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Super Bowl Sunday….So What?!

Posted on February 7th, 2010 by Retired-Ed in History

I guess I am a heretic. As a red-blooded American male, I should be getting excited about the Super Bowl. I just can’t. Don’t get me wrong; I used to love NFL football. I remember sitting in the basement of my fraternity house watching Super Bowl I. Of course, it wasn’t called the “Super Bowl” back then. It was the NFL-AFL Championship Game. As a rabid Green Bay Packer fan, I delighted in watching the Pack down the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10. The old, reliable quarterback Bart Starr broke the game open with a touchdown pass to Max McGee. Max, a bachelor and man about town, was rumored to be nursing a hangover at game time, but he came through in the clutch. I can remember some great games prior to that. About 8 or 9 years earlier, I remember sitting in my grandparents’ living room and watching the Baltimore Colts play the New York Giants in a championship game in the snow. I think that the Colts won that one under Johnny Unitas. Maybe the Colts will win today (or tomorrow for us here in Europe) under Peyton Manning.

But what happened to me? How come I don’t care any more? Well, I can’t seem to get this idea out of my head: It’s just a football game, not an event of apocalyptic proportion. That Super Bowl I was, believe it or not, played during the daytime! Oh heresy! Although, I can’t remember exactly, but I think that the pre-game show lasted about an hour. And there was no  2-week lead up to hype the game. Yeah, that’s what is my problem. There’s just too much hype. It’s all about money. The owners and the networks want to milk it for all it’s worth. As I recall, the cost of a 60-second commercial in the first game was $100,000 or thereabouts. What is it today? Several million for a 30-second spot? Yes, times have changed.

I can remember watching some memorable games. In 1968, I was watching a game between the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders. NBC was covering the game (sorry, Drew) and they screwed up royally. With only 65 seconds left in the game, NBC (yes the same NBC that caused the Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien situation) cut away to air the movie “Heidi”. When the show stopped, NY was ahead 32 to 29. But then Oakland scored 2 touchdowns in 9 seconds to win 43-32. To add insult to injury, NBC had a trailer scrawl across the screen with the final score. I think that the switchboard at NBC blew a fuse that night!

One day I watched a game between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions. One Lion player who was not really involved in the play ended up lying on the field. We watched in horror as the trainers came out on the field (as they frequently do) but then began to do CPR on the player. Obviously, something was very wrong. In the end, we all watched a football player die on national television. Ever since that game, the NFL has had paramedics and trauma equipment at the games.

I also remember Tom Dempsey, a player who was born with a deformed foot. He only had half of a foot, and that was the one that he kicked with. In 1970, he kicked a field goal of 63 yards, which at the time was an NFL record. For all I know, it may still be the record. Oh, you should have heard the complaints that he was “cheating” because he didn’t kick with a full foot.

So, you can see that I used to enjoy the games, but I have really lost interest. Maybe it’s because I have lived overseas for the past 36 years. The time difference makes it very difficult to watch games live. For example, the big game today will not start until 12:05 Monday morning for us. I will not stay up. But many of my fellow Yanks over here will. In fact, I will not be surprised if the Army has a late start tomorrow. They might schedule a “training holiday” for Monday morning. We’ll see. In the past, some of our schools had a late start or even had a day off for students while the teachers attended an “in service”. OMG! It isn’t a national holiday, is it?

Should I record the game? Maybe I should, just in case someone in The Who (halftime entertainment) has a heart attack. Those guys are older than I am, or at least they ought to be. They’ve been around since Peyton Manning’s daddy was a college quarterback at Ole Miss, but that’s another story.

So what’s the good news? Hey, it’s February, and spring training is just around the corner. Pitchers and catchers will report in just a few days. The rest of the teams will be right behind them. Opening Day is less than 2 months away. Can’t wait for baseball to start!

Retired-Ed

4 Comments

4 Responses to “Super Bowl Sunday….So What?!”

  1. citywendy Says:
    February 7th, 2010 at 6:12 pm

    I’m not going to watch the game. I’m going to be a conscientious unobserver.

  2. Kathi-in-Iowa Says:
    February 11th, 2010 at 3:35 am

    We didn’t watch it either. I’ve just never been able to figure football out. I went to a high school that didn’t have a football team. Never attended one until I was in college. Didn’t go to very many there. Baseball, basketball, soccer… anything is more interesting than American football!
    Helau, Alaaf & Nari-Naro! It’s Fasching!

  3. Retired-Ed Says:
    February 11th, 2010 at 9:14 am

    Helau yourself. Yes, indeed. Today is the day that I shouldn’t wear a tie. Wait! I haven’t worn a tie in months. In fact, if Wendy hadn’t gotten married last summer, the last time I wore a tie would have been my last day at work unless I wore a tie to church in Austin. I can’t remember. However, for the uninitiated, today is Weiberfasching or Weiberfastnacht (tonight). Women go around with scissors and cut off the ties of men foolish enough to wear one today. It is supposed to symbolize the end of sex during Lent. Fasching is a series of silly costumes, parties, and parades. Many of my former colleagues are heading off to Venice again this year to celebrate Carneval in that famous city. I will stay home and shovel snow.

  4. Sue Says:
    February 13th, 2010 at 4:08 am

    I didn’t realize Venice celebrated Carneval!! We still have a few more days before Lent starts. I have never heard of Weiberfasching.

    As to the Super Bowl, I never watch it either, although lots of people in Canada do. I am always intrigued by the commercials. We don’t get them in Canada, we have to watch them the next day on youtube. Thought the Oprah, Letterman, Leno thing was funny.

    Forget football….move on to the Olympics. Go Canada!!!

    Sue

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