Galloway: Jerry World will trump weather in next Super Bowl bid
Name-dropping here.
A Fort Worth visitor named Troy Polamalu asked me a question the other day, and no, Troy Polamalu has never asked me anything before, but did so only because he spotted a local.
"Why don't you guys use salt?"
Strange question, but also in keeping with the strange Nome theme of our Super Bowl week.
When the Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL, and the star whose jersey is the No. 1 seller in the league, is wondering about our lack of road salt, then it sums up the local "situation" perfectly.
It should be noted that Polamalu was more inquisitive than complaining about our weather hell of the past week.
Coach Mike Tomlin, along with the rest of the Steelers, who have called Fort Worth home since Monday, have freely praised what TCU had to offer in the way of practice facilities, particularly the indoor field.
The same, by the way, goes for the Packers, who used the indoor facility at Highland Park High School on the Dallas side.
The irony is that two teams came to North Texas to prepare for a Super Bowl, and both say they got in all their work. And if Saturday's bright sunshine gives way to more winter stuff today (it's possible, says the forecast), the game is being played in the largest and best indoor barn in the world.
Nothing from a football standpoint has or will be disturbed.
Then again, the Super Bowl is not about football until the game actually kicks off.
It's all that other "stuff" that has been disrupted by four days of sleet, below-zero wind chill, road ice, then more road ice, 80 consecutive hours of below freezing temps, rolling blackouts and, finally, heavy snow on Friday.
Other than that, what's the problem?
The stir-crazy national media, most of them trapped in a downtown Dallas hotel since Tuesday, have leveled some blasts in our direction, including the opinion that no Super Bowl should ever be held here again.
There's also been, of course, some mocking of Jerry Jones, the owner/host for this event.
"This is Jerry's worst nightmare," is a popular description.
I kinda agreed, until my man Mark changed my mind on Friday.
"Jerry's worst nightmare would be a punt hitting the video board in the Super Bowl," he said.
Excellent point.
Some 100 football games have been played at The Big Yard in Arlington between high school, college and the Cowboys over the past two seasons, and no punt has ever clanged off Jumbo Jerry.
The odds are minuscule it would happen in a Super Bowl.
But what were the odds of last week's extreme weather?
While the forecast for today is again dicey, did I mention that weather is no sweat for football at The Big Yard?
Plus, at least downtown Fort Worth took on the proper Super Bowl scene atmosphere despite frigid conditions Friday night. Huge crowds descended upon Sundance Square.
Then came the sun on Saturday, and Sundance was Bourbon Street as massive crowds overflowed the downtown area.
A suggestion to Troy Aikman, who is chairing the quest to bring Super Bowl No. 50 back here in five years:
House the 5,000 media, many of them now whining, in downtown Fort Worth. Sundance Square can give the media the action, no matter the weather. Despite the best intentions, a hotel in downtown Dallas offers very little in the way of restaurants and bars within walking distance.
I say that not for anti-Dallas reasons, but as a veteran of 30-something Super Bowls. If I had spent the past week in downtown Dallas, yes, I'd be among the whiners.
No doubt the weather this time will hurt Troy and Jerry's salesmanship effort for No. 50, but the one hammer this area continues to have is Jerry's jewel in Arlington.
There's no indoor facility like it anywhere, plus no stadium anywhere in the Super Bowl cycle that can go 100,000 fans watching a game at 72 degrees, no matter the conditions outside.
Hold tight, but it's about generating the money for the NFL when it comes to where a Super Bowl will be held. Jerry has the No. 1 cha-ching palace in the country.
While Aikman will be facing third-and-long as the chairperson for L, don't count out him hitting Irvin on a post pattern.
Meanwhile, all our weather hell memories can be eased if the Steelers and Packers play up to the potential of this Super Bowl matchup.
All elements are in place for a classic game. A classic game would surpass the weather as the No. 1 topic of this Super Bowl week.
For those who work in Sundance Square businesses, you are cheering for the Steelers. The downtown celebration Sunday night with Pittsburgh fans would be crazy.
But I've got to go with the Pack, based on the roll this team has been on since December.
Oh, yeah. The answer to Polamalu's question:
Unlike back east, no local city is known to use road salt in icy conditions because of the damage it causes to roads. Therefore, sand is the preference.
How did I know that?
I didn't, until Mayor Mike Moncrief told me.
Randy Galloway can be heard on Galloway & Co. weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.
Randy Galloway, 817-390-7697
This story was originally published February 5, 2011 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Galloway: Jerry World will trump weather in next Super Bowl bid."