(7 of 7)
Since the Denver cheerleaders are drawn from lithe, ski-slope-burnished Rocky Mountain womanhood, a substantial showdown will occur this Sunday on the Superdome sidelines as well as between the goal lines. It could be more exciting than the game, which—if this year's Super Bowl follows the soporific pattern of recent years—may be a dogged defensive struggle. Certainly Denver's strategy will center on its magnificent 3-4 Orange Crush. When asked whom the Cowboys feared most among that band, Landry replied: "All eleven guys. They play as if they were backed into a corner and fighting to get out." Dallas' flex 4-3 defense, led by N.F.L. Defensive Player of the Year Harvey Martin, is hardly a pushover either. The fracas in the trenches could be the deciding factor.
Still, there could be pyrotechnics on offense as both coaches search for the quick-strike, unpredictable play. Red Miller has been known to gamble on fourth down; a faked field goal against Oakland during a regular-season matchup resulted in the touchdown. That fact is less amazing than the target of the completed pass from Holder-Backup Quarterback Norris Weese: venerable Kicker Jim Turner, 36, who is enough of a football fossil to wear high-top black shoes. It was the first pass reception of his 14-year pro career. Landry has inserted special big plays into his offense for three late-season games, and each one has produced a touchdown. Most experts rate both coaches as the best offensive planners in the game, and the match of wits between them could be explosive.
In a real sense, a team picture of the
Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys is a family album in shoulder pads. They are the offspring of their cities and their coaches. Roistering Red Miller and Man-with-a-New-Grubstake Craig Morton are the kind of frontier dreamers old Denverites would have appreciated. Cerebral, straight-thinking Tom Landry and All-American Technician Roger Staubach are the steady, main-chance men that made Dallas Big D. These two very different teams from two very different Western cities will shoot it out in the most spectacular corral ever built. The teams and the setting are unique. Before Super Bowl XII is over, the showdown could turn into a show stirring the mountains, the prairies and all the watching football lands beyond.