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February 6, 2007

 

What was so super about Super Sunday? Oh, it was there in black and white

 

By Ted Fleming, TBSN

 

Tony Dungy kept his team in Indy for one additional day.

 

The Football Writers Association of America protested.

 

What? Like someone actually had a DIFFERENT question for the head coach about the racial impact on the game?

 

Let me see if I have this right. Dungy and Lovie Smith are both black. Whatever team won, either would have held up the Lombardi Trophy. History would have been made. Regardless. So what did I miss here?

 

Coke and Doritos also did commercials to celebrate the inevitable, although I thought the chip company was a little gratuitous in their presentation.

 

Martin Luther King would have been beaming at the accomplishment but at the same time spinning in his grave at all the non-African Americans asking these stupid questions.

 

I kept waiting for someone to ask Peyton Manning what if feels like to be a white quarterback or better yet, reverse the roles and ask the media how much they knew about Black History Month.

 

Remember one thing. Both Dungy and Smith are class acts and top notch coaches who just happen to be black. Not the other way around.

 

A story is a story but this one continued to beat the horse long after it died.

 

*************

 

For one of the top-10 newspapers in the country, the St. Petersburg Times sports department went way over the top the Monday of Media Week dedicating a majority of that front page about the disparity in the number of black players and black coaches in the league.

 

Must have been a slow news day.

 

Why is this such an issue? Last year the number of players were virtually the same but the subject was never broached. Neither was it the year before that, and the year before that ......

 

Now it is relevant?

 

According to the graphic, 70% of NFL players are of color. Only six hold the position of head coach. Are we then to believe that the Rooney Rule should now mandate that teams hire based on numbers rather than qualifications?

 

One thing the Rooney Rule did was force owners to interview at least one minority when the position opens up. You can't be hired until you get the foot in the door. It is up to the individual at that point.

 

In fact Rooney not only interviewed a minority, he hired one.

 

Fans could care less about the color of one's skin

 

*************

 

Snickers joins a long list (one) of commercials that were shown just once but unlike the Apple ad way back when which was designed that way, this one was "pulled" by the Mars Incorporated when it crossed the invisible line of good taste.

 

When spots try humor to sell their product, fine. There were a number of knee slappers along the way. But they are not supposed to offend, intended or otherwise.

 

The commercial showed two so-called macho auto mechanics chewing on a Snickers bar from each end, a la the spaghetti strand out of the Disney's Lady and the Tramp, when they appear to kiss. After realizing this, each decided to do something manly and proceeded to rip chunks of hair off their chest while screaming in pain.

 

In a Clue movie sort of inspirational idea, Mars had alternate endings but the "kiss" was the focal point regardless.

 

The Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) complained to the maker of Snickers and Mars, Inc. pulled the ad.

 

Smart.

 

Now while the candy maker could have dragged this on getting as much free publicity as possible, you have to tip your cap to them for reacting in a positive way thereby ending any future controversy.

 

*************

 

Did anyone do the same as me and check the calendar to see if this was the political season instead of the football season? Maybe it was Rex Grossman demanding equal time during breaks because there was nary a commercial by the highly visible Peyton Manning during the game.

 

*************

 

Speaking of Grossman, his rather gross performance in Miami must have made Mother Nature so mad that she tried to keep him from returning to Chicago by throwing a storm that was more accurate than some of the quarterback's attempts Sunday.

 

*************

 

There is no truth to the rumor that Steve Bartman and Rex Grossman are related, although, word has it the Bears are set to invite the Cubs' fan to camp next July to compete for the QB spot because he only has to throw, not catch.

 

*************

 

Don't you love all the know-it-alls who say that they had no problem with Manning being named Super Bowl MVP because all the other players just wanted to win?

 

I wonder if Dominic Rhodes (113 yards rushing, first triple digit game since 2001) or Joseph Addai (77 rushing, a team leading ten receptions which was twice as many as Marvin Harrison) would agree.

 

*************

 

Lisa Nowak, the future former astro-nut, was rumored to have made one a stop on her virtual drive-through dash from Houston to Florida when she swung by Miami to deliver a partially used box of Depends to Rex Grossman minutes after the final gun - not the pellet shooter she was bagged with - of the Super Bowl before heading up to the Orlando airport looking for that "other" fly-girl (must have been a bad skit out of the Wayans family FOX comedy, In Living Color).

 

Wonder if Nowak's new cell mate will think she's fly? Better learn how to dance girl. Quick.

 

On a separate note, media members wondered why Grossman looked a tad heavier after the game at his post-game press conference than he was before it.

 

When it was over he was seen on his cell phone, probably talking to the Florida Gators athletic director to see if he had any eligibility left.

 

*************

 

Just what the heck was the Heart Association thinking when it spent $2.6 million of their donations for that beat-down ad? That doesn't even factor in the cost of making it.

 

Wonder how many people could still be alive if that money had have been used in other ways?

 

*************

 

FOX is still the sports leader when it comes to live events, however, the coverage of this year's Super Bowl by CBS was top notch, with one exception - the cameras.

 

The sky-cam and many of their "in the weather" lenses were affected by the rain and what fans saw appeared to be blurs or smudges on their screens.

 

If networks can figure out how to keep a lens clean on a NASCAR roof cameras with self-cleaners, why can't the same technology be used for bad weather football games?

 

*************

 

With the Pro Bowl still left to be played, spring training cannot get here fast enough.

 

 

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