Like it is

Arkansas' spot secure in Super Bowl lore

Denver Broncos linebackers coach Reggie Herring spent three seasons at Arkansas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Denver Broncos linebackers coach Reggie Herring spent three seasons at Arkansas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

In the 50 years of Super Bowls there have been bad games, good games and some great games.

The development of this one-day tradition when friends and family get together to eat too much, drink too much and celebrate the end of another football season has been incredible.

Halftime shows and television commercials have become almost as talked about as the games themselves. In building up to this 50th Super Bowl, CBS did two-hour specials on the greatest commercials -- which proved they have not been as entertaining the past few years -- and the 12-minute performances of some of the biggest entertainers ever.

Now comes the game. Today, it is the aging Peyton Manning (aging for an NFL quarterback, certainly not in life) and the Denver Broncos defense versus Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.

Already tens of thousands of words have been written about this game. It has been analyzed and overanalyzed. In this space, let's try for a little levity. Here's a quiz that has some local flavor to it, but not entirely.

1.In Super Bowl I, the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10, but the Packers led only 14-10 at the half. An Arkansas native scored two second-half touchdowns for the Pack, and Vince Lombardi said his first one was critical because it put the Chiefs in a big hole. That running back was:

A. Billy Ray Smith Sr.

B. Elijah Pitts

C. Lance Alworth

D. Frank Broyles

2.Last question about the initial bowl -- it was unique in that it was the first championship game between the rival NFL and AFL, but it was also the only Super Bowl that:

A. Elvis was in attendance

B. Had a featured drink called The Touchdown Trough

C. Was simulcast on CBS and NBC

D. Was played on Monday night

3.Cam Newton played one year at Auburn and beat the Arkansas Razorbacks 65-43. True or false: Newton played one game in War Memorial Stadium.

4.Only one Arkansas Razorbacks coach has ever coached a winning Super Bowl quarterback. Who was it?

A. Frank Broyles

B. Houston Nutt

C. Bobby Petrino

D. Bret Bielema

5.Reggie Herring, a former defensive coordinator for the Razorbacks, is the linebackers coach for the Broncos. What is his lifetime record as a college head coach?

6.A former UALR basketball player, part of the team that was honored this weekend for its victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament 30 years ago, spent time on the rosters of both the Broncos and the Denver Nuggets. Who was it?

A. Curtis Kidd

B. Paris McCurdy

C. Paul Springer

D. Mike Newell

7.True or false: Two Super Bowl MVPs have been featured speakers at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps banquet.

8.In the first 49 Super Bowls, the MVP was a quarterback 27 times. How many defensive players have won the award, including SB XII, when two Dallas Cowboys defenders shared the honor?

9.True or false: The Cowboys were the first team to make eight Super Bowl appearances.

10.True or false: Cam Newton will dance on TV today.

Answers: 1. B. Elijah Pitts, who played at Philander Smith College. 2. C. Each league had its own TV contract. 3. T̶r̶u̶e̶.̶False.* When he was at Blinn Junior College, he played Arkansas Baptist i̶n̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶ ̶M̶e̶m̶o̶r̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶S̶t̶a̶d̶i̶u̶m̶.̶ in Blinn, Texas. 4. D. Brett Bielema coached Russell Wilson at Wisconsin. 5. 0-1. Herring was the interim coach for the Cotton Bowl after the 2007 season. 6. B. Paris McCurdy. 7. True. Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. 8. Nine. 9. True. 10. Probably.

Sports on 02/07/2016

*CORRECTION: Blinn College’s Cam Newton played against Arkansas Baptist College on Sept. 12, 2009, in Blinn, Texas. An incorrect true-false answer was given in this Like It Is.

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