On The Air
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
February 5, 2005

We watched fourteen hours of television for the NFC Championship game.  Big deal.  Fourteen hours is for wimps.  Here’s my 24-hour game plan for “Super Bowl Sunday.”

5:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. – Local newscasts – Yes, the last two weeks has been a non-stop two-week pre-game show on the news. Suck it up for a few more hours of photos of children and pets in Eagles’ garb, bandwagon jumping anchors and reporters, green food, and the Eagles’ theme song.

9:00 a.m. – “SportsCenter” - ESPN.  Most of ESPN’s “experts” have predicted the Patriots to win the game.   “Game Day Live” – WTXF.  Check to see if host Don Tollefson spontaneously combusts from excitement.

10:00 a.m. – “NFL Films Presents:  Buck, Aikman, and Collinsworth – All Access” – Fox.  Get a behind the scenes look at the top broadcasting team on the network. “The Sports Reporters” – ESPN. Curses to “The Sports Reporters” for being the first show to bring every dorky sports reporter onto television.

11 a.m. – “Untold Stories of The Super Bowl” - Fox or  “The Donovan McNabb Show” – KYW. 

11:30 a.m. – Eagles Kickoff – KYW

Noon – “Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 Presents Boom Boom Huckjam.”  Nothing says “Super Bowl” more than skateboarding, right?  This is the time to pick up wings for the game.  While driving to pick up the wings, choose from WIP 610-AM or ESPN 920-AM.

1 p.m. – “Best Darn Super Bowl Road Show Period” – Though Chris Rose no longer hosts the show, Tom Arnold and John Salley continue.  This is a good time to pick up beverages.

2-6 p.m. – “Super Bowl Sunday Pre Game Show” - Fox – Entertainers include Gretchen Wilson with the Charlie Daniels Band, Black Eyed Peas with Earth Wind and Fire, and Alicia Keys.  Cadets from the U.S. Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, West Point and the Coast Guard Academy will sing “The National Anthem.”

3:30 p.m. –“Eagles: Road to the Super Bowl” – NFL Network

4 p.m. – “Pre Game Live” – Comcast SportsNet with Michael Barkann (every bit as smooth as the network guys), Vaughn Hebron, Governor Ed Rendell, and Ray Didinger.

6:30 p.m. – Kickoff! – Fox - Enjoy four hours of movie trailers, network promos, commercials, and oh, yes, and the game between the Eagles and Patriots.  The announcers are Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Cris Collinsworth on Fox or Merrill Reese and Mike Quick on WYSP 94.1-FM. 

Halftime – Paul McCartney – Fox.  Fox executives assure America that this year’s show will be classy.  Of course this is the network that brought us “Temptation Island,” “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire,” and “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance.”

Two Minute Warning – If the Eagles are winning, turn on WYSP 94.1-FM for Merrill Reese’s historic final call of the game. If the Eagles are losing, start crying.

10:00 – “Post Game Show” - Fox with Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, James Brown, and Jimmy Johnson

11:00 p.m. – 1 a.m. – “Post Game Live” – Comcast SportsNet – Barkann and company return for final analysis.  Give a game ball to Eagles’ reporter Derrick Gunn who has been with the team every step of the way for years.

11:30 p.m. – “Super Bowl Frenzy” – WPVI, “Sports Final”- WCAU, “Eagles Total Access” – KYW

1 a.m. – 5 a.m. - Listen to WIP 610-AM for game reaction, or watch ESPN overnight.