Bowl Party Mixes Fun, Fund-Raiser

A befuddled Larry Hagman, reminiscent of his ‘60s TV persona, Maj. Anthony Nelson, fumbled with the remote control for his satellite dish just prior to the Super Bowl coin toss Sunday afternoon.

After punching the buttons fruitlessly and muttering under his breath, just like when Jeannie used to cast one of her crazy spells, a guest at his Super Bowl party finally came to the rescue and beamed in the big game.

Hagman’s gathering was just one of many across Ventura County as local residents, like an estimated 800 million people worldwide, parked themselves on sofas and bar stools in front of televisions to take in the finale to the NFL football season.

About 100 guests congregated at Hagman’s mountain estate in Upper Ojai for the combination sports gathering and fund-raiser. Hagman and other area residents are waging a battle against the National Weather Service’s radar tower on Sulphur Mountain out of concern that its microwave radiation may pose health risks.

“This is a residential area,” said Hagman, who can see the 98-foot tower from several rooms of his 25,000-square-foot home, including his private office. “The weather service can’t say what the radiation does to people.”

Though Hagman admitted that he does not follow football too closely, he said the party was a good opportunity to draw sports fans for food, fun and--at $100 a pop--to help raise money to fight the tower.

Much bigger football fans were Annie and Mickey Kananack of Ojai, who closely guarded their seats in front of Hagman’s big-screen television.

“When I was little, every Sunday a New Orleans Saints game was on,” said Annie, a native of Louisiana. “I used to get out of doing the dishes if I watched the game, and I became a huge fan.”

She said she hates the St. Louis Rams when they are playing the Saints, but on Sunday, she was rooting for the former Los Angeles team, which defeated the Tennessee Titans, 23-16.

“They are more exciting to watch, and they play clean,” said the 34-year-old writer.

Her husband, a retired lawyer, said they would never miss a Super Bowl. On Sundays during the football season, he said, the couple usually watch games with their four sons.

Rooting for Tennessee was George Moll, who lives just down the road from Hagman.

“I’ve been a [Minnesota] Vikings fan all my life,” said Moll, 43. “The Rams and the Vikings had this competitive rivalry, so I hate [the Rams].”

An informal poll found most guests cheering for the Rams, including Assemblyman Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks), who came to Hagman’s home to show his support for residents in their fight against the tower.

“The Rams have been such a Cinderella story, after the way their season started out,” said Strickland, who is up for reelection this fall.

While Super Bowl XXXIV parties were plentiful, some people flocked to sports bars and restaurants where large crowds drank whatever beer was on tap and cheered on their favorite team.

At Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler in Thousand Oaks, a steady stream of customers poured into the Mexican restaurant and settled down to catch the game from several television monitors. Waitresses raffled off hats, T-shirts, free drinks and food.

“We’d probably be even more crowded, except it’s raining,” said waitress Amanda Wood. “I think the weather kind of put a damper on everything.”

At McGinty’s Sports Bar and Restaurant in Ventura, every seat was filled well before the 3:15 p.m. kickoff. And waitress Kristen Nussman was expecting business to get brisker.

“It’ll get busier all through the first quarter,” Nussman said. “We’re always busy for football games on Sunday, but not quite like this.”

An oversized barbecue grill stood just outside the bar, filling the small pub with the aroma of tri-tip steak.

Ventura resident Caleb Sponholtz said he and his three pals thought they’d enjoy the game more if they were surrounded by a gang of football enthusiasts.

“We come here for the ambience,” Sponholtz said. “The more people, the better.”

“What else are we going to do?” asked his friend, Scott Siegel, also of Ventura. “Just us three sitting around on a couch? No, thanks. And there are shot girls here. There aren’t any shot girls at my house.”

A few minutes later, a scantily clad waitress approached Siegel’s table, selling alcohol in shot glasses.

Other patrons were less excited about sitting at a bar for the annual event. Jane Barnett, 34, of Santa Paula said she only came to appease her boyfriend.

“I don’t even know who’s playing,” she said with an exasperated expression as she sat on a bar stool, her chin in her hand. “He pretty much dragged me down here.”

Many throughout the county shared Barnett’s sentiment. At the Premium Outlet mall in Camarillo, some shoppers were oblivious to the clock ticking toward kickoff time.

“The greatest thing about Super Bowl is that it keeps everyone else at home, so I can do some shopping or whatever I want,” said Lee Gummeson, 43, of Agoura. Gummeson said that while her husband planned to watch the game at home, she’d be out at the gym.

Shopper Lorraine Feldman said she was aware that it was Super Bowl Sunday but was unimpressed by all the usual hype surrounding the game.

“I’m just not a football fan,” Feldman said.

*

Cooper is a Times Community News reporter. Dirmann is a Times staff writer.