Is this really Super Bowl XXXIV, or should it be called Who-the-heck-is-that Bowl I?

The St Louis Rams face the Tennessee Titans on 30 January in Atlanta's Georgia Dome, in a match-up of two unfancied teams.

At the start of the season, a few optimists might have predicted modest success for Tennessee, but anyone who claims to have forecast the Rams' achievements back in September is probably drunk or a liar.

The pair are two of the least-known teams in the National Football League, residing in two of its smallest markets.

Tradition beneath the surface

Yet both have a long tradition, buried under the recent NFL fashion for owners to shift their teams in search of a better stadium or a more lucrative deal from the local taxpayers.

The Rams date back all the way to 1937, when they were founded in Cleveland. They moved to Los Angeles five years later and stayed there all the way until 1995 when owner Georgia la Frontiere uprooted them again.

In terms of American sports, the Titans - originally the Oilers - also have a decently long pedigree, being founding members of the old American Football League in 1960. The AFL merged with the NFL and the Oilers stayed in Houston until 1996, then seemed to become homeless vagrants for a couple of years under the name Tennessee Oilers.

They finally made their home in Nashville for the 1999 season and changed their name to break finally with the past.

But it's not just the teams who are relative unknowns, it's the players too.

Kurt who?

Where are the glamorous quarterbacks like John Elway, Steve Young, Brett Favre and Dan Marino? Respectively, they are retired, injured, defeated and virtually finished.

Instead, the Titans are being quarterbacked by Steve McNair and the Rams by Kurt Warner, a player so little known and respected at the start of the season that his team offered him up free to an expansion side - who didn't want him either.

That was probably one of the worst personnel decisions in the history of sport. When the Rams first-string quarterback, Trent Green, went down for the year in a pre-season game, Warner stepped in and shocked the NFL in general, and opposing defenses in particular.

He threw for 4,353 yards and 40 touchdowns - bettered only by Marino at his peak. Using the experience he had gained from two years in the Arena indoor football league, and another in NFL Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals, Warner shredded the opposition all season as he won the league's Most Valuable Player award.

His opposite number, McNair, is noted as much for his running as his passing. In the last three games, he has thrown for a total of less than 300 yards - a mark Warner has beaten in 10 individual games this year.

McNair also gets attention for being only the second black quarterback to play in a Superbowl, something which the media fastens upon.

The first, Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins back in 1988, was supposed to have been asked one of the dumbest questions in the history of media interviews: "Doug, how long have you been a black quarterback?"

It appeared this week, however, that the question was never uttered. According to a report in Sports Illustrated, the actual words were: "Doug, it's obvious you've been a black quarterback all your life. When did it start to matter?"

More relevant, but not so quotable.

Rams favoured

But what of the game itself? The Titans certainly won't mind whether McNair racks up the yardage with his legs or his arm, just so long as he wins.

In the regular season, the Titans beat the Rams 24-21 in Nashville, but the odds-makers favour St Louis by more than a touchdown - largely because of their high-powered passing attack.

This features Warner throwing to an array of speedy receivers such as Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az-Zakir Hakim and even Ricky Proehl - no burner, but the hero of St Louis' 11-6 win over Tampa Bay in the NFC championship with the decisive 30-yard touchdown catch.

Tennessee didn't really stop that group in their first encounter, but won by jumping out to a quick lead and hanging on. They are feeling more confident having seen what the Tampa Bay defense did to the Rams.

The Buccaneers put great pressure on Warner, forcing him out of rhythm, frequently making him throw before he wanted to. They also clamped down on running back Marshall Faulk, making sure that one defender always had responsibility for him and stopping him breaking short gains into long ones.

Titans need George

Tennessee could well try the same tactics, though their defense isn't as good as Tampa Bay's and they are unlikely to find Warner so out of sorts again.

When the Titans have the ball, their main weapon is running back Eddie George, a big, bruising runner who keeps pounding away until he wears a defense down.

If Tennessee are to win, or keep the game close, there is little doubt that George will have to have a very big game.

Should it be a close one, however, the Titans do have the edge in the kicking game and in their special teams' coverage units.

And while the Rams have better kick returners, the Titans do have the inspiration of the 'Miracle in Music City' to fall back on - the handoff, crossfield lateral and 76-yard touchdown run with just seconds remaining which beat the Buffalo Bills earlier in the playoffs.

The Rams will no doubt be well prepared for that one, but who knows what other trick plays Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher has up his sleeve