All This and Football Too...

We're back...books, notes, papers, and lots of unfinished reading to plow through in the next three weeks. The grinding sound permeates the air around Lamont, Hilles, and the ever-ominous Widener.

Those of us with light loads for the reading period are enjoying the benefits of late sleep and no classes. But many of the other exam-crazy Harvardians have locked themselves up among the insurmountable depths of back work.

It seems there is nothing that can bring them out from their three-week pilgrimage through the land of study. Ah...but there is one spectacle which should bring life to the studying masses.

Sunday, January 9, the Rose Bowl will receive more attention than the reading for Gov 20. Reading period will break down; motion all over the country will slow to a halt. Super Bowl XI will gain control of us.

Televisions will work overtime on this "Super-Sunday" become "Super-Weekend" bonanza. They'll be "Super Night-Before," and "Super Day-Before" and "Super Morning-After;" there should even be "Super Commercial-Between-Plays." (A minute of commercial time during the game costs $250,000.)

NBC has paid $3.5 million for the right to bring its $5 million worth of equipment, Curt Gowdy and "Dandy" Don Meredith into Pasadena for the occasion.

Charlie's Angels, who've had their hands in a little of everything this season, have also gotten in on the Super Bowl celebration. Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith will mix it up with Joe Namath on television tonight to give us some of the more glamorous moments of the Super Weekend.

Even Walt Disney Productions has a hand in the act: they'll provide us with a spectacular half-time display that should outdo the 4000 pigeons and the "missing-man" formation of Air Force jets that have highlighted half-time spectacles in past years.

Throughout the past weeks, the media has been preparing for their yearly climax amidst the hubbub surrounding football's biggest game. At times it seems all this concern for production is overshadowing the true purpose of the day: football.

There have been years when the football aspect of the Super Bowl has been unable to match the pageantry of the Weekend; but this year, the football should provide more than its share of excitement. Minnesota and Oakland return to the Super Bowl as losers of past editions of The Game.

Both teams are hunting for a victory. Oakland has missed the Bowl for the past nine years (they lost to Green Bay in the second Super Bowl), and Minnesota has lost three times in their three Bowl appearances.

What's the breakdown? Oakland has a passing game which centers around experienced quarterback Ken Stabler. With a solid offensive line to give him protection, "Snake" should be able to find receivers Cliff Branch and Fred Biletnikoff for a successful aerial onslaught.

The key to the whole game, though, is the legendary man in purple, Viking quarterback Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton--who holds NFL records for total passing yardage(41,798), touchdowns(308) and completions(3186)--has 16 years of experience and should finally guide Minnesota to a national championship.

Tarkenton consistently displays the ability to pick apart zone defenses and "thread the needle" with amazing completions in the face of crowding defenders.

Always known for his ability to produce under pressure, Tarkenton provides Minnesota with the ability to play good catch-up football when necessary.

In this battle of the aerial masters, we find the roots of an exciting contest. Add the excellence of Minnesota's running attack (Chuck Foreman, the NFC's Most Valuable Player, and running mate Brent McClanahan), and you have all the ingredients for three hours of exciting football.

Football thus remains the major reason for the Super Weekend that is quickly approaching. There will be 103,000 fans in Pasadena and millions nationwide engrossed in this sports spectacle.

The booze will flow, cheese and crackers will abound, and parties at home, at bars, or anywhere with a television screen will mix drunkenness with football mania.

And here at Harvard, Reading Period will take a weekend vacation. Super Bowl XI, in all its monstrous proportions, will arrive to disrupt studies and dominate activity (or the lack thereof).

And lastly, for all of you wishing a prediction, there's no question: Minnesota 31-Oakland 24.