The Big Three: A Super Super Bowl

The world can be a crazy place. Some times it helps to step back, close your eyes, and list out a few of the things you’re grateful for. Here’s what I’m grateful for this week, February 2 – 8. In keeping with Super Bowl week, I’m going to try to make this a Super List:

What I’m grateful for:

—Giving back. Mahatma Gandhi once said that “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead knows a thing or two about service to others.

Armstead won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award on Thursday night. The award recognizes a player for excellence on and off the field, specifically highlighting philanthropy and community service.

Each team nominates one player who has had a significant positive impact on his community. Armstead was chosen out of 31 other candidates. The NFL is a cold hard business that makes millions. It’s good to see some of those same owners and players give back.

Armstead and his wife, Melinda, lead an organization dedicated to providing students with the resources they need to thrive. Their efforts have given more than $2 million each year to support youth with academic and social-emotional support needs in San Francisco and Jacksonville.

Okay, now that’s something to root for!

—A super super game. In the mid-60s, Lamar Hunt, the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, first suggested calling the AFL–NFL championship game: the Super Bowl. In a letter to the NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, Hunt jokingly admitted that his kids had been playing with a Super Ball. The moniker, The Super Bowl, had gotten stuck in his head. He suggested that the name “obviously can be improved upon.”

The name stuck though and has never been changed. The Big Game is a now a uniquely American holiday, right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas:

• Family and friends get together for the big day.
• They celebrate with their favorite food and drinks. Anyone for some wings!
• They go overboard on the preparation and hoopla.
• They have traditions like wearing their favorite jersey or gear and talk about the day for years to come.

English musician Sting might not have grown up with the Super Bowl, but he “nailed our crazy culture to a T” when he said, “The Super Bowl is Americana at its most kitsch and fun.” Thank you for Super Bowl craziness!

—The Super Bowl brings out a little perspective on life.

“Those four Super Bowl losses? Yeah, it sucks that we didn’t win, but what are you going to do about it? You can feel sorry for yourself, but that’s not how I was brought up.” –four-time Super Bowl Loser Buffalo Bills Quarterback Jim Kelly.

“Our goal was to win, to win a Super Bowl, but also to win in the right way, to be role models to our community, to represent Indianapolis, the state of Indiana and the National Football League.” –Super Bowl Winning Coach Tony Dungy.

“I think a lot of winning a Super Bowl is being at the right place at the right time. It’s sacrifice, it’s making team plays and being an impactful player is part of it.” –Former NFL Defensive Lineman Chris Long

“The truth is the Super Bowl long ago became more than just a football game. It’s part of our culture, like turkey at Thanksgiving and lights at Christmas, and like those holidays – beyond their meaning – a factor in our economy.” –American television journalist Bob Schieffer.

“A champion is simply someone who did NOT give up when they wanted to.” –Super Bowl winning coach Tom Landry.

“It’s ridiculous for a country to get all worked up about a game—except the Super Bowl, of course. Now that’s important.” —CBS Satirist Andy Rooney

What gave me a smile?

“I’m going to Disneyworld!” Well, not me, but someone will be after this year’s Super Bowl. Since 1987, The Walt Disney Company has signed up the Super Bowl MVP or a key player and have paid them to sing the praises of its theme park resorts in Florida and California.

In most cases, Disney arranges for the player to appear in a parade at either Disneyland or one of the Walt Disney World theme parks the next day. While football players have been featured the most, the campaign also has featured athletes from other championship games and several non-celebrities, most notably, American Idol winners.

The stars who’ve sung the praised of Disneyworld are a who’s who of the NFL, everyone from New York Giants Quarterback Phil Simms who was the first player to say those magic words to Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers to two-time recipient Kansas City Quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Guess who’s been featured the most? I warn you, I’m sighing just mentioning his name. Tom Brady has done the commercial a record four times. I’m not a Brady fan, but who can’t root for the Mouse that roared and the Happiest Place on Earth.

So, who’s going to be going to Disneyland this year?