AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2006 > January > 31 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USAs far as I’m concerned, XL is Detroit’s first
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
OK, let’s get some geography straight here. The first Super Bowl “played in Detroit” actually wasn’t. It was played in Pontiac, and we’ll get around to more on that.
The Detroit Pistons actually live in Auburn Hills, and so does the NBA championship. Now, the Tigers and Red Wings have always belonged to Detroit, far as I know. But this business of blaming the 1982 Super Bowl on Detroit is not fair.
It was Pontiac! That’s 25 miles from Detroit. Darn few people who went to Super Bowl XVI ever got to Detroit, unless tunneling through on the way to Windsor, where they could do a lot of things they couldn’t do in Detroit. The Silverdome seemed to be a safe place to play a game, but the Pontiac weather was just right for an Iditarod. Nobody expected a blizzard.
It struck at the most inopportune time, when the crowd was trying to get there. I’d caught an early bus and was safely inside, but the first President Bush’s motorcade barely made it through.
Then, there was the matter of getting back to where you’d come from. The NFL took a calculated risk, a payback to General Motors, one of its biggest advertisers.
This time, it’s step No. 2 in the 21st century transfusion of old downtown, which was a pretty nice place. Baseball’s All-Star Game was first, and I’m just not sure it was that uplifting. Most of us were housed in Dearborn, as we were for Super Bowl XVI, and what we saw of downtown was out of bus windows, and it wasn’t pretty.
This is a Super Bowl I couldn’t miss. Bill Ford has built a nice game room downtown and put the family name on it, though I’m not sure Ford Motor Company can afford it.
There’s another item: My wife was born in Detroit, Woman’s Hospital, on this very same February date. That means I’m deeply indebted to this place. She won’t be there. Super Bowls aren’t one of her favorite events, especially at these prices.
She once made a deal: “If I don’t go, do I get the price of the ticket?” It was only $375 then; $700 deals I don’t make. She could have brought a friend in 1982. Tickets were only $40, and danged if the pleasure has increased by that much. I know of no sports event I’d pay $700 to see, though I might make allowances for the Black Sox World Series of 1919.
This will be my 39th of the 40 Super Bowls. (Actually, it wasn’t called “Super Bowl” until the second game, so I guess you could say I’ve been to all the Super Bowls.)
I was turned down for the first game, for our publisher didn’t think it was worth the cost of a trip to Los Angeles. Five writers have made them all, and much is made of their presence each year. But I can tell you this: Neither one of them picked the Jets to beat the Colts in No. 3. There were six of us, and our “feat” is enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. I’ll take that, but unfortunately, I didn’t bet it.
So I missed Media Day, when all the questions that will be asked the rest of the week are asked for the first time. In truth, I’ve never been to one, but I did watch portions of this one on ESPN. I learned little, if anything. Ye gods, they were even reproducing questions that had been asked when Jim Plunkett played. I feel sort of like Forrest Gump here, when he said, “That’s all I got to say about that.”
I will say this, that this is the perfect setting for the two teams that made it to No. XL. (First time I ever realized that “L” stood for 50.) Detroit is an industrial town, “Motor City” in fantasy, though more motors are being turned out in Japan. Pittsburgh is an industrial city, and I never saw another coach who looks as much like a shop foreman as jut-jawed Bill Cowher. And what other team has a player known as “The Bus” ?
Seattle, that’s where planes come from and where ships are built, so the two cities have much in common. Most of all, these are teams without kooks. Or, if they’re there, they haven’t shown themselves. But, of course, they still have until Sunday.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Furman Bisher
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By BirdDawg1980
January 31, 2006 10:31 PM | Link to this
Furman, ignore this village idiot, Matthew, who assumes others’ identities for his own unfunny amusement.
A wonderful article, and to be expected from Atlanta’s best and most respected journalist. I don’t care how many television programs Moore is on, he’s an embarrasment, and you are the gold standard.
Have fun in Detroit, and enjoy what should be a wonderful game!
By JAY
February 1, 2006 01:30 AM | Link to this
MATTHEW YOU ARE A BIG TIME IDIOT THINKING THAT IF YOU DONT WIN A SUPER BOWL YOU CANT MAKE THE HALL OF FAME!! IT WAS IT CLAUDE HUMPHREY OR TOMMY NOBIS FAULT THAT THEY HAD A VERY SORRY SUPPORTING CAST!! EVERY PLAYER CANT WIN A SUPER BOWL ASK BARRY SANDERS, CARL ELLER,GALE SAYERS,LEE ROY SELMON, JAMES LOFTON ALL THESE PLAYERS HAVE SOME THING IN COMMON NEVER WON THE BIG PRIZE!! THEY ALL MADE THE HALL OF FAME!!YOU CAN STILL MAKE THE HALL OF FAME WITH OUT A SUPER BOWL!!CLAUDE HUMPHREY MADE THE ALL DECADE 70S TEAM FIRST TEAM HE WAS THE BEST OTHER THAN DEACON JONES DEFENSIVE END!! IT LOOK LIKE YOU NEED TO BE CLEANING SOME WINDOWS AND WIPEING FLOORS AT LEAST CLAUDE MADE IT TO THE PROS YOU CANT MAKE THAT CLAIM YOU IDIOT!!
By brewerfaninATL
February 1, 2006 07:21 AM | Link to this
BirdDawg: Amen brother! Of course, it will probably be just a matter of time before his meds. wear off and he’s back to being…well, himself. Oh well, we can wish can’t we?!
Anyways, yeah, I’m looking forward to an awesome game…may the best team win!
By Ala Jim
February 1, 2006 11:21 AM | Link to this
Furman, did you make that 1919 World Series? Just kidding, just kidding.
By Matthew
February 1, 2006 11:26 AM | Link to this
Good article Mr. Bisher. I always enjoy reading articles like this written by a great and seasoned journalist as yourself. Your comparisons and contrasts between the cities of Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Detroit were dead on accurate; kind of like my shooting scores when I was a Marine before I hurt my knees.
By Ala Jim
February 1, 2006 11:33 AM | Link to this
I drove through Detroit once on the way to Canada. I saw what you saw from the bus window. Also the customs people at Detroit were dictatorial and the Canadian ones were very nice.
By brewerfaninATL
February 1, 2006 11:38 AM | Link to this
Matthew, I didn’t know scattershot meant dead on accurate.
By tim
February 1, 2006 02:52 PM | Link to this
Aw I’m being picky. The Red Wings played their first two seasons in Windsor(across the river) waiting for the Olympia to be built.Comes to that, The Pistons started in Fort Wayne but have been the Detroit Pistons since joining the N B A .
By Mike
February 1, 2006 07:08 PM | Link to this
Matthew, Buddy I am on to. In your reply to Mr. Moore’s article you claimed you hurt your knees when you were in the 7th or 8th grade and now in this post you claim you hurt your knees when you were a Marine. ROLLMMFAO. They have a name for people lke you it is called a “PATHOLOGICAL LIAR”. You sucked as an athlete and you suck as a liar. You are a joke and a disgrace to someone representing whatever it is you claim to represent.