My earliest memories of the Super Bowl involve gambling. Relax, it was harmless stuff.
I remember sitting on my father’s lap in 1985 and watching Super Bowl XIX between the San Francisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins. My dad, whose name also is George, had entered a pool at work.
He’d bought two squares on a grid, and if the correlating numbers in some way were involved in the score at the end of any quarter, he’d win a predetermined amount of money. As I recall, two of his numbers were “0” and “1.”
Drawing on all of my 9-year-old football knowledge, I promptly announced he had no chance to win.
“You can’t score just one point in football, Dad,” I said, proud and secure in my knowledge of the rules.
I’ll never forget his smile that day. It was equal parts pride and anticipation.
“The score doesn’t have to be 1-0,” he explained. “It just has to end in a 1 or a 0.”
And so, again, my ardent suspicion that my father was the smartest man in the universe was confirmed.
It’s an American rite of passage, passing the love of football along from father to son. And it is alive and well at Super Bowl XLVI.
Tom Brady’s childhood memories include watching the San Francisco 49ers of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice from the cheap seats at Candlestick Park with his family.
And almost all of Bill Belichick’s childhood memories involve the game.
His father, Steve, was a longtime coach at the Naval Academy. And a young Bill Belichick got to know some of the team’s star players, including Heisman Trophy winner and future Super Bowl champion Roger Staubach.
“It’s hard to really measure what percentage of impact (being around those players) was other than to say it’s very significant,” Belichick said during a press conference at the team’s Indianapolis hotel Sunday. “It’s huge. And I still maintain close contact with those players today. It’s something that’s stayed with me my whole life. Even though I wasn’t actually ever a part of those teams, I’ve been adopted by some of them.”
Belichick explained watching his father coach made him want to coach.
He worked his way through the ranks, and failed in his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns, but he’s at the top of his profession now.
He and the New England Patriots can win a fourth NFL championship with a victory next week against the New York Giants at Lucas Oil Stadium.
No head coach ever has won more.
And Belichick said he owes it all to his dad.
“(Football) was my life as a kid, from my first memories — four, five, six years old — and obviously the rest of my life,” he said. “He had a huge impact on my childhood, my love for the game and my involvement in the game as a coach.”
Belichick said he learned his work ethic and the importance of teamwork from his dad.
The fact that education came at the Naval Academy only added to the themes of duty and commitment.
In the end, all sons are the product of their fathers.
Like Belichick, though on a level several rungs lower on the ladder, I’m living a dream by covering the Super Bowl this week.
And, like Belichick, I owe my love of football and it’s place in my life to my father.
I look forward to sharing the fruits of my dream with all of you this week.
But, first, I wanted to make sure it got started off right.
So here goes: Thanks, dad.
Contact George Bremer: 640-4831, george.bremer@heraldbulletin.com
Sports Columns
Related Photos
-
Contact George Bremer: 640-4831, george.bremer@heraldbulletin.com
Discussion
George Bremer: Fathers, fun and football
- Sports Columns
-
-
George Bremer: In with Orton, out of Luck?
There really is no offseason anymore in the National Football League.
The Indianapolis Colts haven’t played a game since Jan. 1, but look at all the headlines they’ve generated since that date. -
Quintin Harlan: If you want to honor a fallen driver just keep on racing
There are a myriad of reasons to love the Indianapolis 500. This year’s race was inundated with the emotion from the family, friends and colleagues of two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon.
-
Rick Teverbaugh: Spectacle lacking on local TV
The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, on television, is a myth in its own backyard.
-
Rick Bramwell: Enjoying the fruits of spring
I will go a long way to get fresh fruits and vegetables. That usually means going to the source.
Last Friday was opening day at the strawberry patch located just west of Post Road on 38th Street. They have a big sign outside. Only a few berries were ripe, but those first ripe ones are big and juicy. -
Ken de la Bastide: Race fans set for big weekend
As a racing fan, this week in May is always at the top of my list with the running of both the Indianapolis 500 and the Pay Less Little 500 on the same weekend.
The Indianapolis 500 has long been considered “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and I would contend the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway is the “Greatest Spectacle in Short Track Racing.” -
George Bremer: Can Lind find swing in Vegas?
This was supposed to be a big week for former Highland star Adam Lind. Instead, he’s in Las Vegas trying to get his head back in the game after being shipped back to the minor leagues for the first time in four years.
-
Quintin Harlan: Series evened up, why should Pacers worry?
Before the semifinal round of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Playoffs began, the term “house money” was being thrown about by us here in The Herald Bulletin sports department to describe the chances of the Indiana Pacers against the Miami Heat.
-
Rick Bramwell: Can anything not be learned online?
In the early 1940s there was an article in Popular Mechanics about the future of television. My grandfather told my dad and uncle not to get excited: “You boys know they can’t send a picture through the air.”
-
Ken de la Bastide: Will Indy 500 field 33 cars?
Pole Day this Saturday for the Indianapolis 500 will be unlike any other in recent years with plenty of unanswered questions.
Will there be 33 cars fielded for the “500”? Will drivers have to bump their way into the starting field on Sunday? -
Quintin Harlan: Farewell Coach Carter
Three years ago I received an email from Ross Buckman — a former mathmateics teacher that was subjected to having me as a student at Anderson High — telling me that he knew a gentleman that would be a great subject for a feature story.
- More Sports Columns Headlines
-
Police: 5-time Champ Johnny Tapia Found Dead
Native Americans' Olympic Medals Displayed in DC
Manning on Target at First Practice
Raw Video: Olympic Torch Relay Begins in England
Raw Video: Olympic Torch Passed to London
Selig: Oakland Move Might Be Considered
McNamee: Clemens, Canseco Had Steroids Talk
Laurie Fine: My Life Has Been Destroyed
MLB: Mets Get 2013 All Star Game
Bernie Fine's Wife to Sue ESPN
Kyrie Irving Named NBA's Top Rookie
McNamee Says He Gave Clemens Steroids in 1998
Phelps Looks to Add to Medal Haul in London
Raw Video: McNamee Arrives at Clemens Trial
Bulls Bounced From Playoffs
Former NFL Star Junior Seau Found Dead
NFL Suspends 4 Players for Saints' Bounties
Reigning U.S. Champ Eying Olympic Gold in London
Knicks Fans Disappointed in Stoudemire
