It’s Quiet Now, but ’93 Might Bring Relapse of Super Madness

Little quiet around here, huh?

Here it is Super Saturday, and there’s nothing to do but go to the beach, barbecue on the patio, swat tennis balls or, as I know the game, search for golf balls.

Whatever happened to Super Bowl fever hereabouts?

It seems like forever since we had all that hype and hoopla, since hordes of visitors descended upon us in their private jets and motored among us in their rented limousines. It seems like forever since every saloon, restaurant, shopping center and hotel rocked in what was more an ongoing celebration than the buildup to a football game. It seems like forever since Washington’s 35-point second quarter turned yet another Super Bowl into a Super Bore, proving that even San Diego couldn’t control everything .

That was a mere year ago, of course.

Now, there are mere pockets of enthusiasm, as expressed by one fellow who showed up at the office Friday in an Ickey Woods Shuffle T-shirt. Fortunately, he left his tiger-stripped beret and knickers at home, where he can wear them in solitude come Sunday.

Another colleague’s allegiance to San Francisco was more subtly displayed--a red sweater and gold necklace.

“Niner fans are more sophisticated,” she sniffed, “than him .”

Thus chastised, Ickey’s fan removed his T-shirt and shuffled off to his desk.

This is the way this week has gone, since the Super Bowl is a game once again rather than our game.

But when in the world is this game going to come back to where everyone but Denver’s players did it best?

After all, when a columnist wrote last year that there should be a law that the World Series and the Super Bowl always be played in San Diego, National Football League Commissioner Pete Rozelle was supposed to have responded: “Not a bad idea.”

It probably seems a bit impatient to be wondering when San Diego will get this game again, except that no dates are available until after the next Presidential inauguration.

The next two games are scheduled for New Orleans (‘90) and Tampa (‘91) and it appears that the 1992 game will be another token visit to an ice capital in the Northern U.S. . . . a la Pontiac, Mich., in 1982.

By my reckoning, San Diego’s next shot would then be in 1993. By then, it would be about time Super Week got back to where it enjoyed its finest hours.

Of course, San Diego’s biggest challenge would be to surpass itself . . . from opening bid through execution.

Recall that in 1984, when San Diego went after and got the 1988 game, it promised to expand the stadium capacity from 60,000 to 75,000 and waive rent. Further, it surrendered concession and parking revenues to the NFL. It even turned Torrey Pines Golf Course into the NFL’s private country club for the week.

As it turned out, San Diego also just happened to have perfect venues for some of the “other” events of Super Bowl week . . . namely parties. San Diego does know how to do a party.

And the weather came up just like what we had this week, which was perfect.

Unfortunately, when it comes to negotiations, one side normally expects the other to offer just a little bit more the next time around. And so it will be that San Diego essentially will be bidding against itself for the 1993 game, which will likely be awarded early next year.

To get the attention of the NFL owners, who can be a rather demanding bunch, I have put together a little list of perquisites that might be tacked on to those provided in 1988:

- The NFL will once again get exclusive use of Torrey Pines, but the City Council and Board of Supervisors will volunteer to caddy.

- Lindbergh Field will be open only to private jets. Plebeian travelers, such as fans and media, will be bused from Burbank, Orange County and Phoenix.

- Each NFL owner will have the exclusive use of a hotel. In the interests of parity, the owners with the worst teams will get the biggest and best hotels.

- Restaurants will prioritize seating according to Dun & Bradstreet ratings.

- Freeways will be closed to all but limousines and team buses.

- Shamu, arriving in a special tank, will do the coin toss with his tail.

- Tiger River will be reconstructed at the 50-yard-line for halftime entertainment.

- Nervous coaches will have no concern for security, because each team will practice in a different corner of Camp Pendleton. Each will be assigned a Marine division.

If this isn’t enough to get the Super Bowl and Super Week back to San Diego, let them be cursed to play it forever in Miami . . . or Pontiac.

In the meantime, I suppose we can count our blessings that the city is not overrun by people doing some looney little dance step.