Lights Out…but the game’s gotta go on!

On the TUNNEYSIDE of SPORTS February 11, 2013 #423 Up next…Lights Out, but the game’s gotta go on!
After further review… One final note to wrap-up the NFL season: whether your T*E*A*M won or lost, it is hoped you came away from Super Bowl XLVII with an eagerness for the 2013 season. The third largest viewing audience in history saw–except for the infamous 34-minute blackout–a great game in the New Orleans Superdome. Guess the NFL has had its share of “outs” this season, from the lockout of its game officials to the unfortunate power outage in the third quarter. The game’s gotta go on!
I co-authored “Super Bowl Sunday-The Day America Stops”, a book describing the Super Bowl phenomenon. Today, it might have been appropriately sub-titled “The Day The World Stops” since the event now draws such a large audience worldwide. The Superdome is familiar to me as I was honored to officiate the first Super Bowl played there on January 16, 1978 (Dallas 27, Denver 10–SB XII). The lights worked fine that day; maybe they’ve been using the same bulbs ever since!
Fans often ask if I ever officiated a game where there was a controversial call. My answer is: Every Sunday! There was a questionable call in SBXII. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach rolled to his right and threw to Drew Pearson in the Broncos end zone, but the pass was intercepted. Broncos ball on the 20. But wait the referee signaled Staubach stepped out of bounds before he threw the ball. With no replay system in place, possession reverted to Dallas, third down. It wasn’t until several days later that a photograph arrived at my door showing Staubach’s foot touching the sideline. The game’s gotta go on!
Another New Orleans experience was Super Bowl VI, featuring Dallas vs Miami in the last NFL game played at Tulane Stadium, and the first of three consecutive Super Bowl appearances for Coach Don Shula’s Dolphins. It was 29 degrees at kickoff. Dallas 24, Miami 3. The first Super Bowl win for the legendary Coach Tom Landry. Shula and his T*E*A*M took that loss hard. That loss, however, inspired the Dolphins to win the next 17 games in row, the entire 1972 season and Super Bowl VII, a record still standing. The message here is play-it-forward. Take any setback that may come your way—the game’s gotta go on!
Will you learn from any setback that can help you keep moving forward?
To contact Jim go to www.jim@jimtunney.com or email him at jim@jimtunney.com.