Super Bowl memories

 

Here we are just a day away from the kickoff of Super Bowl LX (60) and once more I have no vested interest in the outcome.

I’m sure I’m not alone in that regard. It’s been 10 years since my favorite team played in the big game. I’m a big Denver Broncos fan and this year we came within an injured quarterback of returning to the Super Bowl. I’m also a big fan of the Houston Texans, and when Denver and Houston comprised half the teams competing for a chance the represent the American Football Conference (AFC) in the Super Bowl, I had high hopes one of them would make it.

Thanks to the New England Patriots both teams will be sitting on a couch watching the game on TV like the rest of us. It’s a place the Dallas Cowboys know really well.

Like the rest of America, I’m sick of seeing the Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs in the championship game. I felt that way about the Cowboys back in the ’90s but then so did much of the country.

Every football fan wants their favorite team to make it to the Super Bowl and win it. We long for our team to establish a dynasty but deplore it in other teams. If your team can’t be there most people opt to root for any new teams or a loveable underdog. Of the two teams playing tomorrow, the Seatle Seahawks have gone the longest since their last appearance 11 years ago, also against the Patriots. New England has gone back three times since then.

In the 60-year history of the Super Bowl, only four of the 32 teams have never gone. The Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns haven’t been there, but they have won NFL championships prior to the start of the Super Bowl in 1966. The other two, the Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, are among the newest teams in the NFL. It would be great to see these teams get their shot at glory rather than the usual suspects we’ve been stuck with for the last couple of decades (my Broncos excluded, of course).

It would even be nice to see teams with long Super Bowl droughts finally return to the big game, including the New York Jets (56 years), Minnesota Vikings (48 years) and the Miami Dolphins (40 years). I doubt we’ll see the Jets contending anytime soon, if ever, but you never know.

Traditionally Americans celebrate Super Bowl Sunday with more interest and gusto than your typical national holiday. I can honestly say I’ve never been invited to a President’s Day party. And don’t forget those warm, cozy family gatherings on Columbus Day. Super Bowl Sunday, however, is all about parties, food, drink, dressing up in your favorite team’s gear and watching pre-game programming that starts the week before the game.

Sandy usually puts together a pretty good spread of food for game day, whether we’re hosting a party or going to one. Sometimes it’s just us, and we eat well, probably better than we do at Thanksgiving! This year I won’t be crunching nachos, scarfing burgers or tipping back a cold one. I recently had oral surgery, and all that good stuff is still prohibited. Instead, I’ll be enjoying even more lime Jello, vanilla pudding, and plain Greek yogurt – yum!

When we were living in the Denver area, I remember going to church on the Sundays when Super Bowls XXXII (32) and XXXIII (33) were played. Everyone was so decked out in Broncos gear (myself included) that you’d think we were at Mile High Stadium, not church. It made me wonder who we were really worshiping those days.

In 2017, Houston hosted Super Bowl LI (51) between the Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. I didn’t get to attend the game, but I was credentialed to cover the “week of” activities. Sandy was a volunteer and worked at some of the venues. We had a great time with that game. I was pulling for the Falcons but was amazed at the comeback the Patriots made.

Since that game I really haven’t cared who won. That brings me back to tomorrow’s game. I’m sick of seeing the Patriots and I’m still miffed that they beat my two favorite teams to get there. I can’t bring myself to root for any team that beat the Broncos in the Super Bowl, so that excludes the Seahawks. Maybe it’s not too late to join the “I’m just here to watch the commercials” bandwagon.