Though this was the first time that the Pro Bowl was aired on network television, it was actually the second Pro Bowl to be played. The 1951 Pro Bowl, which was not televised, was a legendary game featuring amazing plays by both the American Conference Team and the National Conference Team. The final score was 28 to 27, with the America Conference triumphant. That was the unaired Pro Bowl.
The second Pro Bowl, which went out to viewers all across America, was closer than the final score indicated. At the end of the first half, the American Conference led by a score of 13-10. After a scoreless Third Quarter, the National Conference came roaring back during the 4th Quarter. During the final quarter, the National Team scored 20 unanswered points and went on to win by a score of 13-30.
I haven’t been able to find out much about what specifically happened during the second Pro Bowl but the stats would seem to indicate that it was a good game! And it played out to a nationwide audience on January 12th, 1952.
As far as Pro Bowls go, it’s all been downhill from there.
In 1983, Marvel comics teamed up with local newspapers to produce inserts that would feature heroes like the X-Men and Spider-Man visiting towns outside of New York, meeting with local celebrities, and, of course, providing ad space for local businesses. One of the newspapers that they teamed up with the now-defunct Dallas Times Herald, which was also the original home of Texas’s own drive-in movie reviewer, Joe Bob Briggs.
Marvel ended up doing three inserts for the Dallas Times Herald, one with the X-Men at the State Fair and then two featuring Spider-Man. In “Danger in Dallas,” Peter Parker accompanied J. Jonah Jameson and Dr. Mudge to Dallas so that Dr. Mudge’s wheelchair-bound son could meet his heroes, the Dallas Cowboys.
Dr. Mudge had also developed an anti-gravity device and the Circus of Crime was determined to steal it for themselves. Spider-Man had to stop them but to fight an entire circus, he would need some help. Good thing that Cowboys didn’t have anything to do that day!
Once the Cowboys had tackled the Circus of Crime, Peter and even Jonah were able to enjoy opening day. Peter even proved his courage by eating a Texas Stadium hot dog!
Spider-Man wished the Cowboys a good game, letting us know that even super heroes from New York were rooting for America’s Team in the 80s.
Out of curiosity, I decided to see how the Cowboys did during the 1983 season. They went 12-4 and were second in the NFC East. They earned a wildcard spot but lost to the Rams, 17-24. Despite Spider-Man’s blessings, it was not the Cowboys who went to the Super Bowl but instead the team currently known as Football Team. (Full disclosure: By default, that was my family’s team until Baltimore finally got the Ravens.) Fortunately, Washington lost to the Raiders, 9-38.
According to the cover, this was a 60 cent value in 1983. Currently, it sells for $18.00 online.
The Dallas Cowboys and Spider-Man #1 “Danger in Dallas” (1983)
Writer Marie Severin and David Kraft Pencilers Marie Severin and Kerry Gammill Inker Mike Esposito Colorist Stan Goldberg Letterer R. G. O’Shaw
Today, everyone takes at least three things for granted: television, football, and football on television.
However, that wasn’t always the case. There was a time when television was a novelty and the idea of watching a game on television while it was being played was nearly unheard of. The first televised football game didn’t involve any of the teams in what would eventually become the NFL. Instead, it was a college game between Fordham and Waynesburg. It was played on September 30th, 1939.
The game was aired on NBC, as part of an experiment to see whether or not a game could actually be carried live over the air. The game was called by Bill Stern, a radio announcer who was famous for embellishing the action on the field while he was calling it. Unfortunately, since no footage of the game appears to still exist, no one knows if he attempted to embellish the action that was being televised.
All in all, NBC spent $100,000 to show the game. What was the size of the audience for the very first televised football game? It was speculated that 500 to 1.000 people watched the game on television! In 1939, with television still a luxury for most people, that was enough to convince NBC that sports and television could go together. 82 years later, it appears that NBC was right.
Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves, on winning their fourth World Series championship!
Of course, I was hoping the Astros would win. It’s not that I’m really a supporter of either the Astros or the Braves. I’m a long-suffering Rangers fan. But I was hoping the Astros would pull out a victory in Game 6 because I didn’t want the season to end!
It didn’t happen, though. The Braves won and they won decisively. Congratulations on the victory, Atlanta! You earned it and you deserved it!
As for next season, here’s hoping my Rangers can finally get it together. I’m a baseball fan. I never give up on my team.
Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros for finally giving the world what it truly needs this year, an all-Southern World Series! It’s the Southeast vs. the Deep South as Houston tries to beat Atlanta and win their second World Series title. Meanwhile, for the Braves, this is their 1st World Series appearance since 1999.
I have to cheer for the Astros because they’re from my homestate but I won’t blame anyone who is cheering for Atlanta! I think either team could win. With Game 5 scheduled for October 31st, the Series might even be decided on Halloween!
The Great Pumpkin has been good to us this year!
Congratulations to both teams and good luck next week!
And who knows? Maybe next year, my Rangers will finally get it together. Things have to turn around sometime, right?
When I first heard that the Yankees and the White Sox were going to be playing a game in a stadium built next to the field that was used in FieldofDreams, my first thought was that it sounded really corny.
“Is Kevin Costner going to come walking out of the corn field?” I thought.
That’s exactly what happened. At the start of tonight’s game, Kevin Costner emerged from the cornfield surrounding the stadium and walked out to the mound. He was followed by the members of the Yankees and the White Sox. They all emerged from the cornfields and took their positions, just like in the movie.
And it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. I may have thought it was going to be corny and maybe it was but when it actually happened, it was impossible not to get swept up in it. As I watched the players emerge like wandering spirits who had finally found their home and as I listened to the crowd cheer, I thought to myself, “This is what baseball is all about!”
I may have started off with some doubts and neither the White Sox nor the Yankees are my team (I’m an AL West girl) but the Field of Dreams Game was still one of the best games that I’ve ever seen. From the minute the first home run disappeared over the fence and into the cornfield, the Field of Dreams Game captured my imagination and it didn’t let go for the next three and a half hours. This game reminded me of why I fell in love with baseball in the first place. There were no big bands or fancy scoreboard or anything else that we associate with modern sports. Instead, there were just two teams, playing in front of a small but enthusiastic crowd. It was perfect Americana, a present to all of us baseball fans on Baseball Fan Day. After watching this game, I now think every stadium should be redesigned to look like it’s sitting in cornfield. It’s just how baseball was meant to be played!
(Of course, you may have to be a baseball fan to really get it. My sister was in the room when one home run was hit and she interrupted my cheering by making a joke about the Children of the Corn.)
It was a good game too. The White Sox won by one run in the ninth inning. I was cheering for the Yankees but the White Sox played a good game and I can’t complain about their victory.
This was a great game and exactly what I needed tonight! I hope this is an annual event because I can’t wait for the next Field of Dreams Game!
Let’s just admit that the Super Bowl was weird this year.
I’m not talking about the game. To be honest, I could really hardly care less about the game. When it comes to winners and losers, I’m one of those people who wishes that both teams could win. I think the coach of the winning team should let the losing team score a touchdown so that no one’s feelings get hurt. I worry about concussions, broken ankles, and compound fractures. I can handle some of the most graphic zombie films ever made but football just freaks me the fug out.
Instead, I’m one of those people who watches for the commercials and this year, the commercials were odd. I guess that’s to be understood, all things considered. But even when you take into account the pandemic and the general sappiness of modern American culture, the commercials felt weak. There were a lot of inspirational commercials. Bruce Springsteen gave a two-minute monologue about America while sitting in a jeep. There was a Ford commercial about how we’re all in this together or something like that. The beer commercials were less surly and more cringey this year. There were a lot of commercials with celebrities where the whole joke seemed to be, “Hey, look! A celebrity!”
There were precious few commercials for any upcoming movies or TV shows. In fact, there were four. FOUR! Every previous year, I’ve worked myself to a beautiful exhaustion trying to keep up with all the movies being advertised during the big game. This year, I wrote a few — very few — words about Coming 2 America, Old, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Raya and the Last Dragon.
Anyway, with all that in mind — here are 6 commercials that I did enjoy. I don’t know if it’s right for me to say that any of these really qualify as a “favorite” because I really didn’t have any favorites this year. But, the important thing is that I enjoyed the commercials below.
6) Edgar Scissorhands — Cadillac
I guess Edward is dead or something? Because Edward’s definitely not in this commercial. I can only assume that he died or he moved to Paris and was later judged to be too problematic to be invited back to appear with his son. Well, regardless, this is a cute commercial. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a good commercial because people are going to remember Edgar on the bus more than they’re going to remember the Cadillac but still, it was nice.
5) Adam Levine Sets Up Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton — T-Mobile
But if not for the spotty network, Gwen and Blake never would have gotten together! Oh well. What matters is that Gwen and Blake are a cute couple.
4) Jason Alexander Hoodie — Tide
This was actually kind of a disturbing commercial but then again, I like the idea of clothing that screams at you.
3) Doritos — Flat Matthew McConaughey
It was weird enough to work.
2) Alexa — Michael B. Jordan
It was sexy enough to work.
Reddit
This made my night. This ad was short. It wasn’t pretentious. It didn’t pretend that it was going to bring America together. It didn’t feature Bruce Springsteen doing his Kerouac imitation. Instead, it popped up for five seconds, it freaked a lot of people out, and it kind of gave the finger to the whole silly culture that’s sprung up around Super Bowl advertising. That was brilliant. (Considering that Reddit has now become the favorite scapegoat of the establishment, I applaud them for raising their profile as opposed to just meekly waiting for the storm to pass.)
Reddit wins the night! And, just in case the above video gets taken off of YouTube for some reason, here’s the ad:
The Super Bowl just ended and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won their 2nd Super Bowl! Tom Brady has won his seventh. Though the Chiefs scored first with a field goal, there was never really any doubt as to who was going to win the Lombardi Trophy. As soon as I saw Tom Brady’s face after the Chiefs got those three points, I knew he was going to be unstoppable.
The final score was 31 to 9. Though the Chiefs may have fallen short, Patrick Mahomes showed that he is the quarterback of the future. He’s scary good. He may not have won tonight but he’ll definitely get another chance to win his second super bowl.
For now, though, the Buccaneers are your Super Bowl champions and Tom Brady has added another chapter to an already amazing career. Congratulations, Tampa Bay!
Since the game is just a few hours away, I guess I should make my prediction as to who is going to win the Super Bowl.
This is exactly the type of Super Bowl that I’ve always wanted to see. Tom Brady is the best quarterback of his generation and probably the best quarterback of all time. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback of the next generation. This season, Brady proved that he can lead more than one team to the Super Bowl. Mahomes seems like he has the same type of talent. This is the best vs. the best.
I think the Buccaneers are going to win. I think the Chiefs are going to give them a good game. It’s not going to be easy for either team. But I think Tampa Bay is going to win in the end. The Buccaneers are playing at home, which is going to be a huge advantage. And I just have an unquestioning faith in the ability of Tom Brady to win Super Bowls. I know that’s not a very scientific analysis but Tom Brady has a talent that sometimes seems to defy everything that we’ve been led to assume about football. Tom Brady went from being nearly undrafted to winning 6 Super Bowls. At an age when most football players have already retired, Brady is still playing like a man in his early 30s. The rest of the team is going to have to do their part but I still see Tom Brady and the Buccaneers winning this game.
Final prediction:
Buccaneers — 24
Chiefs — 21
The game will be won by a last minute field goal that Tom Brady will probably volunteer to kick himself. Having won his 7th Super Bowl and led two separate teams to victory, Tom Brady will then win a Nobel Peace Prize and write a memoir that will be turned into an Oscar-winning film. Brady will then be elected governor of whatever state he decides to run in. Eventually, President Tom Brady will bring about world peace along with ending climate change and personally overseeing the first manned mission to Mars. After you win seven Super Bowls, there’s nothing you can’t do.
If the Buccaneers somehow lose, it will mean the winter is coming.
Tonight, the Los Angeles Dodgers won Game 6 of the World Series and another MLB post-season came to a close. The last time the Dodgers won the World Series was in 1988. It’s been a long and difficult road since then but this season, they played strong and they earned the victory. Even though I was cheering for the Rays because they were the AL team, I’m very happy for both the Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles. Here’s hoping that, next year, my Rangers will finally get their act together.
Of course, the real winner tonight was Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. With the pandemic changing everything this year, the city of Arlington and the state of Texas stepped up and hosted the entire World Series and they did a great job. No matter what the world looks like next year, every future World Series should be played at Globe Life Field.
Through the Shattered Lens 