The actual event was considered an epic Super Bowl: The 49ers beat the Bengals 20-16 with a touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Montana in the final minutes of the game during a 92-yard drive. Afterward, when Pete Rozelle, NFL commissioner at the time, presented the trophy to the 49ers, he expressed his belief that it was a game for the history books. “You and the great Cincinnati team gave us the finest of our 23 Super Bowls,” he said (via the Associated Press). “I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
But the next day, the press and fans were more interested in discussing the oddball halftime show. “If you aren’t good enough to make it as either an Elvis impersonator or a magician, combine the two and take center stage for the Super Bowl halftime show. … It was be-bop-bamboozling. What a country!” groused The Leader-Post. The Super Bowl XXIII halftime show still has its defenders today. “We experimented,” Jim Steeg, who greenlighted the show as the vice president of special events for the NFL in 1989, told Mental Floss. ” We took chances. With the Super Bowl, it’s very easy to just say no. We rolled the dice.”
