Reading today's Erie Times-News as aging sports fan, I couldn't help but have mixed feelings. The whole town, it seems, is excited about Bob Sanders' participation in Sunday's Super Bowl. His heroics have been well chronicled in the Times-News by sportswriters Duane Rankin, John Dudley and in an excellent story in today's editions by Ron Leonardi.

Leonardi writes about Sanders' family, which still calls Erie home. They're all headed to the big game in Miami, as is Bob's high school coach, Mike Mischler and his dad, Dr. Forrest Mischler. Sanders was kind enough to send two free tickets to the Mischlers -- tickets that Bob paid for. Last time I looked, Super Bowl tickets were clocking in at about $600 apiece.

In the midst of all this excitement surrounding Sanders, Fred Biletnikoff, another Erie native, announced his retirement after 18 seasons as a coach on the Oakland Raiders staff. That followed 14 glorious seasons as an Oakland receiver -- a career punctuated by an MVP award in the 1977 Super Bowl and eventual election to Pro Football's Hall of Fame in Canton, O.

Biletnikoff has long since made the peace with his hometown after an incident following his award-winning Super Bowl performance. He said he was angry with a local sports promoter and, in the midst of lashing out at that person, more or less kissed off the rest of Erie. "I made a terrible mistake," Biletnikoff said in March of that year at a communion breakfast at St. Paul Catholic Church. He's also apologized numerous times since.

When Biletnikoff returned to Erie in 2004 to be the headline speaker at a fundraiser for the local Boys & Girls Club, he moved the crowd of 600 with a deeply personal story about his daughter. She was a dedicated drug and alcohol counselor who was murdered by an old boyfriend, who was receiving couseling.

By baring his soul in front of so many old friends, Biletnikoff won many new admirers that night. And then, of course, there were all those seasons when he was the primary target of Raiders quarterbacks such as Daryl Lamonica and Kenny "The Snake" Stabler. Biletnikoff didn't have great size or speed, but his moves were breathtaking and he had soft hands that snagged so many footballs out of midair.

Fred loved "Stickum," the gooey substance he'd spread all over his hands and arms, but John Madden, Biletnikoff's coach for 10 seasons, said Fred never needed the stuff. "He felt better about using it, but he caught those balls himself, with no help from anyone or anything else," Madden said. "Fred was one of the greatest clutch receivers of all time. They wouldn't have named that college award for him if he wasn't."

Seems like only yesterday when Biletnikoff, who played in two Superbowls and coached in several more, was young and in his prime. He turns 64 later this month, but old No. 25 will always remain vital to his Erie fans -- just like Bob Sanders is now.

-- Kevin Cuneo

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