Letters

Bucs Bowl
Thanks for the insightful Super Bowl article by Michael Silver (What a Steal!, Feb. 3). Your photographers—as professional as the teams they cover—captured the emotions of the day, from pregame to the victory celebration. However, I'm left wondering why the Buccaneers ' unbuckled belts were flapping in the wind? And where were the Uniform Police hiding?
KEN DONNELLY
Eagle Point, Ore.

Congratulations to Jon Gruden , who joins fellow Dayton alumnus Chuck Noll as coaches of Super Bowl champion teams.
DONALD E. BENNETT
Westlake , Ohio

Forget the loss to Tampa and the five interceptions for Rich Gannon . As a Raiders fan my biggest disappointment about the Super Bowl came from Jon Gulden's comments about his sudden departure from Oakland : "Maybe I should've called some people when I left, but I don't know—I was leaving, you know? It's unproductive to talk to them." It may have been uncomfortable for you, Jon, but it would have been the right thing to do. You won the Super Bowl, but you lost a fan. Go Raiders !
TRACY LAPE, Discovery Bay, Calif.

What a pleasant surprise to see Joe Jurevicius featured on your cover. In the face of his wife's difficult and premature delivery of their son, Jurevicius put his family ahead of his team and his team ahead of himself.
MICHAEL J. DINGA, LaGrange, Ky.

Going Digital
Kudos for the extraordinary digital photographs taken at the Super Bowl (CONTRIBUTORS, Feb. 3). Starting with John Biever 's exquisite cover shot, the technology's proof is obviously in the pictures.
MIKE BURNS, Turnersville, N.J.

The soft images from your "first all-digital Super Bowl" weren't a great credit to your 12 photographers and the 12,000 images they produced. Where's the crystal-clear, knock-you-out crispness that has characterized your best sports imagery?
PETER SPURR, Saanich, B.C.

Understanding Barry
Although I've never been a fan of the Detroit Lions , I am a fan of great people who understand the meaning of humility. I bet if all NFL athletes behaved more like Barry Sanders does ( Barry Sanders , Feb. 3), everyone would tune in to NFL games on Sundays.
TODD W. NORDEN
Vineland, N.J.

Your article on Sanders was uplifting and troubling. I admire a man who has the courage to quit a child's game because he no longer has fun playing it, and the wisdom not to try to explain that ethic to the world. It's nuts that so many people can't understand the values of a man whose effort was never in question and who does not care if he is listed first in a record book. Sanders is simply a good person and a model teammate who had reached a position of financial security. Is that really so hard to understand?
KELLY MICHAEL
Weiss, Austin

While Sanders showed such class on the football field, he showed little while abandoning the game. I can never forget how he hung his teammates, the Lions organization and the city of Detroit out to dry just before training camp.
MATT BLYTH, Chicago

Too many great athletes stay too long on the playing field, then mock their legends with embarrassing television stints. Barry let his running do the talking and gave Detroit football fans something to be proud of. Thanks for the effort, Barry, and enjoy your retirement.
TED THEODOROFF JR., Ferndale, Mich.