9301040674
DETROIT FREE PRESS
930130
Saturday, January 30, 1993
METRO FINAL
1B
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1993, Detroit Free Press
CURT, WISDOM IS FIRST TO GO
LOS ANGELES -- Oh, Curt. How sad.
In what can only be a meek and pathetic attempt to recapture your lost
youth, you are picking the Cowboys to win this Super Bowl. You obviously feel
this makes you hep, the cat's meow, the bee's knees, or whatever expression
they used back when you were young, and dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
But Curt, my friend, my rapidly aging friend, football is not a sports
car. You don't pick the team with the sunroof, mag wheels and racing stripe
just because you're hoping, deep down, that a Dallas cheerleader will do
something special to make you feel young again, like put on a poodle skirt.
No. You are a football writer. Which means you should pick the football
team that will win, and leave the youth movement to Grecian Formula 44.
The football team that is going to win is Buffalo.
Yes. Buffalo.
Not Buffalo wings, which I saw you eating with the other teenagers here in
LA. (By the way, wear a bib if you're going to splash so much.) No. I'm
talking Buffalo Bills, who are due. Overdue. They are angry. They are tired
of being remembered as the team that missed the kick, the team that forgot the
helmet. They are Paul Newman facing Tom Cruise in "The Color of Money." They
are Robert Redford facing the kid pitcher in "The Natural." You know how those
movies turned out, don't you? Or were you too busy watching "Home Alone 2"?
Experience wins. Wisdom wins. You have both those things, don't you, Curt?
Well, OK. You have experience. True, much of it is bad experience, but you do
have experience.
And Buffalo has experience. Not to mention strength, speed, defense and
chicanery. Don't think of these Bills as an AFC team. They are not. They are
an NFC team hiding in a snowbank. How else did they beat every NFC team they
faced this year, including New Orleans and San Francisco? We all know a real
AFC team can't do that.
The Bills have Jim ("I Don't Care If You Are Magic Johnson") Kelly, and
Thurman ("Next Guy Asks About My Helmet Is Gonna Learn About My Fist")
Thomas, and Bruce ("Go Ahead, Break Every Bone In My Body, I'm Still
Standing") Smith. These guys are fed up. They have no time for the
Nintendo-playing, gum- chewing, skateboard-riding Cowboys. Troy Aikman? Does
he drive a tricycle to work? Michael Irvin? They're still waiting for him in
algebra class.
And we're still waiting for you to come to your senses, Curt. Take my
advice. Face the music. Accept the distinguished gray look with dignity, the
way Marv Levy has. After the Bills win, it will be very much in vogue, and you
may even get that cheerleader to do something you can really relate to. Like
the Charleston.
THE FINAL:
Buffalo 24, Dallas 21
SUPER BOWL; FOOTBALL