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Bill Cowher Talks Favorite Super Bowl Memory

Ryan Mayer

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The countdown to Super Bowl LIII on CBS has officially begun. The Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots both made their way to Atlanta on Sunday, and the rest of the football media have started to converge on the city. With the game set to air on CBS, The NFL Today crew is also in Atlanta this week getting ready to bring you pre-game coverage throughout the day on Sunday, leading up to kickoff at 6:30, when the broadcast team of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson take over.

Throughout the course of this week, there will be plenty of interviews with former coaches and players in which they are asked to recall their favorite Super Bowl memory. We got a head start by talking to former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach and current NFL on CBS studio analyst Bill Cowher back at the network's Super Bowl Media Day earlier in January. Obviously, Cowher's favorite memory would be the one in which, you know, he won Super Bowl XL 21-10 over the Seattle Seahawks as coach of the Steelers. But, what is his favorite memory or memories of the game outside of that?

Stream the Patriots-Rams in Super Bowl LIII on CBSSports.com.

"You go back to the tackle, with the Tennessee Titans coming up just a yard short, (Super Bowl XXXIV) Mike Adams with the tackle," said Cowher. "We actually signed him with the Pittsburgh Steelers a year later because I said that guy knows how to make a big play at a big time, with the Rams. Plus, you had Dick Vermeil coming back and getting that Super Bowl win."

"Then, I think of Peyton Manning a couple of years ago, walking off in Super Bowl 50, and that being his last game," Cowher continued. "Then, for us, not just the fact that we won it. But, to see Jerome Bettis go back to Detroit, where he grew up, and his last game to be played there, to win a Super Bowl was great."

Cowher knows well the stakes that come with this game for both sides. Win, and you'll be remembered forever. Lose, and you may not get the chance to get back to that point again in your career. That is why Cowher says he is so fascinated by the game and empathizes with both teams.

"I have won one and lost one. When you lose it, it's a great accomplishment to get there, but there's a void," said Cowher. "To go back again and have an opportunity to put an exclamation point on a journey that you have, one that people can never take away from you, and be a part of history, I just feel for every team."

This year, of course, Cowher will be there live and in person, watching these teams battle it out, with history on the line. But, in those years when he's not working the game, we wondered, what is his go-to snack at a Super Bowl party? Everyone has one.

"Nachos. I'm a big nacho guy," said Cowher. "I like nachos and cheese, because it's not like it's a finished product. Usually, it's a large bowl, no one really knows how much you ate, and you can make them into whatever you want. Cheese, guac, sour cream, is there jalapenos in there? It's kind of based on where you are and how the person makes it, but I'm a big nacho guy."

There you have it. Nachos, the snack of Super Bowl-winning head coaches. Super Bowl LIII airs on CBS this Sunday, February 3rd, with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

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