Super Bowl Observations

With the Super Bowl approaching, there are two thoughts that generally go through my mind. One is regret that the football season is over for both the pros and collegiate games. On the other hand, it represents a time period where the days get longer and the weather warms. To me, there is no month more depressing than January. Cold, dark, grayish blah, is how I describe the month. Even on the weekends, it it too miserable to do much outside, and often the air quality is such that my asthma doesn't allow me to do the things I would do in clearer weather.

But then there is the Super Bowl. First of all, it brings back memories of Super Bowl's past. The earliest I remember was between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Jets. I remember well my father's anger at that damned hippie Joe Namath getting a "fluke" victory over that much better crew-cutted Baltimore Colt team. The next Super Bowl, my favorite team lost the first of their four Super Bowls, something that prepared me for being a Democrat in Utah.

Then there were the games of the 1970's, dominated by the AFC powerhouses of Miami, Pittsburgh and Oakland. The rise of Montana and the San Francisco 49ers was unexpected and seemed to come from no where. When John Brodie retired, a young guy named Steve Spurrier was his heir apparent, only to ultimately disappear into irrelevancy (as far as a professional player that is). Drafting the kid out of Notre Dame seemed to work well for the niners and their rise as well as that of the Giants, Redskins and Bears dominated the 80's. Then the 90's came along and I had to suffer through the Cowboys having another hey day. Watching Michael Irvin push off repeatedly and never getting called for it would send me into a vitriolic frenzy.

And now comes the era of two teams, team parity and team Patriots. Teams seem to come and go, making it to a Super Bowl here or there, sometimes even winning it, but then disappearing into mediocrity. Except the Patriots. And as the 00's wind down, you have to admit their dominance in the NFL world. And this year, could cap off their best year. Loaded with veterans on defense, they have the best corp. of receivers that Tom Brady could have ever dreamed of. And he has a line in front of him that allows him to step up into the pocket and deliver accurate passes to his arsenal of weapons.

I look forward to the game, to see if the Giants can pull off the upset. The way their defense has played, they actually have a shot. And to think that Tom Coughlin was a bad hair day away from unemployment last year, the Giant turnaround is a big story as well. Oh, and by the way, what ever happened to their runningback, that, uh, uh, little guy, ya know Ronde's brother?