What is this game they call the Super Bowl?

The date was January 15, 1978. I was only nine years old at the time and could not tell you what a third down conversion was, what it meant to blitz the quarterback or even what a quarterback was. I was about to sit and watch something called the Super Bowl on a day they called Super Sunday. As long as this game didn’t interfere with me watching Bugs Bunny or The Flintstones, then I was fine with watching it. Why would I miss this Super Bowl thing considering that the new coffee table sitting in the living room was filled with chips, pretzels and a lot of other stuff to eat and drink? I also had this magazine my Mother got from McDonald’s that listed a few of these Super Bowl games and I was looking through it only because it had some really cool color pictures in it.

My father sat in his favorite place in the living room, which was on the floor, with his back against the couch right next to the new coffee table that my parents had just purchased. I will tell you that they didn’t want to buy a new coffee table; they needed to buy the new coffee table due to a little accident that occurred, which did not involve me, thank goodness. You see, my father was a huge Giants fan back then and later in life after I became a football fan I found out that the Giants weren’t very good in the 1970s. Actually, the Giants were so bad in the 70’s that they never made the playoffs and this particular season (1977) they only managed five wins. So, getting back to the accident that occurred. One Sunday while my father was watching a Giants game, he got so angry that he slammed his fist down on the coffee table with such force that he split the table in two pieces. You see, my father was a big man who didn’t know his own strength and all he had to do was give me that look for me to fully understand I needed to behave. Anyway, to say that my Mother wasn’t happy with what had happened to the coffee table is an understatement. So, now the new coffee table sat where the old one had been. 

My father sat ready for the game along with one of my brothers and a few of his friends. They were about to cheer for this team dressed in orange shirts called the Denver Broncos. Who? From what my family was saying these Broncos were the team that was going to beat up on the other team that was playing. The Orange Crush is what I heard them all yell as they sat on the couch, but as I looked over at the new coffee table I saw none of that orange soda anywhere and I really wanted some. What were they talking about? I was a very confused, but I sat down on the floor in front of the television and started to watch. I will be honest and tell you that I had no idea what was happening during the game. Yes, my father was a lifelong Giants fan as well as my brothers, but I never had any interest in football up to that point. All I cared about in life were my Matchbox cars and cartoons. To take me away from those things was very difficult, but junk food and soda was a good start. 

As I sat there watching this game I noticed something that I thought was really cool. There were these bright and beautiful blue stars on the helmets of the other team. These stars were like bright lights that I couldn’t look away from. Now I started to pay a little more attention to what was going on. I asked who the other team was with the stars on their helmets and with a groan from the others watching they said “Dallas”. Hmmm. Dallas sounded nice, so I decided to stick around to see what these blue stars were all about. I really didn’t get any more information out of anyone and even though I was young I could sense that they were annoyed whenever I asked about this Dallas team. So I decided to just sit and watch and of course keep reaching for the chips and pretzels. One reason for the lack of information to my questions was because the game was on, which meant talking to the TV was more important than talking to me. The second reason was because there seemed to be an overwhelming hatred towards this Dallas team called the Cowboys. Why? Why so much hate? What did this team do to be hated so much? Now I was intrigued by the situation. Initially because my questions were being ignored, but mostly because the chips were being inhaled by these people crowded around the coffee table. I wanted very much for these guys with the blue stars on their helmets to do something good, whatever that was.

As the game was being played this Dallas team scored something called a touchdown. Not really sure what it was or what it meant, but from the moans and groans behind me, it told me that a touchdown was something good…for Dallas. There were no curse words from anyone because my father would never allow it and there was no slamming of fists on the coffee table because my mother would not allow it, for obvious reasons. 

OK, I was on to something now with this Super Bowl game. My father, brother and his friends hated when this Dallas team did something good. I could have joined in with them and cheered for this Denver team who had really ugly orange shirts on. But like I said before, being ignored didn’t sit well with me. I had questions and wanted answers, especially when it came to those guys with the blue stars on their helmets. So I made a decision to go against this crowd sitting in my living room as they continued to eat all the chips and pretzels. I became a pain in the butt nine year old and every time I heard moans and groans from those cheering for Denver, I would just turn around and smile at everyone. Almost as if I knew what was going on in the game. Of course I had no idea what was happening, but me smiling was getting the crowd angrier, which of course I liked very much. 

This Super Bowl game reached something called halftime and both teams left the field. Was the game over? If it was then the Dallas team with the nice blue stars on their helmets had 13 points and the Denver team with the ugly orange shirts had no points. I wasn’t sure if the game was over, but if it was I was more than happy to go back to playing with my Matchbox cars. I asked my father if the game was over and he said no in a grumpy unhappy voice and sure enough the teams started playing again soon after that.

I continued with my own little show of smiling every time I heard the moans and groans from the crowd behind me. As the game played on and the unhappy yelling started to increase, my smiles became larger because I knew Dallas must be doing well. I also found it funny that everyone was yelling at the television almost as if those guys playing the game could hear them. My father and my brother along with his friends were not happy as they talked about what a joke this Orange Crush was. Once again I looked over at the new coffee table for that orange soda that I really wanted, but I still didn’t see any. I guess I could have spoken up about the soda, but from the look on everyone’s faces I figured it wasn’t a good time to do so.

I found it amazing that I was doing something other than playing with my Matchbox cars or watching cartoons and I was actually having fun. I never would have imagined that happening even though I had no clue what was going on. Watching this Dallas team with the bright blue stars on their helmets was very addicting after a while. I kept looking through my McDonald’s magazine hoping to see a few pictures of players with stars on their helmets, while I continued to glance up at the television to see what was happening.

At one point there seemed to be a lot more people on the field and not all of them had uniforms on. Now what was happening? Then I looked behind me and my brother and his friends had finally removed themselves from my couch. The same couch that no one offered me to sit on in my own house, which was why I was on the floor. My father told me that the game was over, which I guess explained why all those people were now on the field. Then I noticed a man wearing a hat who was sitting on the shoulders of a few Dallas players. Wow, I thought to myself. How cool is it to be carried like that and who was this guy? This Dallas team must have done something pretty good considering all the attention they were getting. I also could not get out of my mind how nice those blue stars were and how shiny they were.

I had fun watching this game called the Super Bowl. I also had fun being a pain in the butt nine year old to those guys sitting behind me as they moaned and groaned in frustration as the Cowboys did something great, I think! Or was it because this Denver Broncos team did not do as well as my family had hoped for? They seemed so excited when the game first started just hours before. But now as everyone got up to leave the living room, all I heard was grumbling about how horrible Denver was and that the Orange Crush was a big joke. Well, it must have been a joke because once again I looked over at the new coffee table for the orange soda that everyone kept talking about, but I could never find. There was so much about football that I just didn’t understand.