0301250363
DETROIT FREE PRESS
030125
Saturday, January 25, 2003
METRO FINAL
1B
MITCH ALBOM FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
SUPER BOWL SOUNDOFF; SEE RELATED STORY PAGE 1B
Copyright (c) 2003, Detroit Free Press
SON WILL NOT SHINE PICKING RAIDERS
SAN DIEGO -- Curt, my friend, your roots are showing.
Not your home roots. Your hair roots. As in gray. A deep shade of gray. Why
else would you go with the Oakland Raiders? I know. Birds of a feather flock
together. As in Early Birds? The Early Bird special? You? The Raiders? Dinner
at 4 p.m?
Listen, Curt. I know it's rare to find a team with players older than you, but
come on. You like the Raiders only because when you interview them they say,
"Yes, son?"
But that is no reason to pick them to win the Super Bowl.
No. That honor goes to the fastest (Tampa Bay), the strongest (Tampa Bay), the
nastiest (Tampa Bay) and, sadly, the mouthiest (Tampa Bay). Remember when the
Raiders used to be the bad guys? Remember when they used to yak and brag and
boast?
Now they are led by Rich Gannon, who makes a mortician look dynamic, and Jerry
Rice, who is such an elder statesman, he'll be playing the game in a tux.
Their coach is . . . um . . . wait, I know this . . . don't tell me . . .
Meanwhile, who does the talking at this Super Bowl? Warren Sapp. Keyshawn
Johnson. Jon Gruden. Yep. The Yucaneers are now the Yaketeers. Such is the
world today, Curt. The team from Tampa Bay is the tiger and the team from
Oakland is the pussycat.
Don't tell me about offense. When you say offense, I say Baltimore Ravens, who
won the Super Bowl.
Don't tell me about experience. When you say experience, I say New England
Patriots, who won the Super Bowl.
The fact is, winning this game is mostly about avoiding mistakes, hitting
people hard and taking advantage. Tampa Bay is more likely to do that than
Oakland. Remember, the Raiders may still have Al Davis, but when he's the
toughest guy on the roster, you're in trouble.
Don't get me wrong. I don't really WANT Tampa to win. But what I want and what
happens are usually polar opposites on Super Sunday. Keyshawn will get his
ring and we can only imagine how insufferable he'll be. Sapp will get his ring
and declare Planet Earth his own. Gruden will get his ring and be dubbed a
bigger genius than Albert Einstein AND Thomas Edison.
And the Raiders? They'll drown their sorrows like most California teams, by
going to the movies. I think the film is "On Golden Pond." They get a senior
discount. Just like you, Curt.Buccaneers 20, Raiders 17.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com. Catch "The Mitch
Albom Show" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760).
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
SUPER BOWL;COLUMN