Super mystery and Super Sunday

While the mystery of who's the best quarterback, Peyton Manning or Rex Grossman, will, undoubtedly, be solved on Super Bowl Sunday, there is one mystery which still remains: What really happened to Carroll Rosenbloom ?
Of course, most people, except for certain football fanatics, have forgotten the name, but he was an integral part of the NFL and was a major story, for even this reporter some 27 years -- the last Super Bowl I was, supposed, to cover. But that's another story.
So how does this story even involve Sunday's combatants, the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears?
If you'll allow me to disgress, on Thursday, Jan. 17, 1980 in the Toronto Sun, I wrote about a "fading blonde" named Georgia Rosenbloom, who took over as boss of the Rams when her husband, Carroll, drowned in the heavy surf off the Florida coast in April (1979).
There's that name -- Carroll Rosenbloom.
And the story then detailed about her surviving a "palace revolt" and also severe injuries suffered by her team.
Then I wrote: "The off-the-field dramatics provided more intrigue than the Rams' on-the-field activities. First, there was the death of Rosenbloom, who made an even swap with Robert Irsay a few years back -- the Colts to Los Angeles and the Rams to Baltimore. He (Rosenbloom) was a complex man ... while Georgia minded the Rosenbloom household ..."
Though countless expected Georgia Rosenbloom (Frontiere) to fail since most believed the inheritance of the Rams was nothing more than a tax dodge, she took complete control and, eventually, moved them to St. Louis.
However, those Rams with MVP quarterback Kurt Warner and head coach Dick Vermeil in control did succeed and brought Super Bowl XXXIV hardware to St. Louis early in 2000.
So where does Super Bowl XLI all tie in and what is the Robert Irsay connection with (Carroll) Rosenbloom?
Well, the senior Irsay as his bio details was born in Chicago in 1923 and was the longtime owner of the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts franchise.
In Wikipedia, it reads: "While previously the owner of the then-Los Angeles Rams, Irsay essentially traded franchises with Carroll Rosenbloom, the then owner of the (Baltimore) Colts in 1972. In a controversial move, Robert Irsay moved the Colts to Indianapolis in the early morning hours of March 29, 1984."
After the senior Irsay's death on Jan. 18, 1997, the Colts were taken over by his son, Jim, an eccentric, but generous CEO, who runs the Colts today with the assistance of team president Bill Polian.
While Jim Irsay is considered a benevolent man, his father, Robert, was targeted in the Baltimore Sun as "an impetuous and meddlesome team owner prone to drunken fits of rage."
When the Colts headed to Indianapolis, Baltimore was without a franchise until Art Modell did the unthinkable and moved the beloved Cleveland Browns to the East Coast city. However, he did leave the name -- the Browns, etc. -- in the "Mistake By The Lake," and the franchise was resurrected some years later. However, Modell because of that move became a curse word.
As for the late Carroll Rosenbloom, the mystery still surrounds his drowning behind his Golden Beach, Florida home. It has always been questionable, for he was such a strong swimmer. And, although it's been rumoured that the death of the high-stakes gambler, may have been foul play, an investigation ruled it as accidental.
So while there's a new era of leadership with the Indianapolis Colts, the shadows of the late Carroll Rosenbloom and Robert Irsay still remain.
Incidentally, in Super Bowl XIV on Jan. 20, 1980, the one I was referring to at the beginning of this column, Georgia Rosenbloom (Frontiere) and her Los Angeles Rams lost 31-19 to Terry Bradshaw and his Pittsburgh Steelers before 103,985 fans in Pasadena's Rose Bowl.
As for this reporter, I didn't cover the game, for I'd been called back to the Edmonton Sun to take over a management position. But that's definitely another story. Incidentally, the late Paul Rimstead and his brother, Rolf, took my place in the Pasadena press box.
P.S. Although I'm not a betting man, here's Sunday's score: Indianapolis 28, Chicago 14.
COWBOY CONCERT: My pal, Rob Dinwoodie, and Dogwood Road will at the Westwood Hall on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. Also on the program will be Matt Johnston, Butch Falk, Mike Puhallo and Gordie West. Admission at the door is only $10. For info call Sherry Simpson at 375-2274 or Puhallo at 1-888-763-2224.