Super Bowl Sunday

No pholks, I didn’t go to this year’s Super Bowl.  For thirty-five years now I have missed getting tickets.

And this year I didn’t win any pools or even make even a small wager.

But pholks, I did something which I’ve never done before on Super Sunday. I watched the game from a business owned by the starting Super Bowl quarterback. With about 50 other people I was screaming and yelling, jumping up and down, pacing, wringing my hands and getting a little out of control watching Trent Dilfer and the Baltimore Ravens capture pro football’s biggest prize.

All this action took place at Dilfer’s Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealership in Porterville. Although I’m a lifelong San Francisco 49er fan I have been a Dilfer enthusiast since his days at Fresno State where he helped my alma mater beat the snot out of USC nearly a decade ago.

Bill Clayton, Dilfer’s partner in the new car dealerships in Porterville and Delano and used car operation in Hanford, invited me to the bowl bash where employees and families gathered to celebrate the big event. I deal with Clayton on advertising and took the invitation without a second’s hesitation.

I’ve been to at least a dozen Super Bowl parties, most where the party was much more exciting than the game. The social spin on some of them made bigger and louder impacts than any Pro Bowl middle linebacker. But this was something special. The fact that Channel 47 had a film crew on hand on the whole game, even before kick-off, added more relish to the festivities. Tony, the no-so-shy Channel 47 cameraman made sure everyone was on the alert when the network cameras would be on the local hero. Of course there was no danger of anyone in this crowd rooting for the Giants, although one Giant, Otis Stoutmeyer who played at Fresno State in the Dilfer era, was applauded when his name was mentioned.

Although a couple of new cars were sold in the morning and several people stopped in to buy special Super Bowl and Trent Dilfer tee-shirts close to kick-off time, the dealership shutdown for the big game so everyone could concentrate and celebrate the boss’s day in the sun.

At half time the winner of an autographed football was drawn from a drum which had been filled with entry forms from a weekend promotion. The lucky winner was called on the phone and came down to collect his prize. His Super Sunday became extra super. Later Joe Airoso, a Tulare area farmer and avid Dilfer fan who bought a van earlier in the day, came back and celebrated the Ravens victory. Later he would be interviewed by the television sportscaster and tell how proud he was to have bought a car from Dilfer on the day he won the Super Bowl.

Once the game ended and the back slaps, high fives, hugs, kisses, handshakes, and tears slowed down, a few people left but most stayed for a  “live spot” scheduled to be beamed back to Fresno for broadcast. A glitch on the signal stopped that from becoming reality but didn’t deter a filming of post-game comments, cheers and assorted craziness. It was fun.

So pholks, I have no idea where I will spend my next Super Bowl Sunday. But, unless Trent and the boys repeat, I don’t think my chances of spending it with someone so closely associated with one of the starting quarterbacks.

SPEAKING OF CHANCES, I thought I might take one with my golf game. Yes, I took a chance that a new cap might change my luck and improve my score. I was given a handsome Klink Citrus cap by Bill Bohland, a veteran employee of the Ivanhoe Sunkist associated packinghouse early last year. It earned me several compliments but did little for my score.

Two weeks ago I told Bill that the new style green Klink cap he sports looked nice. Maybe I could improve my game with one of those. He gave me one. I played two rounds with it. My score still sucks.

The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.