Sports Notes - SUPER BOWL - Steelers Dynasty, Get On the Bus - February 2006

NFL Jerome Bettis

James Loving - National Radio Text Service - Saturday February 4, 2006

SUPER BOWL - Steelers Dynasty, Get On the Bus - Super Bowl Trivia - America Eats Large on Super Bowl Day - SAY WHAT! The Family Hill Grant & Calvin "I HATE Football?" - Super Entertainment - NR Top 10 According To Google

THE 40th (XL) EDITION OF THE SUPER BOWL

GET ON THE BUS

There once was a bus commercial in the USA that said, 'Get on the bus and leave the driving to us.' In the US city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the bus is Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis. It's a name he gave himself meaning that he can carry the load and lead his team to victory.

Sunday (Monday morning in Asia) is the time to get on the BUS for the American football's Super Bowl game between the Pittsburgh Steelers of the American Football Conference and the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football Conference (NFC).

The game will be played in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. A win would be a perfect birthday present for the 13 year NFL veteran who will be 34 February 16.

At 5'11" - 255 lb he is built like a bowling ball but… did you know??? Other than football the sport Bettis enjoys the most is bowling. He's good at it and bowling 200 games have been achieved.

In his 1993 rookie season with the then Los Angeles Rams Bettis ran for 1429 yards on 294 rushes resulting in a 4.9 average and seven touchdowns in 16 games.

He remained with the Rams for two more seasons with one being in St. Louis where they moved.

In 1996 he went to the Steelers where he picked up the pace running for 1431 yards 0n 320 carries, a 4.5 average and a then career high 11 touchdowns.

Bettis continued to have over 1000 yards plus seasons until 2002 when he fell to 666 years in 13 games. That followed an injury 2001 season when he played ion only 11 of the 16 regular season games.

As we all know busses break down and so did Jerome. When you run your body like a bowling ball through a brick wall enough times you will pick up nicks in your armor... so be it the BUS.

The Steelers utilized other running backs to give Bettis some relief of wear and tear on his talented body. Used sparingly mostly in short yardage near the goal line situations Bettis managed to record his highest single season touchdown total with 13, in 2004. His career regular season totals are 13,662 yards on 3479 rushes for a 3.9 average and 91 touchdowns.

The Steelers are known for their no nonsense hit them hard smash mouth type of game. They are the blue collar, hard-hat and lunch pale type team. If you want to compare them to an International football club to me they are the Bolton Wanderers of the NFL (National Football League).

The main difference being is the Steelers are one of the most successful NFL teams to participate in the big championship game. Bolton is still working at it.

In the 70's the Steelers dominated the NFL. They won all four of the Super Bowls they appeared in during the decade. The squad was packed with superstars, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and Lynn Swan among them. All were Super Bowl MVP's.

Their biggest competitor was the Dallas Cowboys whom they faced twice. They defeated the Cowboys 21-17 on January 18, 1976 at Miami, Florida's Orange Bowl. Swann was the game MVP.

They met again January 21, 1979 again at the Orange Bowl winning one of the most exciting games in Super Bowl history 35-31. Bradshaw was the games MVP.

Can they do it again? Get on the bus Sunday (USA) - Monday (Asia) and see.

NOTES:

TRIVIA QUESTION: What Team won the most Super Bowls? Answer below...

SUPER ENTERTAINMENT

As usual the Super Bowl will feature topnotch entertainment. The pre-game show will feature native Detroit singers Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. The Rolling Stones will perform three songs for the half-time show.

THE WHAT

The SUPER BOWL is the ultimate championship football game in the USA pitting the winners of the two conferences AFC and NFC against each other...

This game is expected to attract an international television audience of 800 million. The World Cup attracted an International television audience of 1.5 billion...

This will be the 40th Super Bowl game also titled Super Bowl XL the Roman numerals for 40...

WHEN???

The game is played on February 5 in the US (Feb. 6 in Asia) making it the second LATEST DATE that the game has been played. Last year's game was the latest being played February 6 in the US.

LAST YEAR the New England Patriots won back-to-back championships by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21.on February 6, 2005

On February 1, 2004 they defeated the Carolina Panthers 32-29.

The earliest date for a Super Bowl game was January 9, 1977 when the Oakland Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32-14.

EAT, EAT EAT & DRINK TOO MUCH???

The impact of the game in the USA results in MORE GROCERIES being sold by super markets than any other day of the year.

That includes Thanksgiving when primarily family come together from all over the country/world and get together at a designated family members home.

Christmas is another holiday that stimulates a considerable amount of food sales at the super market

ALL IN THE FAMILY HILL

The NBA basketball's Orlando Magic forward Grant Hill is recognized as one of the top players in the NBA. His father Calvin Hill was a great football player for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. He also played in the Super Bowl.

With my interest on how parents influence their children I asked Grant if he had played football. "I HATE FOOTBALL," he responded in a joking way but serious.

Both father and son have brains. Each attended top schools in the US; Calvin went to Yale and Grant, Duke University.

***

Trivia Answer: The Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49'ers (NFC) with five. If the Steelers win this game they will tie the record.

SUPER BOWL HISTORY - They Called the AFL The Mickey Mouse League

According to Google National Radio's Top 10 stories are: (1) Jim Murray, (2) Royal Palace (3) NBA Trivia, (4) Michael Jordan (5) Jerry West Builds Memphis (6) Freshie Boy & Girl Contest (7) OOPS FAT Did It Again (8) ASEAN Games (9) Cambodian Football (10) Angkor Wat

Past Most Mentioned: (1) Walter Payton, (2) Marshall Faulk (3) Barry Bonds (4) Digital Divide Data.

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