January 16, 2014 (Thursday)
Another weekend of playoffs in the NFL will bring the Conference championship games. The NFC title will be won by either the New England Patriots or the Denver Bronchos, but the real matchup for that game, according to many folks, is Brady vs Manning. The AFC game will be played by the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. It will also be a test of quarterbacks, Kaepernick vs Wilson. Both games should be worth watching.
Today, January 16, is the anniversary of Super Bowl VI, played in 1972 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans by the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins. Roger Staubach was named the MVP of that game. Staubach had finished the regular season as the NFL’s top rated passer, having thrown for 1,882 yards and 15 touchdowns. He had also gained 343 yards and 2 touchdowns on 41 runs. When the 2014 Superbowl is played in a few weeks, he will be watching it as a 72-year-old. Many of us find it hard to wrap our minds around that fact. He will always be one of our heroes.
When he played for Navy in 1963, he won the Heisman Trophy. No one from a military academy has won it since. After his career in the military, he began his career with the Dallas Cowboys in 1969 as a 27-year-old rookie. He played for the Cowboys under coach Tom Landry until 1979, during which time he led the team to victory over the Bronchos in Superbowl XII.
In a playoff game in 1975 against Minnesota, he threw a desperate 50-yard pass to Drew Pearson which won the game. After the game, Staubach said he prayed a “Hail Mary” for the pass. The description is still used today by TV commentators as desperation passes are thrown into the end zone by quarterbacks. Encouraging young quarterbacks who may have made mistakes, he reminds them that he threw his final pass to a lineman. What a nice guy.
Staubach established a reputation as a dedicated Christian and devoted husband and father. No doubt he will never be forgotten.