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In los Estados Unidos, Super Bowl XLIV took place el 7 de Febrero, 2010. That's February 7, 2010 for those of you
who don't understand the Spanish language. One has to wonder what if Mexico had its own version of the Big Game.
This is the potential history of what if.
The first pregame ceremonies and halftime shows would have been more humble than today. Marching bands would have
blared, choruses would have chorused, and pigeons would have been released. But wait, did I forget to tell you that
in Mexico there were only two networks en los dias viejas, and both were co-owned? Yes, we're talking Televisa's Canal
de las Estrellas and Canal 5. There was no CBS or ABC, as there is in our country.
As the game got bigger, more and more events got added. In the third year, I think Angelica Maria would have sung
the Mexican National Anthem, marking the first time a big name would have sung el Himno Nacional de Mexico. Over the
years many other Mexican recording stars would have performed the Himno Nacional at the game. Surnames like Aguilar, Castro,
Fernandez, all the way down to Pierce, Vale, Guzman, Casanova, Villarreal, Bisbal--the list is endless.
It isn't just the Himno Nacional that would have gotten bigger. The pregame shows would have been bigger, and so
would have the halftime shows, starting with Antonio Aguilar. There was no "Up with People" in Mexico. BUT WAIT
THERES MORE! Some acts, including Lucha Villa, would be accompanied by marching bands early on. In later years,
however, such acts like Mana, Guardia, Niurka, Banda El Recodo, Samia, etc., would perform at halftime on their own.
Tradition of the Old Spanish gang? Rocio Durcal would have performed at halftime during a Winter Olympics year before
her death in 2006.
And the coin tosses would have become more ceremonial as time went on. But then in 1991 came the arrival of TV
Azteca as Televisa's hated rival. From that point onward, both Canales--El Canal de las Estrellas and Canal 13--would
rotate the big game. Later in the decade the trophy presentations would have been presented on the field. And
in the new millenium the game would have gone HD.
By now el Canal de las Estrellas' play-by-play man would have been Dick Enberg's Mexican equivalent, and the TV
Azteca team would have been the Mexican equivalent of Pat Summerall and John Madden.
AND THAT'S MY SPECIAL REPORT ON WHAT IF MEXICO HAD ITS OWN SUPER BOWL.
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THE CURSE OF J.F.K.
MY FELLOW AMERICANS: Baseball has been full of curses. The Curse of the Bambino...broken. The Curse of the
Black Sox...broken. The Curse of the Billy Goat...still alive as of 2010. The Curse of Colavito...still alive
as of 2010. But there is one little-known curse that has affected a team currently in the playoffs, one that started
even before Dallas became a Major League city (because of the Cowboys). This curse is responsible for the Texas Rangers'
playoff futility, and why they never made it a World Series until, at the earliest, this year (should they win the American
League pennant.).
It all started on November 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy visited Dallas. He was told not to say that Dallas didn't
love him...but then Lee Harvey Oswald assasinated J.F.K....and the rest is high school textbook history.
Fast forward to Los Angeles, 1968. Robert F. Kennedy was campaigning for President. But then, Sirhan Sirhan
assasinated R.F.K. The Brothers Kennedy were now at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, and the home ballpark of
the then-Washington Senators was renamed RFK Memorlal Stadium.
Which leads us to 1972. The Senators announced that they were leaving Ted Kennedy, now a Senator, behind, and they would
be moving to the Dallas suburb of Arlington. Named for: Arlington, Virginia, of course. The Senators became...the
Texas Rangers. Perhaps Jack and Bobby Kennedy put a curse on Rangers, as the Rangers never made the playoffs despite
managers like Williams and Valentine, and players like Sundberg, Harrah and, of course, Nolan Ryan. In 1996, the Rangers
won their division...and for the next 13 years it would be the same sad story: every time they made the playoffs, they were
eliminated, despite Sierra, Gonzalez, Rodriguez and Wetteland.
Ron Washington manages the Rangers now, and there is now players like Molina, Young and Josh Hamilton. And now,
a year after the death of Ted Kennedy, the Rangers are winning until they win the World Series, and if they do, the curse,
with help from not having a Kennedy in the Senate anymore, will be broken. But first they must prove that the A.L. West
will not be Anaheim's forever, and that must be cast in the fabric of the American League pennant. They're playing Tampa
Bay right now and are leading 1-0.
GO RANGERS! BREAK THE CURSE!
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