Super Bowl XLI
Being from the Midwest, this Sunday’s event is one that could not be dreamed. It could not have been planned. The stars simply had to fall into alignment.
The Chicago Bears are facing the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl.
Is it a great rivalry? Not really. The Colts have only been in Indy for just over twenty years, leaving Baltimore in March of 1984. Talking to people from the area, there are many Bears fans in Indy. For years, there was no local team to root for, so the local people cheered for the Bears. Bringing the Colts to town didn’t sway everyone.
When franchises move from town to town, it breeds a certain bitterness from some people. The Cardinal franchise was in St. Louis for twenty-eight years, but before that, they spent forty years in Chicago.
Six years after the Cardinals flew to Phoenix, the Rams came to town. Five years later, they won the Super Bowl. It was during the hype before Super Bowl XXXIV that I heard an ESPN interview that Dan Patrick did with former Los Angeles Ram Fred Dryer (also formerly TV Detective “Hunter”). During the interview, Patrick asked Dryer if he felt any unity with this St. Louis team.
Dryer spat that he felt nothing for the team. He then went on a tirade against Georgia Frontiere and the ownership that moved the franchise from his beloved Los Angeles to St. Louis. Patrick quickly ended the interview, choosing a nonsense discussion with Rob Dibble to listening to someone angry with one of the competing franchises.
What Dryer, and others, failed to remember was that the Rams were already a franchise that had been moved. The franchise began life in Cleveland in 1936 before moving to L.A. in 1945.
It had to be difficult for sports writers to cover Super Bowl XXXIV. The history of the St. Louis Rams was only a few short years old. It is hard to build a story around that.
This years Super Bowl will be easier. The Bears long tradition will make up for any Colt shortcomings.
Besides, the Super Bowl had become less and less about football through the years and more and more about spectacle. Commercials and celebrities have become just as important as the game.
Personally, I’ll watch some of the game. I expect the Bears to manage the mighty Manning and win by a touchdown.
If it does not work out that way, I’ll at least have seen a funny beer commercial.
The Chicago Bears are facing the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl.
Is it a great rivalry? Not really. The Colts have only been in Indy for just over twenty years, leaving Baltimore in March of 1984. Talking to people from the area, there are many Bears fans in Indy. For years, there was no local team to root for, so the local people cheered for the Bears. Bringing the Colts to town didn’t sway everyone.
When franchises move from town to town, it breeds a certain bitterness from some people. The Cardinal franchise was in St. Louis for twenty-eight years, but before that, they spent forty years in Chicago.
Six years after the Cardinals flew to Phoenix, the Rams came to town. Five years later, they won the Super Bowl. It was during the hype before Super Bowl XXXIV that I heard an ESPN interview that Dan Patrick did with former Los Angeles Ram Fred Dryer (also formerly TV Detective “Hunter”). During the interview, Patrick asked Dryer if he felt any unity with this St. Louis team.
Dryer spat that he felt nothing for the team. He then went on a tirade against Georgia Frontiere and the ownership that moved the franchise from his beloved Los Angeles to St. Louis. Patrick quickly ended the interview, choosing a nonsense discussion with Rob Dibble to listening to someone angry with one of the competing franchises.
What Dryer, and others, failed to remember was that the Rams were already a franchise that had been moved. The franchise began life in Cleveland in 1936 before moving to L.A. in 1945.
It had to be difficult for sports writers to cover Super Bowl XXXIV. The history of the St. Louis Rams was only a few short years old. It is hard to build a story around that.
This years Super Bowl will be easier. The Bears long tradition will make up for any Colt shortcomings.
Besides, the Super Bowl had become less and less about football through the years and more and more about spectacle. Commercials and celebrities have become just as important as the game.
Personally, I’ll watch some of the game. I expect the Bears to manage the mighty Manning and win by a touchdown.
If it does not work out that way, I’ll at least have seen a funny beer commercial.
Labels: Sports
posted by Alexander Dimm | 6:36 AM
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