Picking Sunday’s winner

How much do you think Sunday’s Super Bowl commercials on TV will cost? The latest figures show close to $4 million for a 30-second spot and about $8 million for a full minute.

That comes out to about $126,666 a second. That’s Donald Trump-like money. By contrast — and inflation is a big factor here — a 30-second commercial cost $42,000 back in the late 1960s, when the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs.

Hundreds of millions are expected to watch this year’s matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. As in all Super Bowls, a large part of the entertainment will consist of commercials — from Mercedes Benz to Ice Breakers to Volkswagen to Toyota. Notables will include Carmen Electra for Ice Breakers and actress Kaley Cuoco for Toyota.

There might even be another “wardrobe malfunction” of the kind involving Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake in 2004. That kind of unscripted diversion — also known as Nipplegate — must have caused millions of viewers to fish out their TV remote controls just to make sure they weren’t imagining the partial, split-second disrobing of the pop singer.

But amid all the commercials and live performances, there is also an important game scheduled.

And what does a smattering of Las Vegas-area residents think about how the day will go? A sampling of Super Bowl fans shows almost an even split among those who made predictions.

Those who expect the Ravens to win appear to consider the Baltimore team as the underdog. Why? Well, the 49ers already have won five Super Bowls, to one for Baltimore.

Miguel Martinez, a maintenance technician at the Abe Montoya Recreation Center, said that because the Bay Area club has better athletes, the 49ers ought to win in a close game. Miguel’s favorite team is the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Working close by at the rec center is John Sotres, a Highlands University freshman and a fitness tech. The Detroit native is a fan of the Detroit Lions. John, a 230-pound linebacker for the Highlands Cowboys, expects the Ravens to win. And why would John expect that to happen? The team has Ray Lewis on defense, considered by many to be the best linebacker of all time.

Two other rec center employees, control clerks Shayna Ashe, from Cuba, N.M., and Jordan Lowry, of Rio Rancho, pick the Ravens to win. Shayna is a Denver Bronco fan, and Jordan likes the Dallas Cowboys. Shayna would like for Baltimore to win “because the Ravens beat the Broncos” in the playoffs. And Jordan opts for the Ravens “because they’re underdogs.”

Daniel Wagner, a Brooklyn native, who was a member of the Highlands wrestling and football teams, is naturally a New York Giants fan, who says “The 49ers will take it, but I hope the Ravens win.” Like John Sotres, Daniel believes the stellar linebacker, Ray Lewis, will make the difference.

Wagner says other teams in the NFL are good enough to have been playing in Sunday’s game, namely the Broncos and the New England Patriots.

Jesse Trujillo, who works with refrigeration, predicts a score of 31-14 in favor of the 49ers. His expectation that the 49ers will win might have something to do with where Jesse’s from. “I pick the 49ers probably because I’m from San Diego and I’m a Chargers fan.” Jesse said he believes the winner will be decided on team strength, not any individual player.

Tammy Bryant, from Albuquerque, expects a close game in the Ravens’ favor. Why? Tammy answered succinctly, “Because I don’t like the 49ers.”

Bronco fan Larry Abney, a retired state social worker, says San Francisco will win, 35-24. “I’m sentimental. I want them to win,” he said.

A semi-retired Springer rancher, Clarence Thompson, bleeds Bronco orange. But he put aside his disappointment in Denver’s loss in the playoffs long enough to predict a Baltimore victory in a close game. Thompson says he follows the American Football Conference, of which Denver and Baltimore are members, more than the NFC, and that’s one reason he’d like to see a Ravens triumph.

Ed Saavedra, an employee of the city water plant, seemed a bit reluctant to commit to any predictions. Asked which team he thought would win, Ed said “the Patriots.” But the Patriots aren’t in the Super Bowl; they got eliminated a week or two ago. “That’s how much I know or care,” Saavedra said.

He’s more concerned about injuries wrought by high-speed helmet-to-helmet collisions that seriously injure players. All-pro San Diego Charger Junior Seau, committed suicide last May, and his family is suing the league for its failure to protect players.

“When guys started having head injuries, I just gave up on it; I lost interest,” Saavedra said.

• • •

As for me, I reluctantly concede that my beloved Oakland Raiders were eliminated from any kind of playoff contention, and it happened surprisingly early in the season. But they’ll be back.

I’m hopeful their resurgence will take place sometime in my lifetime.

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