From the Joe Fan Archives
February 7, 2000

"SUPER BOWL NOTES FROM JOEFAN.COM "

Good game, bad commercials and old wounds.

Well, Super Bowl XXXIV has come and gone. An exciting game. Not necessarily a well-played one, but any game that comes down to the last play can't help but be exciting. From reading the gasbags that populate the daily sports pages, you would think that it was the best Super Bowl of all-time. At half, when the score was 9-0, or 16-0 in the middle of the third period, great game? I don't think so. It might be in the top five, but that is by default. The game is usually a blow out and about as exciting as World Cup Soccer. My best Super Bowls (the first Super Bowl I watched was SB IV Kansas City vs. Minnesota):

SB XXXII Denver 31- Green Bay 24
SB XIII Pittsburgh 35- Dallas 31
SB XXIII San Francisco 20 -Cincinnati 16
SB XXV New York Giants 20- Buffalo 19
SB XXXIV St. Louis 23- Tennessee 16

The Denver-Green Bay was notable for many reasons. It was Denver's first win after four losses (all blow outs). They were big underdogs to the defending champion Packers and the game went to the wire.

POOR TIMING AWARD

You pony up two mill for a Super Bowl ad to show Superman, recovered from a spinal cord injury, walking to the stage. After the commercial, you got to a Tennessee Titan being wheeled off with a....possible spinal cord injury. Ouch.
A quick note: I did not know that was a phony ad. I thought maybe Christopher Reeves had made such progress that he could walk. So did hundreds of paraplegics around the country. The next day, these people called the company wondering what treatment "Superman" went through. Not the best ad for an investment firm.

If we learn one thing from the Super Bowl ads, it's that it's time to start an advertising agency. These dot.com companies are biggest saps in the country. If these are commercials they say yes to, I would hate to see the dreg they passed on. And, what is the deal with this Epidemic.com. Your friends can make money by sending you an e-mail with a link to buy things? "Hi Mom! Thanks are great. Go here to buy stuff. The kids are fine. Great prices here! Love you and if you love me you will book your next flight here!" I hope this company crashes and burns soon.

JOHN ROCKER'S NEXT JOB

If, and when, Mr. Rocker loses his vicious fastball, he should consider a career in sports reporting. His stereotyping will come in handy when covering the next Super Bowl in Atlanta. Rocker, who was rightly excoriated for his observations, would fit it right in with the Southern-bashing sports press. From the "Bubba Bowl" to the "Hee-Haw Bowl," sportswriters, many the same that ripped Rocker, got off as many shots as possible. "This one is from all the grits." proclaimed USA Today. I have know for a while that the last politically correct group to make fun of are Southerners. Hypocrisy, my friends, hypocrisy.

WOE BE THE WOMAN OWNER

Al Michaels, one of the best play-by-play men in the business, was way out of line with his continuous harping on the fact that Rams owner Georgia Frontiere has been married seven times. Would he have said the same thing about a male owner? I don't think so. How many times has Bud Adams, the Tennessee owner, been married? I have no clue. I just know that he is not a member of the Hair Club of America. But, wives? Don't know.
However, Michaels was mild compared to the bile spewed by the misogynistic LA Times sportswriters before and after the game. Granted, we are the jilted lover, but the attacks on Georgia were of such a personal nature that the hatred toward the woman was obvious. I truly doubt that the male carpetbagger, Al Davis, would receive the same treatment. On the contrary, I feel he would be hailed as a genius.

Miss Georgia may be a former showgirl, an astrology nut and no stranger to the alter, but she owns the Super Bowl champs. To the victor, etc...

February is the cruelest month for the sports fan. The Super Bowl is over and March Madness has not yet taken hold. All we have is meaningless college basketball and, horror of all horrors, figure skating. Joe Fan encourages all to use the time to bond with the family. In this one month, make up for the other eleven months you spend planted on the couch. Your family will thank you. And, more importantly, you'll thank you.

Batter Up!

From the Joe Fan ArchivesFebruary 7, 2000

From the Joe Fan ArchivesFebruary 7, 2000

"SUPER BOWL NOTES FROM JOEFAN.COM "

From the Joe Fan Archives
February 7, 2000

From the Joe Fan Archives
February 7, 2000