Today is the day, finally. It’s Super Bowl Sunday and the last day of the NFL season.
Who is your pick for win? I know who my family is pulling for, and it may not be a team, but a player — Saquon Barkley.
Last week, I spoke to someone who said Super Bowl Sunday is so exhaustive, and by the time the game starts at 6:30 p.m., they said they are ready for bed. He may have a point there with all the pomp and pageantry, entertainment, pre-game analysis, commercials and so forth, it could drive you crazy.
But I know, so many football fans look forward to Super Bowl Sunday and consider it an unofficial national holiday.
The streets get eerily quiet with hardly any traffic, sort of like Christmas Day when everyone is home enjoying the holiday.
There are tons of Super Bowl Sunday parties all over, and if you pick a house on a map and go to that address, there’s a good chance there is a football party happening.
If I’m not mistaken, the day after the Super Bowl is a huge call-off-from-work day. Maybe that problem would be solved if the game were played at 2 p.m. rather than the evening. Nah, that won’t happen, because it’s all about the ratings as well.
Ah yes, the ratings. I heard last week that a 30-second ad could cost as much as $8 million. That’s insane.
Of course, I can’t think of a Super Bowl without thinking of my late Uncle John Callaio. He must have attended at least 10 Super Bowls in the early days of the game, I believe starting with Super Bowl IV.
It was very reasonable money-wise to attend a Super Bowl back then. I’m sure it was more to pay than an average NFL weekly game, but it was doable.
I’m guessing one of the biggest expenses back then was the airfare and hotel costs. I believe the price of the ticket was nothing out of hand like today.
I was always envious because the games were played in warm climate areas like Miami, for example.
Every Super Bowl he attended, he would bring back two game-day program booklets, one for his son John and one for me. At $1, it had to be a bargain. Today, they are $20 a piece.
I kept mine in pristine condition for a few decades, and one day, I decided to sell them off on eBay. Needless to say, I did very well at the auctions.
I believe one of the program booklets sold for $365, and that opened my eyes. Eventually, I sold one of them online, and the fella happened to live in Dallas, Pa. I had to ship all of them I sold all over the country, with that exception.
I had some seller’s remorse because I took care of them for a very long time and was very happy to have such a lovely gift, but why not let someone who follows a team that was in a Super Bowl enjoy it more than I was?
I did keep one program, and I’ll be darned to remember where it is now, but it was the Super Bowl when Pittston’s own Jimmy Cefalo played — Super Bowl XVII in 1983 when he caught a 76-yard touchdown pass from QB David Woodley, which was the second longest touchdown pass reception in Super Bowl history at the time.
I can recall that Super Bowl and reception and how thrilled everyone in Greater Pittston was so proud of that achievement. We were all Greater Pittston Proud during Cefalo’s years at Penn State and then the Dolphins, not to mention his great high school career at Pittston Area.
Now that I think of it, maybe I should put in some effort to look for that misplaced Super Bowl edition.
Both of today’s teams are super competitive, and I’m thinking it will be anything but a snooze-fest. In fact, it just may be a high-scoring game and that’s as close to a prediction as I’ll get.
No matter who your team is or your pick to win; I hope you all have fun whether at home alone, with family or at one of those Super Bowl parties.
Please remember, if you drink, drink responsibly, and if you overindulge, get a ride home. As for how much food you consume today, that’s another issue.
Speaking of sports, I’ve penned an article for today’s edition on West Pittston native and Wyoming Area graduate, Marc Anthony Minichello.
For those of you who are not aware, Marc Anthony has become one of the premier javelin competitors in the country. Over his college career, he’s taken home plenty of hardware in medals and is a two-time NCAA National Champion.
He recently received his final NCAA award when he was chosen out of several hundred thousand collegians to receive the NCAA 2025 Today’s Top 10 Award. Let me tell you, that’s a pretty big deal, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
I spoke by phone to Marc Anthony this past week in a 40-minute call, and it was so refreshing to speak to someone of his caliber both on and off the field.
He comes from good stock with his mother, Paula, and late father, Marc.
Congrats to Marc Anthony and good luck to your favorite team today.
Quote of the Week
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Thought of the Week
“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Bumper Sticker
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot
