Super Bowl: LA Looked Like a Giant Pep Rally

LOS ANGELES--It looked as if they were going to a giant pep rally. Pennant buttons, horns, and cowbells were everywhere to be seen and heard in the Los Angeles International Airport. Loyal fans of the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Redskins arrived continually for the two days prior to the game, beginning the longest weekend in football.

All week long the flight announcer at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington followed his announcements with Hall to the Redskins!" In Miami, a radio station offered literally to bet the shirt off the back of anybody who wanted to take the Redskins. The switchboard was immediately flooded with thousands of calls, many long-distance from Washington.

Twelve thousand tickets were given by the NFI to the two teams in this year's game of games. Both clubs anticipated difficulty in distributing such a large number. However, the tickets went on sale at 9 a.m. Tuesday the second, and were sold out in both cities by 6 p.m., Wednesday the third.

For those who could not afford them, tickets could be won in lotteries as a number of companies across the country took advantage of the opportunity for super publicity.

Mr. and Mrs. Francis Pruszynski of Worcester won their tickets in a lottery sponsored by Zayre, the discount chain store. "I entered eight of these contests--Maxwell House, Taster's Choice, and some others. Coffee is big on these things," said Mr. Pruszynski. "However, the best deal was the one Aqua Velva gave. They put you on a private plane and flew you with six other people to California."

In the airport terminal Saturday afternoon, bands of Redskins supporters, ranging in size from 5 to 100, intimidated Dolphins fans. The Miami afficionados traveled in smaller groups, and had suntans.

The Washingtonians were betrayed by their heavy winter coats, an anomaly in Los Angeles. No Redstein crowd was complete without a bugler, and loud charges ("Da Da Da DA Da DA") periodically echoed down the tubular walkways of the airport.

Private and public parties took place in the hotels and on the streets of Los Angeles the night before the game. The sight of rows of men swinging down the street singing a Redskin or Dolphin fight song was common. At the palacial Century Plaza Hotel, NBC held a party for its staff and friends. The guests were heavily pre-Washington and D.C. Mayor Walter Washington attended with his wife and a sizeable portion of the D.C. government.

When asked about the importance of the game, the Mayer replied "What's fantastic about this game is the spiritualism, what it does for people. It has brought the whole city together. The Kennedy Center is great and all that, but this game is something for the little guy."

Milton King, the Redskins' vicepresident who has been associated with the club for 40 years, reminisced about the past. "I wish George Preston Marshall was here," he said. "But, you know, if he was still alive, he would not be here. He would not have paid the salaries requisite for getting the players here."

Standing in front of a glass window revealing the red-carpeted interior of the Century Plaza. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle remarked that he had eight parties to go that evening. "Tomorrow we are going to try and break the Munich balloon record of 20,000. At half-time we are going in release 30,000 balloons."

This Super Bowl stands out as special for a number of reasons. Julian Goodman, president of NBC, gave a few. "We will set a new high for the viewers of a televised event, 75 million. With Alaska being hooked up for the first time, even the Eskimos will see the Super Bowl. Also for the first time, a TV black out will not be imposed on the immediate area of the game."

Kyle Rote, former football star and now a news commentator for NBC reviewed some more reasons for the added excitement of this game. "Whenever you have two coaches like George Allen and Don Shula, and you know the way they are, great things can be expected. Also you have a team, Miami, which just missed winning it last year and who is back again as the first undefeated team."

Other luminaries who wandered through the party in various stages of pregame revelry were Vernon Jordan, director of the Urban League. Willy Wood, John Madden, coach of the Oakland Raiders (he looks like a Boston cop), and Curt Gowdy, Dan Simpson, and the rest of the NBC news team.

The Super Bowl festivities continued the next day. The green area surrounding the Los Angeles Colliseum was littered spectators awaiting the 12:30 kickoff. One group of Redskins fans led by a painted brave with buffalo horns snaked its way through the crowds to the best of a drum.

Inside the stadium, the Miami fans had a clear majority. Their bright orange and blue colors stood out better than the Redskins' burgundy and gold in the thick haze which enveloped the stadium. They waved white handkerchiefs and rolled long banners whenever the Dolphins gained yardage.

At half-time the score was 14-0 for the Dolphins. It was not the close game the oddsmakers had predicted. The Redskins offensive line failed to open holes for Larry Brown and provide time for Bill Kilmer to find his receivers.

On the field, ten large colored boxes were wheeled out and opened. About 300 balloons floated out from each one, hardly enough to break the record. Overhead, five smoke planes spelled out a message. "Go Dolphins-AVIS MIAMI"

The message from the "We Try Harder" folks proved correct. The Redskins never recovered, though they scored with two minutes remaining on a fluke play. The Washington fans emerged from the crowd for the first time in the afternoon as the band played "Hail to the Chief". But not enough time remained for the Skins to come back. The final score: 14-7, Miami.

The Coliseum emptied as the scoreboard flashed. "The Dolphins ARE super." One tired Miami fan staggered down the exit ramp with his shirt open and a half-finished drink in his hand. He muttered. "We can't lose, we can't lose." The Redskin lover next to him looked at his rolled up Super Bowl pennant and said nothing.