By 6:30 Sunday night, just over an hour after kickoff, CBS analyst John Madden pretty much summed up Super Bowl XXVI: ”The Redskins have taken this game over.”
And no matter what the Bills-and in their own way, CBS-did, that media monster of a National Football League Championship was again a Super Bore.
Until the Bills put on their third-quarter flurry, only the occasional new commercial-Nike`s ”Hare Jordan,” Diet Pepsi`s updated Ray Charles spot- kept up interest.
Perhaps Harry Connick Jr. set the tone with his dirgelike rendition of the national anthem. Not long after the kickoff, Madden hinted at the outcome: ”Nobody makes adjustments as quickly as the Redskins.”
And nobody could keep attention focused on a one-sided contest as well as Madden. But Sunday`s telecast, partly because of Madden`s unerring honesty, lost its luster early.
Not even an instant-replay reversal of an Art Monk TD catch (Pat Summerall called it a TD; Madden later said it was the first such reversal in a Super Bowl) could save viewers from hitting that remote-control button.
As the Redskins` offense exploded in the second quarter, Madden had figured out the outcome: ”Washington`s got them (the Bills) on the run now.” The big beneficiary had to be Fox Network`s ”In Living Color” special halftime show. Who needed more analysis from CBS` Dan Fouts and Terry Bradshaw of the rout when there was time to catch ”Homeboy Shopping Network” and
”Men on Football?”
”You don`t want to press and do stupid things,” said Madden of the Bills. CBS producer Bob Stenner also took that advice in the third quarter, keeping the gimmicks, such as the mini-blimp shots, to a minimum. There were, however, more and more crowd shots (celebrities, bored fans) as the telecast rolled to a conclusion.
But Stenner saved the best replay for the end-Bills quarterback Jim Kelly patting Redskins defensive end Fred Stokes on the helmet as they both rolled on the ground.
Super Sunday actually began Saturday morning with something called
”Athletes in Action Super Bowl Breakfast,” honoring the Eagles` Reggie White, on WCFC-Ch. 38.
By Sunday, about every cable network worth its satellite dish had a Super Bowl, or anti-Super Bowl, theme, whether it was MTV`s ”Super Bowl Tailgate Party” or Comedy Channel`s ”Humor with a U.”
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Officially, CBS` Super Sunday started with . . . a basketball game. Play-by-play man Jim Nantz, wind ruffling his hair, tried to get into the cold-weather mood of the day by opening the telecast on the roof of the Brendan Byrne Arena. A silly piece of business.
Definitely not silly was Greg Garber`s sobering report on ESPN`s ”NFL GameDay” that pro players live 12 years less than the average male. Not even the ”I`d do it again” comments by ESPN analysts Tom Jackson and Joe Theismann could negate Garber`s piece.
Finally, after a 90-minute plug with little news for the Winter Olympics, CBS started the world`s longest pregame show, ”Super Bowl Today.”
How do you fill 2 1/2 hours? With traffic reports and celebrity interviews, with more plugs for the Winter Olympics and more features on the great, but cold, outdoors.
Little hard news (Pat O`Brien`s report on the pregame gag order of Bills coach Marv Levy), just a hint of controversy (Jim Gray`s report of protests by native Americans over Indian sports nicknames).
Mostly it was an opportunity to show off the network`s new sports graphics, which looked like little sticky labels that bear a faint resemblance to those used by NBC, and to demonstrate CBS can be a good sport, using clips from ”The Simpsons” even though Fox was counterprogramming the halftime show.
The best pregame bit came from-who else?-Madden, who said, ”We always knew when it was time to play because (Raiders receiver) Fred Biletnikoff would throw up.” The worst bit was yet another tiresome ”Da Bears” skit.
All of which led to some yawns by the time the game telecast began. And it wasn`t long before the game itself was one big yawn.
Considering CBS` track record on Super Bowls-the previous two ended in scores of 39-20 (Giants, 1987) and 55-10 (49ers, 1990)-maybe the network should pass on bidding for the 1994 game.
– Broadcasters Ken Harrelson and Tom Paciorek will warm up for the upcoming White Sox season by co-hosting the annual ”SportsChannel Sports Awards” show at 9 p.m. Feb. 10, live from the Stouffer Riviere Hotel. The dinner benefits the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation`s Campaign for Healthier Babies. . . . It`s not official, but Dan Azzaro is now permanent host of WLS Radio`s
”Fan Talk,” weekends at 8 p.m.
– ESPN continues coverage of the Mike Tyson trial this week. Charley Steiner had an exclusive interview with the ex-heavyweight champion on Sunday night`s ”SportsCenter.” Said Steiner: ”I felt he was very nervous. One thing about Mike Tyson-whenever he`s been in disagreement, he`s been able to settle it with his fists. This is the first time his fists won`t provide any answers.”
– Weekend wanderings: Video transmission caused SportsChannel problems in the third period of Saturday`s Blackhawks game. The same woes plagued ABC`s coverage Saturday of the Senior Skins Game. . . . Bulls broadcaster Wayne Larrivee stumbled over an introduction of WGN-Ch. 9 colleague Roseanne Tellez. . . . And silliest question goes back to the Super Bowl postgame show when CBS` Pat O`Brien asked defeated Bills coach Marv Levy, ”What does this do to your confidence level?”