Jews in Sports: Super Jew

It is the day every woman knows they cannot take their husband shopping. The Sunday on your calendar you circle well in advance. The one evening you tell your relatives you will be late to an event due to a “prior engagement.” It’s finally here: Super Bowl Sunday!

With the biggest football event of the year being played in the “everything-is-bigger” state of Texas, this Super Bowl – in Dallas – will undoubtedly be one of the better Bowl games viewed in recent memory.

Although at season’s onset many a Dallas Cowboys fan hoped their beloved ‘Boys would make the Big Show, two of our Jewish brethren on the Big D roster – Igor Olshansky and Kyle Kosier – will be sitting at home with millions around the world watching the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers entrench themselves in foxholes as they each vie for footballs grandest prize: the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

A few reasons, aside from Steelers Defensive End Brett Kiesel‘s (awesome) beard, to tune into the game:

Cowboys Stadium is one of the largest – and most expensive – in the country, including a 180-foot “HD big screen” (first of its kind) hanging over the field.

The owner, Jerry Jones, is larger than life (just ask him).

This may also be the last professional football game watched for a while as the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire March 3 with no renewal in sight.

However, “Super Sunday” is what it is for many other reasons than just a football game.

More Avocado’s are consumed on this day in the USA than all other days of the year combined (Guacamole is the official dip of Super Bowl Sunday).

Commercials are most expensive to run during the three hour real-time event, making the breaks from game-play themselves must-see TV.

This year’s halftime show will have everyone singing “L’chaim” and “Mazal Tov!”

Yet there’s a stat that figures into the forefront which often gets overlooked: Jewish Super Bowl Champions.

Since the mid-1970’s, 12 Super Bowls have been championed by six Sons of Abraham. Not too shabby a number considering there have only been 25 Jewish NFL players in the history of the league.

Randy Grossman, who won with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974, ’75, ’78, ’79, kicked things off for Moses’ flock.

Said Steelers President Dan Rooney of Grossman: “Randy was one of those guys who was never viewed as a superstar, but he did everything you asked him. He caught the big pass; he was one of those guys who got you the first down when you needed it; he was just a real good competitor who really proved his value.”

Lyle Alzado of the Oakland Raiders won it under (Jewish) owner Al Davis in 1983.

The defensive lineman is a reminder of the negative effects anabolic steroids can have on the human body as his life was cut short at 43 due to brain cancer developed from overuse of ‘roids.

John Frank who played five seasons in Northern California won twice with the San Francisco 49ers in 1984 and 1988 before moving on to pursue a career in the medical field.

Frank earned his M.D. Four years after retiring from football and now dedicates his time to facial plastic surgeon and is a hair loss expert in New York.

In 2002, he co-founded the Israeli Bobsled team, participating on the ice sled for four years prior to stepping down so younger competitors could carry forward on the still-active team.

Harris Barton (Frank’s teammate) won with San Fran in 1988, ’89 and ’94.

As an offensive tackle, Barton gained notoriety after going nose-to-nose against William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry in college and was selected to the Associated Press All-American Team and is the only group member to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft (22nd overall).

Alan (Shlomo) Veingrad began his career in Green Bay in the late 1980’s thanks in part to a good time in the 39 yard dash (he stepped in front of the 40 yard line when the coaches weren’t looking and has since been forgiven for his ‘crime’), but won the Big One in Dallas with the Cowboys in 1992 before calling it a career.

Veingrad’s sin-to-win is well known amongst the Orthodox Jewish community as he has lectured to many on his post-career journey to Judaism.

The most recent Star of David is Josh Miller, punter for the New England Patriots in 2004. The Queens, NY native was an undrafted free agent in 1994 and lists as the only Hebrew to win championship trophy’s north and south of the Canadian border.

His back-to-back Grey Cup appearances in 1994 and 1995 led him to being signed by the Steelers, and eventually the Patriots, where he won Super Bowl XXXIX against the Philadelphia Eagles.

However, all the above cannot be said without mentioning Sid Luckman the quarterback of the Chicago Bears in 1941. Even though he didn’t play in the Super Bowl era, a shout-out to perhaps the greatest Hebrew Hammer to ever lead his football club to the summit of the football world is in order.

For some perspective on the Jewish numbers:

There’s roughly 60 players (including practice squad) per NFL team – 1,920 players per season – meaning the total number of players vying for a ring over 35 years were roughly 67,000 (with the consideration for expansionary franchises during the time frame).

The total number of player who won Super Bowl rings in the 44 year history of the title-game is roughly 2,500 and Jews own .25 percent of them.

With only 25 Jewish players out of a 44 year NFL historical roster of roughly 75,000, the odds of a Super Bowl ring are indeed pretty slim.

The Jewish player playing percentage over NFL history (since 1970) is only .03% and yet Jewish footballers have beaten the odds with a glistening Super Bowl Ring rate of .25% of the time! (The non-Jewish odds fair much better at nearly 3% but really, who’s counting?)

Jewish owners have racked up almost as many rings in the time frame.

It’s taken seven owners 44 years to collect 11 rings. That’s a 26.8 winning percentage, an outstanding number as the percent of Jew-crew ownership today is about 23.5% with only 20 Jewish owners in the history of the sport.

However, no Jewish NFL head coach ever won a Super Bowl Ring.

There have only been four Jewish NFL head coaches but Super Bowl coaching victories remain an elusive prize.

Poor Marv Levy led his Buffalo Bills to the Super Bowl four years in a row and lost all four times.

Always a bridesmaid Marv.

The Jewish pick for this year’s Super Bowl winner goes to Barney Dreyfuss, former owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB), which was the name of the current Steelers team prior to 1939.

Talking about Pittsburgh and the Steelers, have you ever been to Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on game day? It’s like Monsey on Shabbos. Everyone is at “Temple,” the streets are devoid of people and there’s lots of “loud” praying.