European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 20, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday january so 1987 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary dreaming of Browns in California the to shirts Are already in place at the Airport souvenir shops Blue and red for the giant Orange for the Broncos. No offence to Denver bul he Cleveland drowns would be a wonderful entry in sunday s super howl two representatives of football s old guard kicking the mud from their shoes and blinking in the Bright sunlight the Way we easterners do when we arrive in Pasadena Calif in mid a incr. What a frolic we All could have had out in califor Nia Wilh the super bowl Between two survivors from the Bootstrap Days. It would have made sense in the familiar left coast sporting site where radio traffic advisories de scribe Rubbe necking delays because religious cultists arc distributing Flowers and leaflet on a freeway. This is not imagination 1 swear 1 heard it the other Day even gripped by record Tow temperature South Ern California is so benign that a Haggard refugee from brusque northeastern weather and brusque northeastern manners really does ask. Why Are peo ple being so pleasant instead of the obvious remake of that classic film escape from the rust Bell we have a Mere pairing of two conference champions with Tittle tradition involved with the giants heavily favored. Even without the inevitable new York Media frenzy this year super bowl week always feels like an eternity. Between now and sunday night both teams will go through an amazing metamorphosis. We will discover charming new characters on picture Day tuesday go into depth with them on interview Day i on wednesday get bored with them on thursday gossip about them Friday trash them on saturday and watch them play 15 minutes of sporadic action Between commercials sunday. The scene was All set for a blast from the past week ago sunday the Browns emerging from their Cave evoking memories of ancient Bailies on the icy pitch. But Denver won it in overtime hereby throttling the natural angles Call Sam Huff to hear How he was never lulled by Jim Brown hobbling Back into the huddle rent a pair of roller skates and interview Brown barrelling Down the pathway at Venice. All of these angles were shot Down by John Elway directing the March of a career the gloried 98 Yards to a super bowl. The Broncos comeback and the giants stirring Victory at Home should help Blunt the hoary football tradition of one Winner and 27 losers. Football coaches whip their players into line by telling them that winning the super Bow is a test of character that winners were willing to pay the Price blah blah blah but it should be hard to convince even football players the most regimented of ath letes that the super bowl is an All or nothing proposition. Even when a team is blown out As happened to the patriots last year in new Orleans he players can still vaguely remember having an entire nation Stop and pay attention the week before. Somebody paid a lot of Money to bring them to a warm site scalpers were asking big Bucks for tickets and the Cream of the nation s journalists swarmed All Over them whenever the stockade Gates were opened. Now we have another super bowl in Souther California where the nation s imagination is formed. It s where major sporting events usually have a Capra or Hitchcock or Spielberg feel to Ihm whether it s the pageant play of the Boston celtics from their grungy habitat under North station contrasted with the Laker girls and dancing Barry and Jack Nicholson a perfect clash of right coast an left coast values or the descendants of Jackie Rob Inson and Wilbert Robinson playing in a pastel stadium the trolley dodgers gone to heaven. Easterners like to pick on Southern California but to Fly in at night in mid Winter and look at the illuminated playing Fields or to see cyclists of All Ages zipping along Ocean paths or to read in the paper about Mountaintop hiking trails half an hour from Sunset strip is to eat one s heart out. Let other easterners chide los Angeles because of its dependence on the automobile. There is some thing enchanting about gliding Down a freeway late in the evening Between the silhouettes of Palm Trees Wilh a full Moon Over mountains or driving through the Arl Deco Glitz of Melrose Avenue or Sunset Boule Vard this super bowl will eventually emerge from the sprawl Between the Rose bowl in Pasadena where the is minutes of football will take place sunday tothe elegant shops and condos in Costa Mesa where the giants Wilt dwell to the Honky Tonk anarchy of Anaheim where the press has been assigned. By putting the fourth estate in the Shadow of the Concrete matterhorn of Disneyland Are they by any Hance trying to Ell us something but the Best thing about Orange county is thai you Don t need a visa to enter or leave. At Coffee shop in my favorite neighbourhood in West Hollywood they separate the menu into East coast heavy on pastrami and roast beef and West coast Alfalfa sprouts on everything. Symbols can be overdone but in Southern califor Nia where image is important i personally would have Given up my entire week Supply of Avocado and Jack he desc quesadillas just for a glimpse of the Browns Orange and Brown uniforms the primeval grime still stained on them. Jim Brown May be dash ing around on his roller skates but it was his Frostbitten Mudra cd image that we needed.  fans pack stadium for Bronco rally Denver a if you think last week was Good just wait until next week quarterback John Elway yelled into the microphone and 63,246 Denver Broncos fans packed into mile High stadium roared their approval. Super bowl super bowl the crowd chanted As it waved Broncos pennants and banners and gave a standing ovation to the acc champions. This shows that we have the Best fans and we re going out to Pasadena to show that we have the Best team cornerback Louis Wright said. The fans gathered sunday to give the Broncos an official sendoff to California where they will play the new York giants in the super bowl sunday. The turnout on a cold sunny Day impressed coach Dan Reeves. I expected a lot of fans but nothing even close to this he said. You Guys never cease to amaze me. This has been a great year for us but we be still got one thing to do and that s bring Home the world  former Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar and running Back Otis Arm Strong also addressed the crowd. The rally was the latest and undoubtedly the loudest sign of the Bronco a Nia that has consumed the Denver metropolitan area where Broncos sweatshirts Caps to shirts buttons ban ners Beer mugs and Coffee cups Are sell ing quickly. Gov. Roy Romer rep. Patricia sch Roeder Denver mayor Federico Pena and City Council president Bill Scheitler were also at the stadium. All they had to Broncos vets try again to win super bowl ring up photo John Elway. ,. Wait until next week say was super Bow super  the Denver fans always known As a boisterous lot exhibited fever pitch enthusiasm for the rally. They sported Broncos jackets sweatshirts buttons and hats and carried youngsters on their shoulders who cheered and waved pen Nants. Al the end of the rally organizers released 5,000 Orange and Blue bal loons. A thousand Pound steer watched the festivities from a cattle trailer in the South end zone. The steer is Romer s Ante in a bet with new Jersey gov. Thomas Kean that the Broncos will beat the giants. Denver a cornerback Lou Swright has counselled his Denver Bron cos teammates not to take anything for granted in the super bowl. Wright is one of the Broncos who willbe playing in his second super bowl on sunday when Denver faces the new York giants at Pasadena Calif. He remembers the january 1978 game in which Dallas beat the Broncos 57-10. Getting to he super bowl was great and we All thought we d be Back in a couple of years Wright recalled. We were certain we d have More chances. It s a Shock to have to wait nine  Guys never made it Back  Louie told us How everybody from hat 77 team thought they d be Back i another super bowl in a couple of years wide receiver Steve Watson said. It took him 10 years actually nine. He told us to go for the gusto now. He told us to enjoy it and make in  another super bowl Veteran linebacker Tom Jackson said the 1977 Denver Tea was unprepared for the atmosphere. There were nights when some of our Guys had too much fun he said. To cameras filmed them at night clubs Andi m sure the cowboys saw that. We Sel Dom saw the cowboys out. They were there to win the game whereas i think we were j us Happy to be there. We re not out there to visit Ever night club in Newport Beach. The fun comes afterwards. If we win there la be a real Good party to go  Jackson 35, has played in 191 games More than any player in the history of the Broncos. Me has hinted he might re tire after this season but says no Deci Sion has been made. I Don t have a super bowl ring and just one time i d like to experience that  Wright. A Shock to Wail 9 years he said. Jackson s career appeared Over in 1985 when he spent most of he year on the sidelines Wilh a knee injury. His Deci Sion 10 come Back in 1986 and work out hard during the off season to prepare for it was prompted by the presence of one player. I knew quarterback John Elway was going to gel this team to the super bowl again Ana i wanted to be a part of it he said. He is optimistic about his team s chances against the favored giants. This team is much More balanced than the 1977 team he said. Last Lime we went we had very Tittle offence an everybody knew