VIDEO : FOOTBALL'S IN THE AIR, SO WHY FIGHT IT?Byline: Robert Bianco Special to the Daily News The Super Bowl is like a boisterous all-night bash going on in the apartment directly above your bedroom. You're not going to get any rest until it's over, so you might as well join the party. The bowl's impact is all the more amazing when you consider that most of the games have been so dull, people end up looking forward to the commercial breaks. If any other TV or movie series had produced a comparable level of mass boredom, it would have been canceled long ago. Instead, the game and the hype that surrounds it just seem to keep getting bigger. It's the sports equivalent of people who are famous just for being famous: Everyone watches it because everyone watches it. You could try to counterprogram coun·ter·pro·gram v. coun·ter·pro·grammed or coun·ter·pro·gramed, coun·ter·pro·gram·ming or coun·ter·pro·gram·ing, coun·ter·pro·grams tr.v. the Super Bowl with videos about, say, gardening or ballet, but you'd only be kidding yourself; the game would still be right there behind you, looming over your consciousness. My advice is to give in with one of these special Super Bowl football videos. Five are about the sport, five feature ex-football stars, and one is a special overtime bonus. The sport: Black Sunday: (1977, Paramount, $24.95) Here's one way to liven up Verb 1. liven up - make lively; "let's liven up this room a bit" liven, enliven, invigorate, animate energize, perk up, energise, stimulate, arouse, brace - cause to be alert and energetic; "Coffee and tea stimulate me"; "This herbal infusion doesn't the Super Bowl: Blow up the crowd. Middle Eastern terrorists and the pilot of a blimp blimp: see airship. join forces to bomb the bowl, killing the fans, the players and the U.S. president who is in the crowd. No doubt that's one of the reasons presidents only make an appearance by phone. North Dallas North Dallas is an expansive area of numerous communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, (USA). It spans portions of three counties: Collin, Dallas, and Denton, and has strong social ties to two enclaves of Dallas (University Park and Highland Park) and a near-enclave Forty: (1979, Paramount, $14.95) The best football movie (and one of the best sports movies) ever made, this dark comedy explores the toll taken on players by a sport that is far more business than pleasure. Look for former Oakland Raider John Matuszak John Daniel Matuszak (October 25, 1950 - June 17, 1989), nicknamed Tooz, was an American football player in the NFL who later became an actor. He was the first draft pick of 1973 and played most of his career with the Oakland Raiders until he retired after winning his among the players. All the Right Moves: (1983, FoxVideo, $14.98) Tom Cruise had one of his early hits with this drama about a high-school kid who sees football as his ticket out of his mill-town home. His high school coach is played by Craig T. Nelson Craig T. Nelson (born Craig Richard Nelson on April 4, 1944 in Spokane, Washington) is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous motion pictures. He starred in three television shows, Coach, Call to Glory and The District. , who graduated into a long TV run as a college head coach in ``Coach.'' Brian's Song: (1971, Columbia TriStar, $64.95) This based-on-truth football tear-jerker scores a spot on everyone's list of best-remembered made-for-TV movies. (Well, everyone who's old enough to remember it.) James Caan and Billy Dee Williams star as Brian Piccolo Louis Brian Piccolo (October 31, 1943 – June 16, 1970) was a professional football player for the Chicago Bears for four seasons. He died from embryonal cell carcinoma, which was found as a large tumor in his chest cavity. and Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (born May 30, 1943 in Wichita, Kansas), also known as "The Kansas Comet", was a professional football player in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears. He currently resides in Wakarusa, Indiana. , Chicago Bears The stars: C.C. & Company: (1970, Columbia TriStar, $14.95) Joe Namath did more than any other player to turn the Super Bowl into an event, and it, in turn, made him a star. Unfortunately, that stardom didn't extend much past the playing field, thanks in large part to abysmal movies like ``C.C.'' Of course, it didn't help that Namath's acting talents matched his material. Cannonball Run: (1981, Vestron, $29.98) Terry Bradshaw, the most successful quarterback in Super Bowl history, has a cameo in this insipid road comedy and actually comes out better than most. The film stars college player Burt Reynolds, and features a guest spot by TV odds-maker Jimmy ``The Greek'' Snyder. The Dirty Dozen: (1967, MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. , $19.98) Jim Brown went from being one of the sport's greatest runners to being one of the screen's first male African-American sex symbols. Rent ``The Dirty Dozen,'' and then take a look at him 30 years later in ``Original Gangstas'' (where he teamed with Kansas City Chief star Fred Williamson) or ``Mars Attacks.'' We should all hold up so well. Broken Arrow: (1995, FoxVideo, $19.99) Former Raider star and current Fox commentator Howie Long makes a credible villain in this otherwise incredible John Woo adventure. It doesn't work up much suspense, but then, neither do most Super Bowls. The bonus: Song of Norway: (1970, CBS/Fox, $59.98) Overly long, overproduced, and unendurably corny corn·y adj. corn·i·er, corn·i·est Trite, dated, melodramatic, or mawkishly sentimental. [From corn1. . It's the perfect prep for the half-time show. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: A group of terrorists, piloted by Bruce Dern, left, and led by Marthe Keller, bomb the Super Bowl in the 1977 thriller ``Black Sunday.'' |
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