Correction appended
Dear Ace: I was a little sad that, for all the local press, former Virginia running back Thomas Jones couldn’t lead the Bears to victory on Sunday. How many Wahoos have been able to claim Super Bowl glory?—Lacy Supp
Lacy: What’s new, pussycat? For Thomas Jones, crushing disappointment. But hey, chin up: There was at least one Cavalier celebrating on Sunday night (www.nfl.com). Jones might’ve gotten all the press, but Colts wide receiver Terrence Wilkins also played for the Cavs (under Al Groh predecessor and recent DUI arrestee George Welsh). And if that wasn’t enough, Jones’ teammate, offensive tackle John St. Clair, played alongside them both at Scott Stadium.
 Victory is happening here, but you don’t know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones? |
So who else has UVA sent to win the big game? Let’s start at the beginning—Ace hears it’s a very good place to start. Hall of Famer and defensive tackle Henry Jordan helped lead the ’67 and ’68 Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowls I and II. Then UVA took a bit of a breather. It wasn’t until 2003 that the University was again represented on a winning Super Bowl team, by none other than Ronde Barber, playing as always for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The “other twin” may not be quite as famous as his brother, but if, say, things ever get rough over Thanksgiving dinner back in Roanoke, Ronde will always be able to lord Super Bowl glory over Tiki. Soon-to-be-retired Tiki’s Giants made it to the Super Bowl once, in 2000, but they got routed by the Baltimore Ravens. Tiki has since taken the Dan Marino stance of being totally fine with that. Last year’s Super Bowl also saw a few erstwhile Wahoos walk away with rings, with linebacker James Farrior and then-rookie tight end Heath Miller helping lead the Steelers to their fifth Super Bowl victory.
O.K., so let’s review just how many former UVA players have assisted in Super Bowl wins. We’ve got one on Sunday, a tackle for Green Bay, one of two twins and two guys who say “yins.” And with five Cavalier Super Bowl winners accounted for and an embarrassingly bad rhyme composed (“yins” is how they say “y’all” in Pittsburgh, O.K.? Lay off), Ace is ready to get back to nursing his Super Bowl hangover. Stale nachos never looked so good.
Correction February 20, 2007:
In the February 6 “Ask Ace” column, it was stated that Super Bowl XXXV was played in 2000. The game took place in 2001, as the culmination of the 2000 season. In addition, Anthony Poindexter was left off the list of former UVA players who have played in the Super Bowl. Poindexter was a member of the Baltimore Ravens team that won Super Bowl XXXV. Ace wants to thank Glenys Jones for her careful reading of his column.
