Clydesdales Save the Super Bowl
Gussie Busch picked up the phone and called out to Grant’s Farm. “Get the Clydesdales ready. We are going to the White House”!
With that, the legend of the Clydesdales took root. A few days later, these noble, high stepping draught horses from Scotland hauled a large Budweiser wagon down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. After stopping, cases of Budweiser were unloaded and delivered to President Roosevelt in celebration of the repeal of Prohibition on December 5,1933.
From that point on, Americans began to build a bond with the Clydesdales which grew stronger and stronger over the ensuing decades. Annual appearances at the Rose Bowl, prominent roles at a number of World Series in St. Louis and, perhaps most importantly, star status in multiple Super Bowl TV advertisements, had the effect of creating a uniquely American brand.
For example, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, during the Super bowl, a team of Clydesdales, hauling a Budweiser Wagon,is shown leaving St. Louis and then trotting through small, Midwest towns into Pennsylvania. The journey ends at the New York harbor as the Clydesdales gaze across the water at the Statue of Liberty and the foot of Manhattan Island where the Twin Towers stood.
Slowly and as one, the Clydesdales kneel and bow their heads in tribute to all those who lost their lives on that terrible day. While the Clydesdales are still bowed and kneeling, an inscription appears: WE SHALL NEVER FORGET.
All of which is why, as I was watching the 2024 Super Bowl, I kept hoping that the Clydesdales might appear. The ads all seemed disjointed, blurred and chaotic. No name celebrities (at least to me) hawked products which were barely identified and because a 30 second spot cost $7 million, the ads came at you a la Pin Ball Wizard.
Las Vegas, itself a desert city built on gambling, entertainment and the oldest profession in the world, hosted the Super Bowl. In many ways, the entire spectacle symbolized the shifting, unmoored nature of modern America. Where was Hunter Thompson to give us Volume 2?
Miraculously, late in the second half, the screen filled with a team of heroic and confident Clydesdales. In the midst of a furious blizzard, it had become clear that the scheduled beer drop to a small town New England tavern was in jeopardy. Undeterred, the Clydesdales moved effortlessly through the storm and, aided by the tracking of their trusty Dalmation (owned by Goldie Hawn), delivered the Budweiser to the country tavern which was desperately close to running out of Bud before the Super Bowl.
As I watched, a soothing sense of calm and stability descended upon me. The Clydesdale presence reassured me that not all American icons had faded and at least for a moment, faith was restored.