Feb 04 2009
Well, it didn’t take long for people to start talking about going for Super Bowl ring number seven. Me, I want to enjoy number six for a while. I’m exhausted! And I didn’t even play in the game! Don’t get me wrong, I have had a blast sketching and reporting from sunny Tampa all week, but going back to one cartoon a day will feel like a vacation. I returned late Monday and my body wasn’t ready for the cold again. I watched the game, which I had recorded on my DVR while I was gone, and I got to see some of the plays I missed because I was in the stadium. For instance, I saw Harrison make the interception, but by the end of his run he was out of my line of site. I also got to see the commercials. I really liked the Polamalu remake of the "Mean Joe Greene" ad.
Favorite Ad Winners: We have a three-way tie for the best memory of an ad featuring a Pittsburgh sports star. Queezel wins for the United Airlines ad where Terry Bradshaw appeared from behind his offensive line and said, “and these guys, are my favorite widebodies." CyberGuitar wins for Myron Cope and Jack Lambert riding the Raging Rapids at Kennywood. jt last remembers a so-bad-it’s-funny commercial for A. Crivelli, The Automotive Giant, featuring Louis Lipps. These are all great ads. I remember the last two. That Louis Lipps one was hilariously bad. Thanks for playing!
Post Super Bowl Syndrome: One of my fans and a budding cartoonist, Jim Kozak, sent me this cartoon that I think sums up how we are feeling now that it is all over. I normally make it a policy not to run other people's cartoons, but this was one I couldn't pass up.
Tolkien's Team: Monday’s headline in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was “Lords of the Rings!” I cringed when I saw it because I was already working on a cartoon using the same line. I do a local weekly comic strip called “Brewed On Grant.” It takes place in a fictitious diner, where Rosie, the waitress, serves up coffee and a rapier wit. Frodo comes into the diner this week. So, with this cartoon. I will sign off on my latest Super Bowl Sketch Blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing and drawing it. Until the next one …
For a larger version, CLICK HERE.
Feb 03 2009
I still can’t believe I was at the game. In fact, I asked Dan Gigler to email me the photo he took so I could prove to myself that I was actually there. Some of you are probably thinking, OK, anyone can photoshop themselves into the Super Bowl if they want to. Trust me, if I had photoshopped this I would have added more hair and less chins. Once again, like in Detroit, it was strange sitting with the journalists and not the fans. I had a hard time containing my excitement during the game. A post from my 2006 Detroit Super Bowl XL Sketchblog bears repeating here.
The hardest part about sitting in the press seats is the "no cheering" rule. Journalists are supposed to be (or at least appear to be) unbiased. Hard to do if you're jumping up every time the Steelers make a good play. I have been screaming and whooping at the TV for the entire season. I am not used to holding it in. I've already caught myself clapping and yelling "yes" then recoiling in shame several times in the first half. I think I have it under control. It feels like I am stifling the world's biggest sneeze.
Speaking of my Super Bowl XL blog, here is a drawing worth repeating as well. In the name of full disclosure, I DID photoshop this one, adding the “Sixburgh” text in the balloon.
Feb 02 2009
Being at the game last night was amazing. The air was electric and the Steelers fans were so loud it almost felt like I was in Heinz field. The game was fun to watch, but so were the fans. I especially liked the ones who came wearing crazy hats. Even in comparing headgear, the Steelers fans were tougher and more committed. One Cardinals fan was wearing a white hard hat with a little stuffed cardinal glued to the top. The bird, as tenuously anchored as a transplant living in Arizona, kept wobbling back and forth as he moved his head, The Steelers fans choices for hats were far headier. I saw the always appropriate steel beams through the head, the beer cans on the head, the Polamalu hat and hair and the Roethlisberger “burger” hat.
Roethlisberger, Hold the Mayo: Scott and Cindy Lavery were born and raised in Pittsburgh … and they have been Cardinals season ticket holders for 17 years. That’s how they made it to the Super bowl, through the Cardinals ticket-holders lottery. They didn't win, but their friends did and sold them the tickets. Cindy was wearing a hat that looked like a giant floppy cloth burger. “It’s a Roethlis-burger,” she said, “I got it in the strip district.” She made a point of showing me her Heinz Ketchup and pickle pins. Scott said they have been rooting for both teams all year. “When the Cardinals were playing for the NFC championship on the same day Pittsburgh was playing for the AFC championship, I wore my Cardinals jersey and my Steelers hat to the Cardinals game,” he said. They may have arrived holding Cardinals tickets, but today they were rooting for the Steelers.
Neutral Dome: One of the most creative hats I saw was worn by Harry Overend of Orlando. Unlike the Steelers fans, Harry remained uncommitted. He is a Buccaneers fan and, therefore, decided to create a hat that took no sides, just illustrated the war. He bought figurines of Polamalu and Fitzgerald on the internet. Then, after hand-painting them, Harry super-glued the Steeler and Cardinal to his hard hat. Super Glue seems like an appropriate bonding agent to use for the Super Bowl. He also added both team logos, insuring he would not insult anyone. His son Michael, a Dolphins fan joined his father in the stands wearing his Dolphins jersey. Harry works for Universal Studios in Orlando. When I asked him which was better, Universal or Disney World, he said he was neutral.
Harry’s boss, Brian Colley, was a different story. He was definitely taking sides. The executive director of resort operations was decked out in black and gold, despite never having lived in Pittsburgh. When he was 12, in the ‘70s, he wanted to wear a football jersey to his PE class like some of the other kids at his Rhode Island school. But Brian wanted to wear a winner. He has been an avid Steelers fan ever since.
Jersey Girls: During the halftime show I moved out of my seat to get a better view. While Bruce Springsteen, who embodies “Jersey”, played on stage, I was noticing the jerseys in front of me. I ended up behind two young women who seemed to be having a really good time, without the aid of funny hats. They appeared to be quite friendly with each other, but they were wearing opposite jerseys. Tiffani Kline and Lynelle Wagner have been best friends since they met at San Diego State as freshman. Tiffani, born and raised in Pittsburgh, but now living in Orange County, California, was sporting a Roethlisberger jersey. Lynelle, from Los Angeles, was wearing a Fitzgerald Jersey. The section we were standing in was right in front of the Cardinals cheerleaders. It turns out Lynelle’s husband is a Cardinals fan. In fact, her stepdaughter is actually a Cardinals cheerleader. I asked if either of them thought the Steelers were at a disadvantage not having their own cheerleaders. "We're about the game, not about the glitz," Tiffani said. Lynelle responded, "you don't NEED any cheerleaders because you have all those towels!"
Bruce and Gold: There are a lot of reasons to attend a Super Bowl, but bumped into a unique and noble one. I ran into Amanda Greene and her husband Steve LeBlang from Los Angeles. They weren’t necessarily rooting for either team. Amanda, who calls herself the “LA Lupus Lady”, and has lived with Lupus for 25 years, was doing her best to educate people at the Super Bowl about the disease. According to the Lupus Foundation of America’s web site, Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood, and kidneys. Steve, who laments the fact that Los Angeles no longer has an NFL team, was there for moral support. “I was rooting for Bruce Springsteen,” he said.
Coffey Grounds: I love the fact that the Super Bowl attracts people from all walks of life and all ranks of celebrity. Joseph Coffey and his wife, Susan McGonigle, were enjoying their sausage sandwiches and fries right outside the section where the auxiliary press seats were. This was not our fist meeting. I met them at the hotel bar earlier in the week. Susan is a corporate event planner and one of her clients, Oakland Raiders running back Pete Banaszak, keeps her on his list for Super Bowl tickets. Joseph has had his own brush with celelbrity. Susan introduced him as the detective who arrested “Son of Sam.” I thanked him for that. At the hotel bar, Joseph regaled Gene Collier and I with his stories of being Joe Frazier’s bodyguard during the Frazier/Ali years. Many of his stories can b
e found in a book he published called "The Coffey Files." As far as what team he was rooting for, he said it usually depends on what numbers he draws out of the pool. Any time the two numbers appear on the scoreboard at any time during the game, he wins some cash. He remembers being at Super Bowl XXXI between Green Bay and New England. He cheered for the Patriots when they scored because it matched his number. Then he cheered for the Packers when they scored because it matched his numbers again. “The Cheeseheads sitting around us thought we were schizophrenic,” said Coffey.
Feb 02 2009
Once in a while, I cover an event that doesn't cooperate with my 5 PM deadline. The Super Bowl is one such event. I had to draw two cartoons yesterday. One in case the Steelers lost and one if they won. This is harder than it sounds. I still remember in 2000 drawing two cartoons the day before the election and then leaving for a cultural exchange trip to China. I figured, no biggie, Gore will be a shoe-in. We all know how that turned out. They couldn't run either cartoon for months.
For the Super Bowl, I decided to do something using a Groundhog Day metaphor. I drew one showing him too depressed to come out of his hole (Steelers loss) and one where he is predicting six more weeks of celebration (Steelers victory). Fortunately, hanging chads don't affect the Super Bowl.
Version One: Here is the cartoon the paper would've run if the Steelers had lost the Super Bowl. Poor, unhappy groundhog! (notice the little tear)
Version Two: Here is the one that ran in today's paper. Happy, happy groundhog!
You know, I feel like I keep waking up on the same day and drawing the same cartoon over and over ... weird.
Feb 01 2009
I was sent this photo of Pittsburgh native Mike Fincke, a NASA astronaut. He took a Terrible Toddler Towel with him to the International Space Station. Why toddler? I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with those astronaut diapers we heard about when the story of the astronaut stalker broke over a year ago. Whatever the reason, a Terrible Towel in space really expands the notion of Steeler Nation. Perhaps “Nation” is far too restricting.
Thanks to Jill for forwarding this photo to me.
I am off to the stadium and won't be posting again until after the game. While you are watching the game, and therefore all the Super Bowl commercials, don't forget to go to an earlier post to give me your favorite ad with a Pittsburgh sports figure in it and have a chance to win a signed print of my Steelers Fan cartoon. Here we go Steelers, here we go!
Feb 01 2009
Three words: Nothing like Detroit.
The NFL puts on a big party at the Super Bowl every year for the media, friends and family of the NFL and many of the football greats I grew up watching. Not this year. I guess the economic downturn is catching up to the NFL as well. Perhaps Congress can give them a bailout. This year’s party felt very scaled back from the one three years earlier. The only football great I ran into this year was Mel Blount. I love Mel Blount, but is that all you got, NFL?
That’s not to say I didn’t have fun. The band was great and the food was excellent. I did manage to run into some interesting folks. Here are some notes from the night’s festivities.
Show Me the X-rays --- I ran into some of the medical team for the Steelers. Dr. Freddie Fu, chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Pitt, and his wife Hilda, were both there. Dr. Fu refused to answer any questions about Ben’s ribs or Hines Ward’s knee (I was only asking in jest, I knew no one would ever talk about it.) He referred me to Steelers orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Robin West, who also refused to speak on the topic. She then referred me to Dr. Jim Bradley, the Steelers head orthopedic surgeon who repaired Willie Parker’s broken leg. Dr. Bradley said he couldn’t answer because it would be a “HIPAA violation.” Then he added, “but if you draw me in your blog, can you give me more hair?” I told him I don’t even give myself more hair. “Well, then how about a pony tail?” Maybe, but I want to see Hines Ward’s X-rays first.
Romeo Wears Red --- Hilda Fu, who I know because we are both on the board of the ToonSeum in Pittsburgh, introduced me to her friend, Tara Ridge, a UPMC physical therapist who works with Dr. Fu. Tara happens to be dating Mike Miller, the wide receivers coach for the Cardinals. Ooooh, I thought. Forbidden love at the Super Bowl! This is the NFL’s version of the Capulets and the Montagues. “Does it cause friction when you root for the Steelers?” I asked her. “Oh, I’m not allowed to root for the Steelers,” Tara said with a straight face. “That’s right,” agreed Mike, “that would be a deal breaker.” As it turns out, Tara roots for whatever team Mike is working for at the time. Wow, that’s devotion.
I suppose it was easier when Miller, a Plum native, was working for the Steelers under Ken Whisenhunt. Then Tara could root for the Steelers without fear. Mike’s best friend is Lou Spanos, assistant linebacker coach for the Steelers. Lou hails from Keystone Oaks. Lou and Mike both started as interns for the Steelers in 1994. To see them together on Friday night, you wouldn’t know they were gearing up to scrap it out on Sunday. “My wide receivers are going to have a tough time against the number one defense,” Mike admitted. “When you have players like Polamalu and Harrison … add that to Hall of Fame coaching … you get one tough opponent.”
Holy Steelers --- Father David Bonnar was also in attendance. He will say mass for the players at the hotel before the big game. I asked how he balances religion and sports, especially in a city that views football as a religious experience. “I’m a Roman Catholic priest and I am a Pittsburgher, so naturally, I’m a fan of the Steelers,” Bonnar said. “Many of the ingredients are the same,” he said, “both have symbolism, ritual and community.”
Blount Force --- As I mentioned, the only NFL great that I spotted at the party this year was Mel Blount who shared a story about how he and P-G sports reporter, Ron Cook, were driving down a back road in Georgia when they came upon a rattlesnake. Mel beamed as he retold the story of how he got out of the car, stomped on the snake’s head, put it in a burlap sack and stuffed it in the van behind Ron’s seat. Ron had gone south to interview Mel about the youth home he was starting there. Mel said Ron kept looking behind his seat nervously. Mel had to keep assuring him the snake was dead.