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St. Louis, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Detroit,
and others, 13 of the last 20 Super Bowls
havebeen inFlorida,Arizona,andSouthern
California. Despite all of this, Staubach—
steelyenough toengineer23 fourth-quarter
comebacks in the1970sanda religiousman
whose life is groundedby 12 grandchildren
— copped to some nervousness as he pre-
sentedDallas’sbid.
“It was a healthy, good nervousness,” he
says. “Ididn’tusea script. Idecided Iwould
personalize it and talk aboutwhat theNFL
meant tome, how it’s definedmy business
life, defined our life as a family. I had the
privilege of playing in four Super Bowls,
and the ability to host a Super Bowl and to
give back to theNFLwas something I was
looking forward to.”
Was it Jones’s idea to recruit
Staubach tobe thebid-committeechairman
and, subsequently, the Host Committee
chairman?Staubachcan’texactlyremember.
“But I was so readily accepting of it, I
couldhave it confusedwithbeingmy idea,”
he sayswith a chuckle. “Itwas such anatu-
ral thing.”
While Jones continues to shepherd the
construction of the stadium, Staubach is
tasked with pulling off the broader event.
Staubach is 65, but he just may be the
youngest 65-year-old you’ll ever find. He
still quarterbacks a local charity football
game; two years ago, fellowHall of Famer
TroyAikmanquarterbacked the other side.
In fact, as a Super Bowl champion and
MVP, a winner of the Heisman Trophy, a
former Navy officer who volunteered for
duty inVietnam, andanarchitect of aglob-
al real estate company who knows plenty
about big-enterprise structure and leader-
ship, Staubach seems ideally suited for the
HostCommitteeposition.
The next couple of years will be about
raising money, assembling sponsorship
packages, and arranging a massive opera-
tional structure. Organizing thousands of
volunteers is justpartof thework, Staubach
says. The nuance is in gaining the right
tenor and leadership. The final 18months
prior to Super Bowl XLV are expected to
be particularly challenging. That’swhenhe
and a soon-to-be-hired executive director
(who will report directly to Staubach) will
slog through hundreds of transportation,
lodging, and security conundrums.
30 years, dealing with building a business
that I canmake sure this isdone right.”
Forguidance,Staubach’s leaningonRog-
erPenske, thehighly successful auto-racing
owner who served as chairman of Super
BowlXL inDetroit.
“We know how challenging it will be,”
Staubach says. “I knowwe’ll have the right
people in the right places doing the right
things, andwe’ll put onagreat SuperBowl.
But I also feel I’ve had enough experience,
STEVEDAVIS
is awriter based inDallas.
Recipient of
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for Food
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