Serenely oblivious: Some folks immune to Super Bowl fever

Dave Young, manager of Finders Record & Tapes in Findlay, surveys an empty store yesterday evening during the Super Bowl. He had the TV on, tuned to the game, but said his only interest was watching the Rolling Stones' halftime performance

Jerome Bettis may have muscled his way to 13,662 career yards rushing, but the 255-pound Pittsburgh Steeler has yet to save humanity from werewolves while wearing a skin-tight leather bodysuit.

In the film Underworld: Evolution, British actress Kate Beckinsale portrays a vampire who manages to do this in 106 minutes.

Brie Chapman met two friends at the Bowling Green Cinemark for the movie's 4:15 showing yesterday. With all the previews, she would probably miss the Super Bowl's kick-off. Not that she cared.

"It doesn't matter that much to me," said Ms. Chapman, a sophomore at Bowling Green State University.

Believe it or not, some people ignored the slugfest between the Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks last night. You could have watched a movie, climbed into a tanning bed, or studied gastrointestinal diseases.

Along Main Street in Findlay, home of the Steelers' quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, most of the storefront windows displayed black and gold posters in support of the Flag City's favorite son. "Good Luck Big Ben," they read.

Filled with thousands of obscure CDs, such as Radiohead albums imported from Japan, Finders Records & Tapes was one of the only stores in Findlay not gripped by Super Bowl mania.

Dave Young, Finders' manager, suggested that the only way to avoid catching a glimpse of the Super Bowl in all of northwest Ohio was to "lock yourself in the basement for three to four hours."

"The only reason I'm watching the game is because the Rolling Stones are playing the halftime show," he said.

Mr. Young hoped that the rock group would play their 1971 hit, "Brown Sugar." He did not get that particular satisfaction.

As of 2:30 yesterday afternoon, Nancy Pownell, a grandmother of six, was undecided as to whether she would tune in to the Super Bowl.

She was thinking of buying a collection of American poetry on sale at the Findlay Village Center shopping mall. Rather than watch someone push a pigskin 100 yards, Ms. Pownell prefers to read Christian fiction.

"I understand football up to a point, but I wasn't raised in a family that played sports," she said.

Sitting behind the front desk at the Tanning Center in Bowling Green, Alexia Crooks kept a sunny demeanor. She planned to spend the evening with a sociology textbook, the latest copy of Glamour Magazine, 17 unused tanning beds, and two empty tanning booths.

"We get a lot of student business," said Ms. Crooks. "And I've got to think that even if they're not at the Super Bowl, they're at parties drinking."

Right before kickoff, Lily Huang, a pharmacy student at the University of Toledo, was drinking tea at the Franklin Park Borders in Toledo. She looked up from her notes about gastrointestinal diseases.

"I could go home and watch it, but I'm not really a football fan," said Ms. Huang, adding that she planned to attend a belated Chinese New Year festival during the game.

For those who are curious, it happens to be the Year of the Dog. Also, the Steelers won.

Contact Joshua Boak at: jboak@theblade.com or 419-724-6728.