The Front Row with MARK NELKE Feb. 5, 2011
Now that DirecTV and Northwest Broadcasting Co., which owns Spokane's Fox 28, have come to a temporary truce and put KAYU back on the air while they settle their differences, DirecTV subscribers don't have to mess with rabbit ears or try to talk their way into a friend's house, and they can watch today's Super Bowl at home if they wish.
That part settled, we can turn our attention to the fun part of the "big game," the proposition bets - which team will win the coin toss, the over/under on how long it takes to sing the national anthem, who will make the first mention of Brett Favre - that sort of thing.
Then there are these kind of "prop" bets, which you're welcome to try at your Super Bowl gathering:
* First person to spew, "Oh, I'm just here to watch the commercials." That person will be forced to spend the first quarter outside with the cat.
* First person to double-dip on the wiener wraps.
* First person to show up wearing a Cheesehead.
* First person to show up waving a Terrible Towel.
In general, instant replay is a good thing - most of the time they ultimately get the call right, but if you look at some of the replays long enough, you can convince yourself of whatever outcome you want.
Sadly, now when I watch highlights of past Super Bowls, I find myself watching great plays and thinking, "Hmm, I wonder how that would have stood up with today's replay?"
Us old people have seen Butch Johnson's diving touchdown catch for the Cowboys against the Broncos in Super Bowl XII countless times - the one where he makes a full extension on a post pattern and hauls in a bomb from Roger Staubach in a game Dallas eventually won 27-10.
However, the ball popped out of his arms as soon as he slammed into the Superdome turf and, upon further review, the play would have been ruled an incomplete pass with today's replay.
And the acrobatic catch by Pittsburgh’s Lynn Swann vs. Mark Washington of the Cowboys in Super Bowl X — the catch that made the cover of Sports Illustrated? It probably still would have stood the test of replay, though it probably would have taken several minutes to confirm, and can you imagine all of those old-school players storming around while some ref sticks his head under a hood just to make sure?
And I’m sure there are other plays like that.
Then there’s the halftime entertainment. This year, it’s the Black Eyed Peas, with Christina Aguilera singing the national anthem. The pregame consists of Keith Urban and something called Maroon 5.
Kris Allen performed at the 2011 Pro Bowl, Joe Nichols at the AFC championship game, Lee DeWyze at the NFC championship game.
Way back at the 1970 NFC title game (Dallas at San Francisco), someone named O.C. Smith sang “Little Green Apples” and Tony Bennett sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
It wasn’t always that way at halftime.
According to Wikipedia (sorry, I didn’t tape that game), the halftime show for Super Bowl I was the University of Arizona and Grambling State marching bands, as well as Al Hirt and the Anaheim High drill team.
Remember “Up With People”? They performed in 1976, ‘82 and ‘86.
Michael Jackson’s halftime performance at the 1993 Super Bowl at the Rose Bowl changed everything — after that, the search was on for “A-list” artists for the halftime show.
I wonder if there’s some sort of pecking order, where the top performers get the Super Bowl halftime gigs, and the ones further down the list are assigned to the Super Bowl pregame, conference title games, etc.
Imagine this pecking order, say, 30 years ago. Here’s what the entertainment assignments may have looked like in 1981 (factoring in that some artists turned down the gigs due to financial squabbles):
Super Bowl halftime — Barry Manilow
Super Bowl pregame — Daryl Hall and John Oates
Super Bowl national anthem — Sheena Easton
Pro Bowl halftime — Kim Carnes
NFC title game halftime — Eddie Rabbitt
AFC title game halftime — Christopher Cross
Then again, maybe those marching bands and punt, pass and kick competitions weren’t so bad after all.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at [email protected].