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 JEN PETRICK ...Another TV attraction that Sunday |
Some thoughts on a Super Sunday for TV Sports
of TheColumnists.com
Now that was a Super Sunday.
And not just because of the Super Bowl.
Yes, the NFL title game had all the zip of a Sean Connery Bond flick, complete with The Catch.
But the TV day starred much more. It sported replays of the Aussie Open tennis finals. And pro bowling doubles.
Bowling what? Before you click off, consider that this portion of Supe Sun starred THE knockout athlete of them all. If you call bowling a sport. She’s Jen Petrick, who filled my screen during breaks of the Steeler-Cardinal Bowl.
When Petrick slid to the line at the PBA’s Mixed Doubles Championship in Reno, you weren’t watching her grip. You were catching her face--the highest rated since Anna Kournikova put the ten in tennis.
Speaking of hard courts, Serena Williams and Rafa Nadal conquered the first Grand Slam of the year. Since ESPN was replaying their Aussie finals during NBC’s Super Bowl, you had another reason to switch channels during the breaks.
And were there ever tons of them. Timeouts. Marathon ads. Endless reviews. A halftime longer than “Lawrence of Arabia.” The only way the NFL could keep your attention was with a classic.
Did I mention it was?
Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23--with Santonio Holmes making The Catch, bettering Dwight Clark’s winner for Frisco in the 1981 season’s NFC title game. Holmes’ heroics came with 35 seconds left in the SUPER BOWL. As he stretched like an alley-oop NBAer. And kept both cleats from teetering out of the end zone.
So forget Clark. Give the coolest Holmes since Sherlock his No. 1 for all-time receptions. And Ben Roethlisberger kudos for a pass that lasered over three Cardinals for a touchdown. And James Harrison huzzahs for a 100-yard charge that was the top feat by that surname since George at the Concert for Bangladesh.
Holmes, Roethlisberger, Harrison. Three Steelers with no margin for error. Three mettle moments.
How to rate such a super final? Top 10
for sure:
Jets-Colts 1969.
Giants-Pats 2008
STEELERS-CARDS 2009.
Rams-Titans 2000.
49ers-Bengals 1982.
Pats-Panthers 2004.
49ers-Bengals 1989.
Giants-Bills 1991.
Pats-Rams 2002.
Steelers-Cowboys 1976.
All I know is while Pittsburgh bulked up on a record sixth Super Bowl triumph, I filled up on chili, dogs and chips. And devoured enough sports to make my buy of a 52-inch TV worth it.
UnderCards. How shocking was Arizona’s arrival in the Super Bowl? As much as the Tampa Bay Rays’ rise to last year’s World Series. Could’ve given the 1969 Mets a run for all-time stunning team. Only the Amazins won it all.
Revelry. For Rafa Nadal vs. Roger Federer--a rivalry for the ages. Reminds me of golf’s Nicklaus-Trevino, in that cool Fed has serious trouble with hot Nadal. In this Aussie Open tennis tilt, the Spaniard won a five-setter almost as sizzling as last summer’s Wimbledon wonder. Now suddenly Nadal owns six Grand Slam trophies to Fed’s 13. At just 22, Nadal will stand as the grandest Slam winner of them all when he’s done.
Remorse. For the review in football. Takes longer than a John Madden analysis. And ruins the flow of the game. Touchdown? Not so fast; we have to see 18 angles on ball-hands-knees-grass. I say do it like tennis. One clear computerized shot of the play. End of debate. And the fans love it.
Dopey. The whole afternoon, the ESPN scroll mentioned Michael Phelps’ bong shot. Reason No. 6,546 to legalize drugs.
Famous. Kurt Warner could’ve punched his Hall of Fame ticket with his second NFL title. He’ll get in anyway. His comeback in the fourth quarter means he had a hand in three of the closest Bowls in history.
Tough. Serena Williams should play for Pittsburgh. She’s simply the steeliest of athletes. ESPN’s replay of her Aussie final showed a linebacker-like player pounding her Russian victim in the Melbourne heat. Which gave Williams her 10th Grand Slam title--a few years after naysayers like me said she was finished. Not many have guts like Serena. She might be close to fat--traditionally built, as author Alexander McCall Smith would write--but she’s also a heavyweight who can take a punch. Down 5-2? That’s Serena’s cue to fight back. And you won’t see her crying about it a la Federer.
When Serena clinched her Aussie title, she high-fived family and friends in the stands. The sign read GE Money.
That’s what she is. Just like the Steelers.
©2009 by Bucky Fox.This column first posted Feb. 9, 2009.
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