From: floydg@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Floyd Goodrich)
Subject: Re: "How bout them Cowboys"
Organization: Motorola Inc., Austin Tx.
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 21:31:50 GMT

In article <1993Jan22.174502.2527@equalizer.cray.com> mcs@fps.com (Mike Sanfratello) writes:
>In article <1993Jan21.152325.21236@oakhill.sps.mot.com> floydg@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Floyd Goodrich) writes:
>>I don't see any clear advantage for the Bills.  The NFC Championship game
>>had as much build-up and as many distractions as any in recent memory.
>
>I doubt it.  Maybe you haven't followed a team closely through the two weeks
>leading up to the Superbowl, but wait until this weekend when they arrive
>in Pasadena.  It is a medai frenzy and it goes on *all* week.  The media
>catches the players after practice, at the hotel, on the can - you name
>it.  This, however, will affect both teams in some way, but in no way does
>it compare to blowing into SF a day or two before the NFC championship
>and staying in a hotel that maybe the media doesn't even know about.

(Reread my statement which you quoted and pay close attention to your 
antecedent syntax and explain why you thought I was talking about the SB.)

Don't be silly!  I never compared the NFC Championship game with the Super
Bowl hype.  I stated that the NFC Championship game had as "many distractions 
as any [NFC Championship game] in recent memory":  constant questions about
the field, the entire rip-out-the-turf saga, having to relive The Catch ad
infinitum, inevitable comparisons about the changing of the guard, a young
emerging team taking on the team of the last decade, etc.

To me this suggests that Dallas can survive the hype.  JJ has coached many
big games in the college and pro ranks, and I can only think of one where
his teams blew it mentally.  After that, he apparently has learned how
to control his players and prepare them mentally for the game.  (Numerous
bowl games at Miami, clutch road wins with a backup QB at RFK and the Vet 
during the playoff drive last year, the NFC CG in SF this year....)

Explain why you think Buffalo has a clear advantage because of hype.  The
reasons I've seen (and don't buy) include:
1) Dallas is just happy to be there; Buffalo is on a mission to win
2) Just look at how Dallas was celebrating, but Buffalo is so stern and
   is on their best behavior
3) Buffalo has endured SB Week 2 times already.

#1 is just pure fiction.  Why doesn't Dallas want/need/crave the SB as much
as Buffalo?

#2 and #3:  Remember Denver's 3 trips to the SB in the 80s?  Their first 
trip it is said that they were too distracted.  Their second trip they were 
more focused.  Their third trip, they were on a mission; they "weren't just 
happy to be there;" they really wanted to wine to dispel popular perception 
that they were chokers and to prove to themselves they really belong.  Oh,
and in case you didn't know, they lost all 3 of those games, too.  Maybe
being "on a mission" or "doing it for the third time" hasn't hostorically
meant so much.

Maybe Dallas WILL come out rattled and blow it.  I don't think they will,
though.  They have had no turnovers in 2 playoff games.  They have been called
for few penalties.  I can't recall many blown assignments or mental mistakes.
Nobody has lost their helmet and thus been unable to start a game.

Those are things indicative of being mentally "tight," and Dallas hasn't done
them in the playoffs.  The Bills face the same pressure and media attention
that Dallas does, and I don't believe that they are immune while Dallas isn't.
Why do people concentrate on intangibles when there are many tangible and
objective ways to compare the teams? This game will be won on the field;
why don't you focus on what the teams have accomplished on the field.

Floyd Goodrich
floydg@oakhill.sps.mot.com