Super Bowl memories: Phil Simms, Janet Jackson and the streaker

Am I the only one who feels old when I hear that Phil Simms will be calling his seventh Super Bowl this Sunday? Wasn’t it just yesterday that Simms was pitching his perfect game masterpiece for the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXI?

Okay, well I guess that was 26 years ago. And now, perhaps, there are young fans who don’t even think of Simms as a former NFL quarterback, the same fans who didn’t realize that John Madden used to be a coach. After all, when Simms broadcasts Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans Sunday between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, only Madden (with eight) will have been the color man for more Super Bowls than Simms.

“I can’t believe I’ve done seven,” Simms said at a recent CBS Sports press event. “Of course I’m proud of it. And I’ve always said, ‘Sooner or later I wanna come out of one and be happy.’ … Broadcasting is a lot like playing in those terms. You go to bed and all you think about is the things you wish you’d have done.”

For the record, Simms called Super Bowls XXX and XXXII for NBC, then XXXV, XXXVIII, XLI and XLIV for CBS. Plenty of big moments from those games – John Elway’s first title, Tom Brady’s second, Peyton Manning, the Saints’ onside kick – but what’s the first thing Simms thinks about when he looks back at the big games he’s called?

“My most memorable moment probably is a bad one,” Simms said. “It’s the Janet Jackson thing.”

Ah, yes, Nipple-gate. Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime. Simms explained that he didn’t see it when it happened. But as he and Greg Gumbel made their way back to the booth before the start of the second half, he knew something was up.

“Before halftime was over, we had tons of executives running into our booth yelling, ‘Give us a replay!’ We had no idea.”

When Simms learned what the fuss was about, he shook his head in disbelief – not so much about what had happened as for the frenzy that followed. Simms had a job to do – call the second half of the Super Bowl. The Patriots held a 14-10 halftime lead over the Panthers, and a wild finish was about to ensue.

However, there was one more memorable Super Bowl moment that was unfolding. Players and coaches were pouring back onto the field for the second half when Simms noticed something odd.

“I just remember seeing the guy in the officials uniform. I saw him on the far sideline and wondered what he was doing there… because he looked funny.”

Indeed, it wasn’t an official. It was an imposter.

“He was the guy that got naked and ran onto the field,” Simms laughed.

Mark Roberts, a British streaker who has crashed several major events, probably would have received more notoriety for his Super Bowl stunt if not for the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. Still, it was a big deal.

“So I spotted him first," Simms said. "I’m not proud of that, but I saw him.”

So Simms missed the nipple during halftime, but he got the Full Monty just a few minutes later.

Bill Cowher talks return to coaching, tattoos

Before the 2012 NFL season began, it was a safe bet that Bill Cowher would be one of the first names mentioned for most any prominent head coaching vacancy. Yet by the time Black Monday rolled around and seven teams had openings, Cowher suddenly seemed like an afterthought.

How’d that happen?

Perhaps, as some have suggested, Cowher is looking for more money and more power than teams are willing to give. Or maybe he’s just not ready.

“No, no, no,” was Cowher’s response Tuesday when asked if he planned to seek any of the jobs sill out there. The occasion was a CBS press event touting the network’s blanket coverage of Super Bowl XLVII, so the former Steelers coach turned CBS Sports analyst used that as an opportunity to plug his current employer.

“We have the Super Bowl this year,” he said. “All the coaches want to get to the Super Bowl, I already know I’m going to be there.”

Assuming Cowher waits another year to get serious about a return to the sidelines, that would be seven years away from the coaching business. Not a problem, said the 55-year-old Cowher, who coached the Steelers from 1992-2006 and got them to two Super Bowls, winning one.

“I think it’s a non-issue,” he said. “I did it for 27 years. You don’t just forget it overnight. The one thing about this job is that it’s been really good because it allows me to study the game, do features on the game. I watch tape. It’s not like you’re out of it. I know how the game is changing.”

Cowher’s hard-nosed style must come to terms with the changes that have taken place regarding player safety and limits on hitting, but he’s prepared for that.

“Some of the hits that are now illegal are hits I was showing the night before the game. But that’s the way the game is evolving. You just have to teach the right thing.”

Cowher doesn’t think the changes will make it too difficult for him to get back into coaching, though he admits it won’t be easy.

“It would be a challenge,” Cowher said “But that’s probably why I’d get back in – because of the challenge.”

Cowher’s name was mentioned often in New York before the Jets hired Rex Ryan in 2009. With Ryan firmly on the hot seat in 2013, don’t be surprised to see his name come up again. And given the hubbub over Ryan’s Mark Sanchez tattoo last week, someone asked Cowher if he’d ever consider getting a Ben Roethlisberger tattoo.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, tongue in cheek, “at least he won me a Super Bowl.”