual conference champions were dynamic, well coached by Marv Levy in Buffalo and Bill Parcells for the Giants.
Then, in early December, New York starting quarterback Phil Simms, who had led the Giants to a Super Bowl win four seasons earlier and had them poised to capture the top seed for the playoffs in 1990, was injured and lost for the remainder of the season. His replacement was Jeff Hostetler, a third-round draft choice that had served as a backup in New York for seven seasons.
In Buffalo, the Bills had an explosive offense run by future Hall of Fame Quarterback Jim Kelly. Levy had introduced the hurry up offense that season which had the Bills pressure defenses without needing to huddle between plays. Their dynamic offense shredded defenses including the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1990 AFC Championship Game, 51-3.