497. Oak Hill proud of its Super Bowl connection in winter resident Larry Csonka

Headline Surfer Top 500 Stories anniversary banner / Headline Surfer

Larry Csonka of the Miami Dolphins an Oak Hill, FL winter resident / Headline Surfer YouTube videos / Larry Csonka is shown in this snapshot from Super Bowl VII, won by the Miami Dolphins over the Minnesota Vikings, 24-7, with the Hall of Famer named MVP. In the previous Super Bowl, Csonka and his Dolphins teammates defeated the Washington Redskins to go undefeated for the season, a mark that still stands.

OAK HILL -- This little city, famous for Mosquito Lagoon and more recently the demise of its police force, has a connection to Super Bowl lore. It's the winter home of Miami Dolphins great Larry Csonka and his name was bandied about quite a bit before the 2012 Super Bowl between the NY Giants and NE Patriots.

The story about Csonka's Oak Hill connection comes in at No. 497 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the Top 500 stories as part of the internet newspaper's 5th anniversary.

On the eve of 2012's Super Bowl won by New York Giants over the New England Patriots for the second time in four years, Headline Surfer was unable to reach Csonka, who was out of town, but spoke to a couple of city officials who have run into him here and there over the years.

Then-City Commissioner Doug Gibson met him once under unusual circumstances.

"I was backing out of my driveway and he was on a bicycle when I almost ran him over," Gibson said with a laugh. "He has a winter home here but he's rarely around. He lives up in Alaska where he has a TV fishing show, but I think it's pretty neat that he's here in Oak Hill sometimes. I remember when I was a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol and the Dolphins went undefeated."

"I was backing out of my driveway and he was on a bicycle when I almost ran him over," said then-Oak Hill Commissioner and current Mayor Douglas Gibson with a laugh. "He has a winter home here but he's rarely around. He lives up in Alaska where he has a TV fishing show, but I think it's pretty neat that he's here in Oak Hill sometimes. I remember when I was a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol and the Dolphins went undefeated."

Csonka played on two winning Super Bowl teams for the Miami Dolphins.

Miami defeated the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VI, 14-7, to become the NFL's only undefeated team, a record that stands today. The following season, the Dolphins repeated as champions of the NFL in Super Bowl VIII, with a 24-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Csonka was the game MVP, the first running back to receive the honor; rushing for 145 yards on 33 carries.

Csonka, who later played a season with the Giants, was voted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

Linda Hyatt, then-Oak Hill vice mayor in 2012 and a hunting enthusiast, said of Csonka, it's "great that a famous Super Bowl player has a winter home in our fair city."

Linda Hyatt, then-Oak Hill vice mayor in 2012 and a hunting enthusiast, said of Csonka, it's "great that a famous Super Bowl player has a winter home in our fair city."

As for who Hyatt would be rooting rooting for on the eve of Super Bowl XLVI, she replied enthusiastically, "Go Giants!" And she was right on the money: G-men, 21, Pats, 17.

Fast Facts: NY Giants upset undefeated NE Patriots

Giants beat Pats in Super Bowl XLVI / Headline Surfer

The New York Giants knocked off the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLV, by a score of 21-17, on Feb. 5, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the first time that the Super Bowl was played in the state of Indiana.

In addition to winning their fourth Super Bowl in team history, the Giants set a new record for the lowest regular season record (9–7, win percentage of 56.3%) by a Super Bowl champion. The Patriots entered the game with an AFC-best 13–3 regular season record, and were also seeking their fourth Super Bowl win. The game was also a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, in which New York won, 17-14, to spoil New England's perfect 2007 season. The Giants jumped to a 9–0 lead in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLVI before the Patriots scored 17 unanswered points to take a 17–9 lead in the third quarter.

But the Giants prevented the Patriots from scoring again, and two consecutive New York field goals chipped away New England's lead, 17–15, late in the third quarter. The Giants then capped off an 88-yard drive with running back Ahmad Bradshaw's 6-yard game-winning touchdown with 57 seconds left in the game.

Eli Manning, who completed 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time in his career. He became the third consecutive quarterback to win the award after Aaron Rodgers in Super Bowl XLV and Drew Brees in Super Bowl XLIV.

The broadcast of the game on NBC broke the record for the most-watched program in American television history, previously set during the previous year's Super Bowl. Super Bowl XLVI was watched by an estimated average audience of 111.3 million US viewers and an estimated worldwide audience of 166.8 million, according to Nielsen, meaning that over half of the American population watched at least some of the initial broadcast. The game also set the record for most tweets per second during a sporting event, with 13.7 million tweets from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Award-winning Headline Surfer Editor/Publisher Henry Frederick is counting down his ranking of the Top 500 Stories throughout Volusia County, as part of the fifth anniversary celebration of the 24/7 Internet newspaper launched April 7, 2008.