Ways to spend your Super Sunday
The excitement is bubbling as we wake up this fine morning in early February.
Later today, the newest NFL dynasty, the Seattle Seahawks, look to win their fifth straight Super Bowl title.
Oh, wait ...
Who’d have thought one boneheaded call could change the direction of a franchise.
But the Seahawks have been on a downward spiral since their coaching braintrust decided to call a pass play from the 1-yard line against the Patriots with the game on the line, instead of handing the ball to the league’s best short-yardage back and dealing the Brady-Belichick regime another setback in the ‘big game.’
Since then, this is what Seattle has to show for itself — only making it as far as the divisional playoffs each of the next two years, and not even making it to the playoffs this season.
It didn’t have to be this way.
THE SEAHAWKS built a defense that stacks up against the best ‘Ds’ in league history.
The past couple of years — particularly this year — injuries dented some of that defensive invincibility.
But other teams have had injury problems as well, so that’s not an excuse. The Eagles made it to the Super Bowl with a backup quarterback. The Vikings made it to the NFC title game with a backup QB.
In any event, Seattle apologists blamed a combination of injuries, the offensive coordinator and the offensive line coach for their team’s downfall. Well, the Seahawks have wiped their hands of the OC and the O-line coach, so those excuses are gone. The head coach seems to have gotten a pass through all of this, but as long as he’s around, there’s still hope for the rest of us in the NFC West.
That’s not to say the Seahawks couldn’t come back and win another Super Bowl or two with this crew. Aside from the Patriots, the other contenders for the title seem to come and go each year.
That gives Seattle a chance to make up for its bungled opportunities the last few years.
If teams like the Vikings and Jaguars can do it, maybe even the 49ers can get back into the mix soon.
FOR SOME reason, some folks say they’re not interested in watching today’s game. Maybe they’re anti-Patriots, maybe they’re still bummed Seattle hasn’t been in the big game for a while.
Some tips if you’d rather not be glued to the TV this afternoon:
- Boot up the Seahawks-Broncos Super Bowl from four years ago, and see how long it takes people to notice they’re not watching today’s game.
- Hop in your car, get on U.S. 95, and drive from Appleway to Hayden Avenue. If the traffic is anything like it is during the week, you will spend most of your time parked for several minutes at a time at EVERY SINGLE RED LIGHT on that stretch. That will kill a significant amount of time.
- Consider becoming a high school official (public service announcement from the IHSAA and your local referees). If you do decide to watch part of the game, see how the officials are making calls and determine if you can or want to do that (Hint: It’s a worthwhile and rewarding occupation, but not nearly as easy as it looks from the sofa or the bleachers).
- Plug in a tape from the 1990 Super Bowl (my favorite), and watch the Montana-Rice 49ers destroy the Broncos all over again.
- Depending on where you live in North Idaho, go outside and get started on your spring cleanup. Ask those horizontal trees and limbs what the heck they were thinking, falling in your yard in the dead of winter and making a mess.
- Listen to Fred Knoblock’s Greatest Hits. OK, that will only take 3 minutes, 43 seconds, so ...
- Have some fun around the food table with the prop bets. For every closeup of Bill Belichick, help yourself to a slice of bacon. When they show Tom Brady’s wife, grab a bacon-wrapped chicken wing. When NBC hits the ‘over’ on how many times the network mentions the upcoming Winter Olympics (which just happen to be on NBC), load up a plate of bacon nachos.
- Tell some Jerry Kramer stories, celebrating his long-overdue induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. I remember him speaking at the Sandpoint High football banquet in 1986, just prior to their first state playoff game in school history.
I remember hearing he was out at the Sandpoint Elks golf course one time a few years later. So I followed him around for a few holes with my camera. We were talking football — imagine that! — when I mentioned something about “skill-position players,” a phrase that was popular back then.
Kramer, a right guard who was named to the all-time NFL team covering the first 50 years of the league, and who threw the most famous block in NFL history, turned from his spot on the tee and gave me a look I will never forget.
Needless to say, I’ve looked at the phrase “skill-position players” a lot differently since then.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.