FAKE RONJAN!!Super Bowl 50: The One I'll Miss
55-10. 20-19. 52-17. 49-26. 31-24. 23-16. 17-14. No, these aren’t coordinates or a solution to some crazy formula. They’re scores of football games that will forever be etched in my mind, taking up valuable brain space that I sorely need these days.
It’s Super Bowl Sunday today, and I can’t help but feel nostalgic about how much this day used to define my life. I officially quit the NFL in October of 2013, and it’s gone quite well: my newly freed-up Sundays have become bonding time with my two-year-old son, and I haven’t seen any football since … with two exceptions. As part of keeping up with American pop culture, I watched Super Bowl XLVIII and Super Bowl XLIX.
Is that a cop-out? Yes, without question. And that ends today. Today’s Super Bowl is the first one that I will miss since January 1989.
We’ve come a long way since then. In that era, the Super Bowl was more of a joke than anything, with the dominant NFC running up video game scores against the hapless AFC teams. During one particularly ridiculous stretch from 1987 to 1996, four NFC teams (Giants, Redskins, 49ers, and Cowboys) combined to win ten straight Super Bowls.
The first title game I saw was Super Bowl XXIV, a contest between the San Francisco 49ers and my then-hometown Denver Broncos. The game was billed as the ultimate match between two future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks, but it ended up being the biggest mismatch in Super Bowl history, with the 49ers winning 55-10. 49ers quarterback Joe Montana put up one of the greatest shows in NFL history, while Broncos QB John Elway scored the Broncos’ only touchdown after they had fallen behind by 38 points. The Simpsons hilariously referenced this a few years later, characterizing the Broncos as the ultimate big-game bunglers.
Both quarterback icons from that game are connected to today’s contest: John Elway is now the General Manager of the Denver Broncos, and Joe Montana will handle the pre-game coin toss in Santa Clara. While Elway has stayed in the league since retiring in 1999, Montana has largely avoided the limelight, and perhaps for good reason. He mentioned this week that his body has basically broken down.
“Most of us leave this game with things that linger”, Montana told USA Today. And just as I’m about to feel like I’m missing out on something big by skipping the Super Bowl, I am snapped back to the cold reality of why I left the league in the first place. I am simply not comfortable with a sport that leaves its players - stars and scrubs alike - in this state after they retire, regardless of how much money they make.
Former Raiders star and Super Bowl champion Ken Stabler was recently diagnosed as the 90th observed case of CTE out of 94 deceased NFL players evaluated. It sure seems like football causes brain damage and ultimately kills.
All that said, I can’t take away the importance that the Super Bowl has had on my life.
The Denver Broncos’ redemption in Super Bowl XXXII remains my favorite game in any sport, as they finally beat Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre and the defending champion Green Bay Packers. The following season, the Denver Broncos were in the Super Bowl again, and I wrote a poem for English class hyping myself up for it. I’ll close by sharing this ridiculousness with the world.
All of you doing the Dirty Bird
Watch out for the Bronco herd
Davis runs for his TD's
Broncos beat the Birds with ease
Elway throws to Smith and Mac
All while not taking a sack
O-line does its job -- protect
Shannon doesn't get Bird-pecked
Griffith -- he's the human plow
Elam's kicks make you say "Wow"
Rouen's punts -- they really hang
Romo, John, and Glenn tackle in gang
D-line makes Chandler's life hell
The Run-D puts Jamal in a cell
Braxton and Crockett old and wise
Gordon is good -- just one of the guys
Atwater really hits 'em hard
Wonder how many fumbles will be jarred
Mike Shanahan has a plan
That's why in Denver he's the man
Everyone else also kicks ass
Whether the Broncos run or pass
So here's your Super forecast today
Broncos crush Falcons and yell out "neigh"
For everyone watching tonight’s game, enjoy it! Good luck to both teams, and I hope no one gets seriously hurt.
-rj