Super Bowl week is a mix of emotions for football fanatics: on the one hand, it's the culmination of a 22-week odyssey to determine the championship of pro football; on the other, it means that another meaningful game won't be played for another 8 months. So while the non-football fans and the casual observers of the NFL enjoy the commercials and the pageantry and the excuse to party hearty, we die-hards will try to enjoy one last moment in the sun.
This is why, when I have no definitive rooting interest, I just want the game to be competitive. The only thing worse than being at a Super Bowl party where the majority of guests are asking questions like, "Why do they call it a pigskin?" or "Why are there so many time outs" or even worse "How do I figure out which points I need to win $50 this quarter in my box pool?", is when the game is out of hand and their collective minds wander, making the viewing experience even more nauseating.
I have a hard time relating to people who don't watch sports more than just this one day out of the year. I have maintained the argument for the last decade that the best reality series on television is not just one series but a group of them: sports on television. There's no script, and in most cases there is a group of people to either root for or against, based upon on your personal beliefs and/or your geography. There are great characters, and although there are similarities for games played in each sport, no two games are alike. But the biggest reason I keep coming back is to see something I've never seen before, or to experience that moment when a group of players do what no one else expects them to do.
In the Roman numeral classic known as Super Bowl XLIII (that's 43 for those not in the know), the Arizona Cardinals will be playing the role of underdog, against the seemingly superior favorites known as the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you know nothing about the two teams going into the game, all you need to know is this set of facts: the Steelers are playing in their 7th Super Bowl all-time, and are seeking an NFL best 6th victory in the big game. After being the very model of futility in their first 42 years of existence, the Steelers have been the very model of efficiency during their most recent 36 seasons. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are making their first-ever Super Bowl appearance, and are looking to win their first league championship since 1947. Only the Chicago Cubs in baseball have had a longer wait between championships, which is ironic in the sense that the last time the Cards won the NFL title, they were playing in Chicago.
The Steelers have been listed as a 7-point favorite by the odds makers, and this seems sound judgment. Pittsburgh won their division, finishing with the second best record in their conference, amidst the toughest schedule in the league. They have the top-ranked defense in the league. They have a quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger who was the starter three years ago when the Steelers last won it all. They have a significant fan base located not only in the greater Pittsburgh area, but all around the country. In fact, here I am last football season in Jaguars gear at the Hooters of Hollywood – the only one rooting for Jacksonville in a bar full of Steelers fans:
With all of Pittsburgh's experience and the size of their fan base, it should be a no-brainer that the Steelers will win on Sunday. But as Chris Berman likes to say, "That's why they play the games." Arizona just seems to be on one of those runs through the playoffs like the Giants were last year, or even the Steelers were just 3 years ago. Everything is breaking just right for them, and they are taking full advantage of those opportunities. Kurt Warner is playing in 2008 like he did in 1999, when he led another downtrodden franchise out of mediocrity to a Super Bowl championship. And as great as the receiving corps was for Warner on those "Greatest Show on Turf" teams in St. Louis, this group of receivers, led by Larry "No one can cover me or even properly place any adjective to describe the fact that no one can cover me" Fitzgerald, is even better.
Also, and this will be one of several things you'll hear from the experts all week long leading up to the game, but something that I think has some actual substance: Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm were on the Steelers staff as assistants just two years ago. They both left for Arizona after the Steelers passed on hiring one of them to replace Bill Cowher in 2006. These guys understand the Steelers pressure blitzing defense perhaps as well as anyone, and it's critical to mention Grimm because the Cards offensive line will need be at their best to recognize where all of the exotic blitzes will come from. But I have another thought about why Whisenhunt could be a factor: he was Roethlisberger's first coordinator in the NFL, so like Jon Gruden did for Tampa Bay when he helped their defense prepare for his former Oakland squad in Super Bowl XXXVII, Whisenhunt should be able to help the Cards defense recognize the audible calls for the Steelers offense, which could be a significant advantage for the Arizona defense.
It's true that for every team like last year's Giants to win it all in surprising fashion (which I predicted on this site by the way), there have been plenty of Cinderella teams for whom the glass slipper cracked at the most inopportune time.
But this is why someone like me, with both the Giants and Jaguars out of the mix (and yes Jonathan Harris, those are the 2 teams I root for, and the only 2 I root for, deal with it), will watch the game this coming Sunday. And to ensure that my selection is correct: ARIZONA 33 – PITTSBURGH 23.
ITEM TWO: So you want to produce halftime?
When you grow up in New Jersey like I did during the 1970s and 1980s, you either dislike Bruce Springsteen and his music, in which case you are placed into the nearest mental institution for life or asked to relocate to Montana, or you worship Springsteen's music. I have written about my love for his music on this page before, and certainly will again. And so I will need to somehow plan my Super Bowl halftime break to coincide with the first half highlights package and analysis, because I will not miss a single second of Bruce playing the halftime show at this year's game.
As a quick aside: my favorite halftime shows were: Paul McCartney in Super Bowl XXIX, U2 in Super Bowl XXXVI with the scrolling names of the 9/11 victims behind them, and Up with People during Super Bowl XVI. Okay, I'm just kidding about that last one, but I think this year's will join this exclusive list.
Now here's the cool thing: on the NFL's website for the game, you can click on this link which gives you six different choices of which 4 songs Bruce and the band will play during halftime this year. This is really interesting because for a Bruce fanatic like myself, I want to make sure those that see him live in Tampa for the first time understand what those of us that have seen him live over the years has long known: there is no better live musical performance anywhere by anybody. People I've known throughout the course of my life that I've attended their first Bruce shows with have in every case been left with no choice but to change their own minds and agree with my previous statement.
It's just unfortunate for those seeing live the first time that night that they will only get a glimpse into what type of experience that is like. Most concerts are 1-2 hours: Bruce plays for 4 hours, and then he does another hour of encores.
As for the songs I would pick, because the 6 available choices are good but not great, I would choose these 4: I'd have him open with Badlands, then segue into The Rising, follow that up with Prove It All Night, and of course finish with Born to Run, but only because Jersey Girl is a 7-minute song live.
ITEM THREE: Other Stuff
Anyone following the on-line battle of the barbs between the tag-team partners Leah D'Emilio and Lon Harris from Mahalo Daily, and their opponent Maria Sansone from Pop Tub, has to wonder just where all this is leading. I'm not sure where it's going, but I enjoy watching otherwise dignified webcast hosts "drop gloves" (hockey term) every now and then… how many times will hear people wringing their hands this week about companies spending $3 million per 30 second spot on Super Bowl ads. I'm setting the over/under at 35, but confining that only to national cable shows and big market newspapers… so as I posted last week, I've started writing for two publications. SCENARIO is a bi-monthly print publication that debuts in March, and also has an on-line companion with articles being added daily. It has a great deal of potential based upon its premise of returning the country back to old-school journalism, as well as keeping the left-wing pundits and the right-wing apologists honest, which no other media outlet is able to do (even though many claim to try). I've seen a couple of the articles going into the first issue, and I have to say they are an interesting collection of topics with the right pacing. I hope that you will find them just as informative. My articles will not be confined to one area of expertise, because that would insinuate that I actually have an area of expertise. The other publication is The Examiner, which is an on-line publication of daily articles and posting pertaining to a wide-variety of topics in every major city. My assignment here is being confined to the Los Angeles Kings, and I will be providing a mix of commentary and analysis with feature stories on Kings Players, past and present. I talked with my editor on the phone this morning, he used to run the Denver Broncos website for years, and I'm very excited about the prospects for the growth of this website as well. I hope you will all continue to loyally support me in checking these out… Back to the Super Bowl, NBC is the broadcaster for this year's game. Their coverage begins with a 5-hour pre-game show. Bob Costas will be the lead anchor, and will be joined by Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann, Matt Millen, Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber, Peter King, and Cris Collinsworth. The Today Show will air three hours before that live from Tampa, with a one hour NFL Films program, The Road to the Super Bowl, in between. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:20PM Eastern Time, with Al Michaels calling the play-by-play, and John Madden providing analysis. Madden will establish a record for having called a Super Bowl for all four major broadcast networks. Alex Flanagan and Edie Falco (also known as Andrea Kramer) will roam the sidelines. In addition to Bruce at halftime, Jennifer Hudson (in her first public appearance since the death of 3 family members last fall) will sing the national anthem, and among those performing in the pre-game will be Journey. Let's hope the screen doesn't go hard to black followed by end credits when they sing Don't Stop Believing… I also enjoy Super Bowl Sunday because it's the one day all year long when I can consume food that on any other day in this combination would have people calling for doctors to perform angioplasties on me. These would be beer, wings, chips, and burgers. Or as I like to call them: the four basic food groups… finally, a tip of the cap to NC State Women's Basketball coach Kay Yow, who passed away over the weekend after a prolonged bout with breast cancer. I had the chance to meet her a few years ago and hear her speak about her battle against the illness, and instead of coming across as bitter and envious; she came across as courageous and determined not only to beat her disease, but to help others do so as well. But as important as that angle of her story is, and I don't mean to reduce its significance in any way, she was a tremendous basketball coach. She posted over 700 victories in her career, won four ACC titles and had teams reach the NCAA Tournament 20 times, and was the Team USA coach for the 1988 Gold Medal winning Olympic team.
Enjoy the food and the game on Super Sunday - I know I will...
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