SIDEWAYS GLANCE THE SUPERFLUOUS HISTORY BOOK.

Byline: - Tom Hoffarth

--The book: ``The Making of the Super Bowl: The Inside Story of the World's Greatest Sporting Event.''

--The author: Don Weiss, former NFL executive director in charge of game-day operations for every Super Bowl ever played, with Chuck Day.

--The pertinent info: $24.95, McGraw-Hill, 400 pages with index.

--The sales pitch: ``It's absolutely everything you need to know about Super Sunday, from the inside out,'' the book jacket claims.

--The song and dance: Some day, when Mr. Weiss is no longer with us, someone will benefit from having an extensive ``how to'' work sheet on running this thing.

For the common folk, however, this might be more than we need to know, or digest, leading up to the big game.

In some ways, it's like getting an extended tour behind the curtain at the three-ring circus. Not only is it not all pretty, it's not all that exciting.

Not to say Mr. Weiss' experiences and insights aren't interesting. His fly-on-the-wall musings on how the merger of the NFL and AFL happened carry weight, with all the major players - Rozelle, Finks, Schramm - getting their due.

But there are also paragraphs upon chapters of background info on things like the NFL TV blackout rule that, while historically important, don't really fit right here.

If you're looking for a Super Bowl trivia guide, this can be helpful. Its appendix has game-day data that documents each national anthem singer, the ticket prices, the halftime performance and where the commissioner's postgame party was held.

If you're looking for a connection for a ticket to Sunday's game, start by calling around to find Mr. Weiss. He's a nice guy and could probably help. But you'll probably get a story to go along with it.

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