Gem State represents at Super Bowl 50

Luckily, the little brother was kind enough to let me ride his coattails at Super Bowl 50, and what a wild ride it was.

Long before the Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl, I got an email from my brother, former Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer, with a Southwest flight to Oakland and an invitation to join him at the Super Bowl. Also invited was my other brother Brett Plummer, childhood friend Ty Hamilton and longtime family friend Isaiah Mustafa, also known as the Old Spice guy.

With a few paid appearances already booked in advance, Jake’s goal was to use whatever money he made to fund the trip, and my arm needed precious little twisting.

On to San Francisco we went.

Beating the

Kramer drum

If any proof was needed that cosmic forces are at work in the universe, it was delivered on the second night. In passing, I mentioned it would be cool if Jake could possibly beat the drum for Jerry Kramer’s long-overdue and rightful induction into the NFL Hall of Fame.

His absence is conspicuous, at best, and a travesty at worst. Sadly, most people just assume the Sandpoint, University of Idaho and Green Bay Packer legend and All-Pro guard, who delivered the key block in the Ice Bowl and carried Vince Lombardi off the field after winning Super Bowl II, is already enshrined.

As we were leaving the NFL Legends Lounge, which is open for any and all former players and their families to have drinks and appetizers and is an amazing way to kill a few hours (on the 69th floor of the Hilton, with a panoramic view of the city no less), Jake was introduced to a guy named David Baker, and we had no idea who he was.

Asked afterward, Jake said it was the president of the NFL Hall of Fame, and Jake told him “we need to get Jerry into the Hall of Fame while he is still alive to enjoy it.”

Baker’s response?

“I know, I know, we need to get the Senior Selection Committee on board.”

Here’s hoping they do finally get on board, right a wrong and get Kramer his just rewards.

Six degrees

of the Gem State

There were plenty of Idaho ties when it came to Super Bowl 50.

Trivia time: Only two quarterbacks in NFL history were born in Idaho, and they both have Coeur d’Alene ties — can you name them? Hint: Coeur d’Alene High School, University of Idaho and Chargers and Seahawks quarterback John Friesz is not one of them, as he was born in Missoula, Mont.

Answer: Jake Plummer and Brock Osweiler, who was born in Coeur d’Alene before moving to Kalispell. Oddly enough both played quarterback at Arizona State, both have also pulled the trigger for the blue and orange and both were at Super Bowl 50.

General Manager John Elway should get huge credit for bringing another Lombardi Trophy to Denver, begging this question: When the Hall of Fame quarterback tees it up in North Idaho this summer, as he is wont to do, will he have a shiny new Super Bowl ring on his finger? Can you even grip a golf club with one of those diamond-encrusted behemoths?

Elway gave Jake a quick hug as he was leaving the Broncos team party on Friday night, after which Jake proved prescient by saying “kick some Panther ass.” Fitz and the Tantrums played the party, we drank free beer and ate appetizers galore, and had a memorable time. It was easy to see why players love the organization.

And the guy snapping the ball to Peyton Manning last Sunday? That would be starting center Matt Paradis, an Idaho native who made it from the eight-man football fields of Council (think Clark Fork or Mullan) to Boise State to arguably the biggest game in the sporting world.

As the aforementioned Kramer would say: “You can, if you will.”

Party hearty

Folks who attend Super Bowls often do so with the intent of cutting loose and having a good time, and we were no exception. Between Jake and Isaiah, who played receiver at Arizona State and briefly with the Seahawks and Browns in the NFL before achieving surprising fame as the Old Spice guy and landing roles in several movies, we were able to get into a host of corporate parties.

We were so far from A-listers they couldn’t see us with a telescope, yet there we were, hobnobbing with athletes and celebrities, all the while making good use of the free drinks and appetizers, especially the sushi rolls.

Leigh Steinberg’s 29th Annual Super Bowl Bash was full of former and current NFL players and what appeared to be Fortune 500 CEOs, most but not all of whom were dressed to the nines. Silent auction items included a signed Rolling Stones guitar, The Godfather movie poster signed by the whole cast, signed Michael Jackson albums and an assortment of other signed sports memorabilia from Mt. Rushmore-type athletes.

We got to see Pharrell, he of the catchy tune “Happy,” at the Pepsi party, courtesy of an invite from Isaiah. As the party was winding down, Michael Irvin strolled by. He and Jake, who battled twice a year for five years, including a Cardinals playoff win over Irvin’s Cowboys in 1998, talked for maybe a minute. Then I was quickly introduced, got a quick hug, and off the Cowboys Hall of Fame receiver went.

But those were just the corporate parties, and suffice it to say, we made good use of the free drinks (beers in San Fran ain’t cheap). More fun for me was catching a Grateful Dead cover band at the Boom Boom Room, and a raggae band at the Elbo Room, getting an authentic taste of the San Francisco nightlife with brothers and friends.

After walking for more than 10 miles we stood for about two hours on Pier 40 one afternoon, gazing at Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge, before turning around and looking at one of the most impressive skylines of any city anywhere.

Impressive place, San Francisco.

You mean we still have a game to go to?

After three days and four nights of tearing up San Francisco, it was time for the game itself. Walking into the stadium elicited a rush of emotion, the football-loving kid in me still in awe of what was happening.

We forked over plenty of cash for the $15 beers, a friendly reminder of where we were. We rapped football, soaked up the sun until about midway through the third quarter when it finally disappeared behind the press box, and savored a damn good football game. It was far more gritty than pretty, a game for the purists.

Jake was especially happy for head coach Gary Kubiak, his offensive coordinator for the three best years of his career, and for Pat Bowlen and his family, who treat all of their former players like family.

I was especially happy for Jake, who wanted his brothers and friends to come along for the ride and made it happen.

Eric Plummer is the sports editor of the Daily Bee in Sandpoint. For comments, suggestions or story ideas, he can be reached at eplummer@bonnercountydailybee.com.