“ON ANY GIVEN SUNDAY”
Bert Bell the strong-willed NFL Commissioner from 1946-1959 coined the iconic phrase “On any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team.” There is no better showcase for this than the NFL Playoffs. The Wild-Card round featured three smack-downs and a questionable squeaker. On Saturday the Panthers schooled Arizona, and the Ravens dominated the once-resurgent Steelers. Sunday was no different—the Colts got their act together and dominated the Bengals. The most competitive game was in Texas. Detroit almost beat Dallas but a botched pass-interference call and poor officiating mechanics left viewers wondering and gave Tony Romo the chance to win.
Next week in the Divisional Playoffs is where the rubber meets the road. There will be few upsets with the wild-card winners trying their luck against the Patriots at home on Saturday and Broncos on Sunday. Nothing beats the NFL Playoffs–its the best football of the season.
Bert Bell entered the NFL in 1933 as the co-owner and coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.He began working with Hugh Ray on the rules at owners meetings and subsequent Rules Committee meetings. Bell like Halas and Lambeau understood that it was the rules that make the game go. They encouraged Shorty Ray’s vision for a faster more high scoring game by voting for his innovative rules..
On July 21, 1947 Bell wrote Ray saying, “Again may I say what a great job you are doing and how much both the League Members and myself appreciate your work and your loyalty to the League and myself. It has been an honor and privilege for me to be associated with you.”
Learn more about America’s greatest rules genius and football history, read ‘THE NFL’S MR. EINSTEIN” by James W. Stangeland, available atamazon.com/books or www.hughrayfootball.com
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Picture: Hugh Ray hard at work on the NFL rules.
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