Sourdough Sam
Well-known member
- Mar 20, 2019
- 1,637
- 0
Greetings Faithful! It's Mavo and I've been Faithful since 1959 when I was seven years old and saw my first Niners game at Kezar Stadium. From time to time I will be taking you back with me in my time machine to relive important 49ers milestones and glorious moments of triumph. During our journey through time, I will relate my personal remembrances as a member of the Faithful for over 60 years. I've set the target date to January 24, 1982, another HUGE red letter day in 49ers history. So c'mon, strap in tight and let's get going!
Last week, the Faithful Time Machine relived the 1981 NFC Championship game that culminated with The Catch by Dwight Clark. Today we will relive Super Bowl XVI, the Niners reward for that victory.
This is my personal story of my trip to Super Bowl XVI where our 49ers captured their first of five Lombardi trophies. My journey to Pontiac, Mich., the site of the Super Bowl that year, began a year before.
On my Pan Am flight home from Super Bowl XV, won by the Oakland Raiders, my journey to Super Bowl XVI began. Why, because my Niners idol, at that time, John Brodie sat down next to me on the flight. Brodie was in New Orleans as part of the NBC broadcast team.
Before we slept on the night flight, our flight attendant served us some snacks and drinks as we chatted about how Bill Walsh had the Niners on the right course to the playoffs.
The week after the 1981 NFC Championship Game I was back in the Levi's Dallas office. My plan was to fly from Dallas to Detroit on Friday afternoon, two days before the game. I had my rental car and a hotel room reserved. I was going to buy my ticket in Detroit and was counting on ticket prices dropping due to the frigid forecast for gameday in Pontiac.
It was a very bumpy flight to Detroit because of an approaching ice storm. On arrival, I got my tiny rental car and drove to the 49ers hotel to find John Brodie and hopefully buy my bargain ticket. Once at the Sheraton Hotel in Southfield, Mich., I had a great time visiting with some of my past Niners heroes like Bob "The Geek" St. Clair and Joe "The Jet" Perry. But, I couldn't find John Brodie or buy my ticket.
When I woke up the next morning it was freezing outside. After I escaped my nearby hotel to drive back to the Niners hotel for breakfast, I put out the word to the hotel staff that I was looking for a ticket.
I was sitting at the bar with KTVU's sportscaster Gary Park discussing the game when the bartender told me he had a ticket for me. He told me it was a great ticket in the club level at the 40-yard line. The seller wanted to keep the sale secret so I was to meet him in a hallway by a cigarette machine.
It was with much trepidation that I went to the hallway at the appointed time. Two guys eventually showed up 15 minutes late, but I got my ticket. Life was good!
Super Bowl XVI Game Day
From the get go, my gameday plan to avoid the below zero weather went horribly wrong! Since I didn't pack any cold weather clothes, my plan was to arrive at the Silverdome an hour before the parking lot opened. Then, after parking close to an entrance, I'd run in quickly. How bad could the cold be I thought.