The New York Giants are Super Bowl champions, and Eli Manning was the game's most valuable player. I should be excited about this.
We saw Eli in a couple of Independence Bowls when he was at Ole Miss. He's a Louisiana guy and he played in the SEC. The story line of the Manning brothers winning consecutive Super Bowls while earning MVP honors is one for the ages.
I admit that the game-winning drive and Manning's amazing scramble on third down to keep it alive are the stuff of football legend.
As a football fan, I should be happy that the NFL's champions are not tainted by a cheating scandal, as the Patriots might have been in the wake of "spygate."
Veteran linebacker Michael Strahan gets his championship. He's one of the nice guys. I should be happy for him like apparently everyone was for John Elway when he finally got his rings with the Denver Broncos. I guess I am.
For me, as a Dallas Cowboys' fan, it's difficult to celebrate. This is a division rival and the team that knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs. I've spent a lifetime hating the Giants. (Not as much as I hate the Redskins, and not even in the same universe with the Eagles).
So, I'll take a little time to let the emotions subside and I'm sure I'll be happy to have watched one of the most memorable Super Bowls ever.
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Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts
Monday, February 04, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
Super Bowl Tension
Super Bowl weekend is here, and so I must force myself to notice my daughter. I know this because she composed an essay years ago entitled "Why I Hate the Superbowl."
It reads, "My mom & dad yel so much and it hurts my ears. I don't understand it. My brother gets me in troble because my dad is trighing to listen. They don't pay Iny atinchin to me."
Fair Enough. Of course, now that she's 16, she probably won't even be around. In fact, I believe she is scheduled to work at the Italian Place during the game.
If she does grace us with her presence, I will be sure to pay atinchin to her. She always was a good speller.
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Update: Of course, it was a slow night at The Italian Place. She said they had about 12 customers in four hours. Finally, they surrendered to The Super Bowl and closed early. As I predicted, she did not watch the game with us. She had a better offer. She never pays Iny atinchin to me anymore. You reap what you sow, I guess. Sphere: Related Content
It reads, "My mom & dad yel so much and it hurts my ears. I don't understand it. My brother gets me in troble because my dad is trighing to listen. They don't pay Iny atinchin to me."
Fair Enough. Of course, now that she's 16, she probably won't even be around. In fact, I believe she is scheduled to work at the Italian Place during the game.
If she does grace us with her presence, I will be sure to pay atinchin to her. She always was a good speller.
-----------------------------------------------
Update: Of course, it was a slow night at The Italian Place. She said they had about 12 customers in four hours. Finally, they surrendered to The Super Bowl and closed early. As I predicted, she did not watch the game with us. She had a better offer. She never pays Iny atinchin to me anymore. You reap what you sow, I guess. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
A Tragic Super Bowl Story
"Twenty years after he was the youngest quarterback to ever start in a Super Bowl, (David) Woodley became the youngest Super Bowl quarterback to die." Wow. 
That tragic sentence comes for a story by Elizabeth Merrill on the front page of espn.com. David Woodley played quarterback at Shreveport's Byrd High School and later at LSU. He was the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII, at age 24. This made him, at the time, the youngest quarterback to start in the Super Bowl.
As a young local sportscaster, Woodley's ascent to the pinnacle of the pro football world was a huge thing for me. He was a couple of years older than me, but I knew his younger sister in high school. 
Obviously, we tried to follow his every move but he was a reluctant football star. He responded to local interview requests grugdingly. The longest conversation I ever had with him was in a post-game locker room interview following a game against the Dallas Cowboys. Apparently, he liked playing football but had no interest in the celebrity status that usually comes with it. Merrill's story does a nice job of expanding on that.
He always seemed to have a look of sadness in his eye. I think you can even see that in one or two of these photos.
The Shreveport NFL quarterback angle was enormous in the early 80's. This is especially true when you consider that after his days with the Dolphins, Woodley attempted to succeed another Shreveport guy, Terry Bradshaw, as quarterback of the Pittburgh Steelers. Bradshaw has four Super Bowl rings, a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a stellar career as a broadcaster. Woodley died at age 44, a liver transplant having been insufficient to help him survive years of alcohol abuse.
He came home to Shreveport but passed away in relative obscurity. Even though his story is tragic, it's good that at Super Bowl time his memory is kept alive.
This graphic is borrowed from espn.com
Photos are from MPS/WireImage.com, Manny Rubio/US Presswire, and Focus on Sport/Getty Images
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Another Shreveport quarterback to start in a Super Bowl is Stan Humphries, who is also profiled by espn.com.
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