Super Bowl

Dallas is snowbound. All of North Texas, including Garland, has been paralyzed for a week. I blame the Packers, who brought Green Bay weather with them when they flew in Monday to get ready for the Super Bowl.

In the 1960's my family lived in Irving, Texas. We watched Super Bowl II on television when the Cowboys played the Packers outdoors in Green Bay when the temperature was close to zero. The “Ice Bowl”. After that the football moguls arranged for the Super Bowl to be played where the weather would be warm in January. They came to Texas this year, and – well, best laid plans.

Some people around here think it is all an act of God. Maybe the sins of the fans caused the Cowboys to lose in the playoffs. Dallas and Fort Worth buried their disappointment and went into a frenzy of preparations to make as much money as possible from visitors coming to the Super Bowl.

God punished them by burying both cities in ice and snow. Fort Worth got set for outdoor events in Sun Dance Square. Instead of crowds, the few foolish fans I saw on television were wrapped up like mummies in the 8 degree weather. In Dallas a big tent was set up in the middle of the Cotton Bowl for a giant pre-game party. Then came the snow. The tent collapsed.

Schools are closed. The television warns, “Lots of accidents on the icy roads. Don’t go out unless you have to.” When Linda, our waitress, drove to work, her car spun completely around on a bridge over the freeway.

At the retirement home where I live, all activities are canceled. I ventured out for breakfast and found half the dining room closed off. Most people stayed in and prepared breakfast in their apartments. One reason I moved here was to have someone else poach two eggs for me every morning. (My kidneys need the protein.) To me it is worth the bother of buttoning up in heavy coat and gloves if I don’t have to wash the pan and dishes.

I have not missed a single dialysis session. Dan, our maintenance man, took me. I came out, bundled up, my coat collar pulled up to my eyes. As I climbed into his jeep, Dan said, “Nice weather!” He’s from the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota.

This year’s Super Bowl will be played indoors in Jerry Jones’s monstrous big new Texas Stadium in Arlington. When I young the few “bowl” games – Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl – were played by college teams on New Year’s. Now the Cotton Bowl is a relic used for special events, rock concerts and parties, like that big tent set up on the former playing field. Now there are dozens of college “bowls”. It is the professional football players who meet for the biggest “bowl” of all, the Super Bowl.

We were in Irving in the 1960's when Cowboy Stadium was built, the latest thing in stadium design. This year I watched on television as Cowboy Stadium exploded and smashed into rubble.

In Rome I rode an elevator up to the second level in the Coliseum and walked around the wide stone corridor beneath stone arches supporting the upper bleachers. Mostly a ruin after almost 2,000 years, the Coliseum is still magnificent.

I wonder how long Texas Stadium will last. Will it ever be paid for? Super Bowl tickets are only for the rich. Box seats are $11,000 each. For $200 a person, you can sit in a tent outside the stadium and see the game on a giant television.

This year, as always, I will see the Super Bowl on television.