The first time I covered a Super Bowl, my assignment was Buddy Ryan.
Just Buddy Ryan.
It was the year Mike Ditka’s Chicago Bears and Ryan’s “46 defense” literally blitzed through the NFL. There was no doubt they were going to destroy the pre-Belichick New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. I have never gone into a game knowing so clearly that a quarterback was going to have a bad day. New England’s starter, Tony Eason, was benched without completing a pass.
Yes, I was there to chronicle Ryan’s masterpiece as a defensive guru, try to understand what made him tick, figure out where his ideas came from.