Nbc Guys Talked Good Game
NBC studio analyst Joe Gibbs had laryngitis. Game hosts Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire and Phil Simms had Super Bowlitis.
It happens every year.
The Super Bowl announcers feel compelled to talk and talk and talk. Viewers are bombarded by talk and information.
When Enberg mentioned Emmitt Smith’s 23-yard gain early in the first quarter, Enberg said it was his longest gain on grass this year. Viewers knew then NBC’s researchers had done their jobs.
Enberg, Maguire and Simms are easy on the ear, and they did an “A” quality job on the Dallas Cowboys’ 27-17 victory over Pittsburgh in Tempe, Ariz. However, as in every Super Bowl telecast, viewers after a while were yearning for some quiet time.
Late in the game, the Steelers were threatening to knock the Cowboys out of their limos. Then, cornerback Larry Brown, the game’s most valuable player, intercepted his second Neil O’Donnell pass, leading to the clinching touchdown. Both Simms and Maguire said the Steelers let the AFC’s first chance for a Super Bowl conquest in 12 years slip away.
Working their first Super Bowls, Simms and Maguire were loose and insightful.
Simms, who helped guide the New York Giants to two Super Bowl titles, provided a good opening anecdote. He said he was nervous in his first Super Bowl, but relaxed when he noticed players on both teams were hyperventilating.
Former players usually hesitate to criticize current players. Rarely do ex-quarterbacks violate their membership in the QBs Club. But after Brown’s first interception, Simms watched the replay and said O’Donnell “panics in the pocket. He thinks he’s going to get hit.”
Simms’ major flaw was saying “good job” and “exceptional job” too often.
Maguire didn’t disappoint those expecting strong commentary. In the first half, he said the way to beat Deion Sanders was on the inside. That’s exactly what the Steelers did on their first TD, a 6-yard O’Donnell to Yancey Thigpen pass.
Maguire also said Emmitt Smith was down before he put the football across the goal line on his first touchdown.
In the third quarter, Maguire, a former punter, said it was “dumb” for Pittsburgh punter Rohn Stark to kick into the end zone rather than out of bounds deep in Dallas territory.
Later, Maguire said Stark and Dallas punter John Jett should be paid “a quarter” for their work.
As Pittsburgh fell behind, Maguire couldn’t understand why the Steelers didn’t open up their offense. Finally, he asked if the Steelers took their game plan from the Kansas City Chiefs, upset by Indianapolis, 10-7, in the AFC semifinal.
Pregame all football
The pregame show was strictly football: no singers or comedians.
Troy Aikman summed up his opinion of Cowboys coach Barry Switzer in three words. Asked by Cris Collinsworth if Switzer is a good coach, Aikman replied, “I don’t know.” Aikman has played for Switzer for two years.
The most touching feature was on Joe Gilliam, who won two Super Bowl rings as a backup quarterback with the Steelers in the 1970s. He began the 1974 season as the Steelers’ starting quarterback after Terry Bradshaw refused to cross the picket line during the NFL’s players strike. He led the Steelers to a 4-1-1 record before being replaced by Bradshaw.
Gilliam, 45, who has a history of drug abuse, is now homeless in his hometown of Nashville, Tenn.
Gilliam said Steelers coach Chuck Noll told him he would “fun his way out of the league.” Said Gilliam: “He was right.”
And the winners are …
Best Super Bowl commercials:
Pepsi: the dreaming dog; Deion Sanders and the Roadrunner; and the Coca-Cola delivery man who tries to sneak a Pepsi from the adjacent display case.
Doritos: the beavers building a log cabin; the school lunchroom worker sculpting world landmarks from mashed potatoes; and the masseuse.
Bud Ice and Light: actor Charlton Heston refusing to give his Bud Light to the “I Love You, Man” guy, and the grateful penguin walking off with the last Bud Ice.
Best single-entry commercials:
The museum dinosaur skeleton for McDonald’s fries; Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, with Reggie White and defensive pals, for Tylenol; and “roper” Jack Palance in the Ford truck segment.