Biggest glutton for Super Bowl punishment in Chicago had to be Tampa Bay coach Sam Wyche, who left Florida’s 72-degree weather to be here Sunday for the Little City benefit party in McCormick Place. In addition to starting the day by saying Buffalo was “perfectly poised” to win, Wyche played against hundreds of partygoers hooked into Interactive Network’s computer game that allowed viewers to match wits (?) with Jimmy Johnson and Marv Levy. In national competition, Wyche finished “in the middle of the pack,” according to a network spokesman.
“Just what I need,” said Wyche, “50,000 second-guessers. Actually, this isn’t as difficult as standing on the sideline, calling plays, and getting booed.” His highlight had to be Buffalo’s drive to its only TD late in the first half. He was right on the button with every play until Thurman Thomas ran it over for six points. Sam called a pass. “They’d been running on first down most of the way, so my instinct was they’d change. The computer really kept me in the game. I’ve had some players that ought to try it.”
Why didn’t Wyche, who has been in the Super Bowl as a player, position coach, and head coach, go to the game, which wasn’t that far from Tampa? “I went once before to oversee a Punt, Pass & Kick competition and I was miserable. I told myself I’d never go again unless I was a participant.”
P.S.: Illinois State Treasurer candidate Nancy Drew Sheahan, who attended the Little City function, added new meaning to the expression “political correctness” with her pre-Super Bowl prediction. “I’m picking Buffalo,” she said, “because the city’s more like Chicago.”
Say it ain’t so: Twenty-five years hasn’t dimmed Joe Namath’s confidence. Before making the ceremonial coin flip, Broadway Joe predicted Buffalo would win 38-30. Did he guarantee it-like he did the Jets’ victory over Baltimore in Super Bowl III? “If I had a hand in it, I might.”
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Getting defensive: Butch Davis, who replaced Dave Wannstedt as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, was a most happy fella after Dallas’ victory. A shaky start at the beginning of the season had everyone looking closely and making comparisons. Said Davis: “Any pressure was probably more self-imposed as opposed to coming from Jimmy (Johnson) or the players. I felt very confident and comfortable because basically we had the same players from last year.” Hmmmm. Sounds an awful lot like Vince Tobin replacing Buddy Ryan with the Bears-and we know how that turned out.
Stepping stones: Everyone has got Cowboys offensive coordinator Norv Turner taking the Redskins’ head job this week. Maybe there was more than one assistant coach “rehearsing” Sunday. Buffalo defensive coordinator Walt Corey was on Phoenix’s short list before kickoff. Will the loss hurt Corey’s chances? Maybe not. Former Bills offensive coordinator Ted Marchibroda got the Colts’ job following an earlier Buffalo defeat in the Super Bowl.
Local angles 1: Presumably, Illinois football coach Lou Tepper watched the Super Bowl on his TV set. Meanwhile, the person he fired as offensive coordinator a year ago had a closer view. Tom Beck, let go by Tepper in large part because Beck wanted to bench QB Jason Verduzco in favor of John Johnson, was in Atlanta as a guest of the Bills. After Beck left the Illini, Buffalo hired him as a scout.
Local angles 2: From Illinois State’s Hancock Stadium to the Super Bowl. Chuck Dickerson, who quit ISU as an assistant football coach this month to become a radio sports talk-show host in Buffalo, set up shop for WGR-AM in Atlanta-much to the irritation of Levy. See, Dickerson was a chatty assistant coach for the Bills who got fired shortly after the Redskins ripped Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVI. It may have had more than a little to do with the fact Chuck made numerous pre-game comments that year which were posted on the ‘Skins’ bulletin board. Said Dickerson: “I’ve been intrigued with the media for a long time. You get paid for your opinions instead of getting fired. I didn’t fit the mold of what Marv Levy wanted for a coach on his staff. I didn’t care then. I don’t care now.”
Around town: Richard Petty and Wally Dallenbach will be at Sears headquarters Monday in Hoffman Estates, where DieHard Batteries will be announced as the new sponsor of their NASCAR racing team. . . . Inside Sports editor Vince Aversano has left the Evanston-based magazine to join a Michigan publishing group, which has ties to the NBA and PGA. Aversano will also be retained by IS as a consultant. . . . Chicagoans can greet new White Sox player Julio Franco at lunch time Tuesday in the Skydeck entrance area of the Sears Tower, where he’ll make an appearance with teammates Joey Cora, Ozzie Guillen, manager Gene Lamont, ex-player Bill Melton, and radio play-by-play announcer John Rooney. It’s part of the team’s annual caravan to midwest locations to promote interest in the club.
Good skate: The Illinois Special Olympics held its Winter Games over the weekend in Galena and there were plenty of well-known, former Chicago pro athletes-Reggie Fleming, Cliff Koroll, etc.-on hand to help. The most popular volunteer? Had to be former figure-skating star David Santee. Everyone wanted his perspective on Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan, naturally.
And finally: OK, here’s the deal. The NFL, like the Big 10 used to do, puts in a new rule that a team can’t make consecutive trips to the Super Bowl.