Super Bowls. We’re now one shy of half a hundred.
The first is still vividly fresh. It involved the beloved Chiefs of hometown Kansas City in 1967. As an eight-year-old boy, I cried after Green Bay handily beat my heroes. Three years later the Chiefs returned and beat the Minnesota Vikings. I cried again. Happy tears.
As a sportscaster for KCNC-TV in Denver, this knucklehead covered three Super Bowls. The Broncos against San Francisco, Green Bay and Atlanta respectively. The year against the Bret Favre-led Packers? I spent a week in Green Bay before the game. Northeastern Wisconsin in mid January? Cold, dark and boozy. The folks of Green Bay can drink. As a journalist it’s important to immerse in the story. Hey, just doing my job.
What stands out from Super Bowl memories as an impressionable youngster, embedded sportscaster or casual observer is a lesson learned in New Orleans. Super Bowl XXIV. Heavily-favored San Francisco against Denver. Back then, KCNC-TV was “Home of the Broncos.”
Our station hosted Broncos head coach Dan Reeves’ television show. We’re preparing for a live “Super Bowl Edition.”. It was the day of the show, I had taken a break from duties and was devouring delicious red beans and rice at a popular Bourbon Street restaurant. When what to wandering eyes would appear, sitting nearby? The legendary Mike Ditka, a good friend of Reeves.
For good reason ( the Joe Montana-led 49ers were powerful) Reeves had been tighter than a banjo string. An idea appeared: “Reeves is uptight, Ditka’s a good buddy, invite the personable Chicago icon onto the show to help loosen Reeves up a bit.” Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I sprang from my seat, marched over to Ditka’s table, introduced myself and offered, “Hey, wanna come on Dan’s show tonight?”
I had not checked with Reeves, our show producer or anybody else. Intuition, like a magnet, had pulled me to Ditka’s table. After a brief look of “Who in the heck is this guy?” the current ESPN commentator responded. “Sure.”
The story gets better. Later that evening, I’m waiting for Ditka to emerge from his hotel elevator. Surprise. He walks out with fellow former Chicago Bear Dick Butkus, at the time the star of those funny Miller Light commercials. The Hall of Fame linebacker was carrying a case of the beer. Two for the price of one!
It was a fabulous show. The two knuckleheads loosened up Reeves on the eve of a monumental shellacking. It has remained a powerful lesson to an important fact: Sometimes in life, you just gotta toss fear aside and allow wonderment to win.
A hunch during lunch produced a great coup. One of the best of a long and memorable sportscasting career. Here’s the question. Where, as Emerson proclaimed, is that “Iron string within” vibrating for you? Got a hunch? Act on it.
Who knows, it might spawn a personal victory more joyful than winning the Super Bowl!
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