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Show THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, Utah, Thursday, I)ecimltr 7, 1995 Page D4 downright hysterical. 'Comfort level' shows in Visa ad ". . ,f , .8. president and director of football operations. "He won a Super Bowl, he won over his critics and now he's going to enjoy it." And now he shakes maracas with Jerry and John and croons so badly. Policy said "I wouldn't let him sing in a boys choir." "When it was explained to me, I was kind of hesitant," said Young, who does education promos for Visa. "But everyone had fun with it. When athletes do commercials, a lot of times the reaction is, "Man, that's stupid.' But this one's pretty well done, and it's funny so it's not totally humiliating." When Young stood in front of reporters recently, waiting for questions, he broke the ice by . .. By CLARK JUDGE San Jose Mercury News SANTA CLARA. Calif. The last time anyone at the 49ers laughed this hard was when Bill Walsh, then the head coach, dressed up as a bellhop and welcomed coaches and players at Super Bow l XVI in January 1982. In between, there have been records too numerous to count, storied comebacks, glorious victo- V : f N . v ries. Super Bowls, Joe, Jerry, Steve, Eddie ... and not a whole lot of comic relief. But with one commercial for Visa, the 49ers suddenly are everything you want to be. They're successful, they're loose and they're downright hysterical. They're coach George Seifert, wide receiver Jerry Rice and quarterback Steve Young caterwauling at a karaoke bar and clearing the place with the speed of a Randy Johnson fastball. "Everybody sing!" Seifert says, as a custodian pushes a broom through an empty room and the screen fades to black. Is this any way to run a franchise? You bet it is. For years, the 49ers had all the sex appeal of Mister Rogers. Sure, they won and, yeah, they collected a league-recor- d five Super Bowl victories, but you got the impression it was all work and no play. Until now. There are two spots one that lasts 30 seconds and one that lasts a minute and both supposedly take place in a Tokyo bar before an exhibition game with Denver. The performers are Seifert, Rice. Young, Denver quarterback John Elway and an unknown player, who can now be identified as actor Rod Tate. The ad is the brainchild of BBDO, a New York ad agency, and it was shot in Los Angeles, not Tokyo, on the Tuesday preceding the 49ers" Sept. 10 game with Atlanta. The commercial first aired Sept. 25. during the Monday night telecast of the 49ers' loss at Detroit. V Niners coach George Seifert is usually stoic on the sidelines. In an ad for Visa, however, he sings and dances in a Japanese bar setting. "It was a situation," said Jim Siegel, senior creative director at BBDO. "It was one of those w here if you w ill sing, great: if you can sing, it's even better." But the commercial is more than a product of the imagination. It is the reflection of a team and a coach so comfolable with themselves, they aren't afraid to cue up the laugh track for 260 million people. A year ago. that would not have happened. Then. Seifert's future with the 49ers was in jeopardy. Young's performance in big games constantly was in question, and the only laughs w ere generated by the nitwits who voted down Seifert in a KGO Radio telephone poll. AM that changed with the 49ers" lopsided defeat of San Diego in Super Bowl XXIX. Seifert got a no-lo- Dallas 'D' feeling pressure IRVING. Texas (AP) The two toughest hitters on the Dallas Cowboys defense aren't happy with what they see. And they don't take the easy road out by blaming the coaches. "This is a team that can't put teams aw ay," said veteran, Bill Bates. "In the NFL you're going to go up and you're going to go down but you still have to play with emotion. We have to make a run to the next level and I don't see the sense of urgency we should have." Bates said there is pressure on the defense to come together starting with Sunday's game in Philadelphia, particularly now that end Charles llaley is out for an undetermined period of time following back surgery. "We're beginning to feel the pressure." Bates said. "Now taking on Philadelphia is a scary task. We have to play very well to win there. We hae to win on Sunday and you can et hurt there just standing on the sidelines. We've been hit with snowballs and batteries before just standing around." 13-ye- ar er f BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL I FRIDAY NIGHT, 7:00p.. PIU : p ay-by- full-tim- part-tim- fisherman and e one-tim- e lounge act. steals 4 . lAVk the Internet with those 1 Why pay through the nose to access blir.d e services? (Especially since they censor what you can see ar.d do.) believes you have fie right to unregulated and uncensored information and entertainment 'Wed For S1 5 monthly we delrver usage with free custodier support IDT ii urecd Plus, it's almost UDat tmiMMInformatton VB brewser character. When you see him, it's usually walking the sideline w ith a fixed expression. But those who know him know Seifert as personable and witty, with a wry sense of humor, so that seeing him try "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" isn't all that much of a stretch. "1 kid about it, but a big motivating factor for doing it was my daughter's wedding," said Seifert, whose daughter Eve was married in October. "So I said, 'Well, I can make a fool of myself for this situation,' and it was kind of fun." Initially, Seifert said he thought his part would involve "about two words." Then he arrived for rehearsals. "I spent hours singing songs completely through," Seifert said. "The one redeeming factor of the whole thing was they said. 'The worse you do the better.' So it made it easy." That doesn't mean Seifert didn't wonder about what he'd gotten himself into. He did. "There's a part of me that feels it's out of character for a coach to do something like that." he said. "But at the same time you do this, and you need some relief. You can have some fun with it. It's a matter of let's not be so uptight all the from time. From that standpoint the pressure standpoint it s almost been helpful. the show," "George Clark said. "It's not the kind of career a fisherman decides to take, but it's funny." Seifert even got a letter from the j Four Aces, the group that made "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" a hit before Seifert, Young and Elway butchered it. "We've heard you sing it," read the letter, "but you set our recording back 10 years. We promise not to coach if you promise not to sing anymore." Like Rice, Seifert appears out of IJjlVsgsy" 2D57CR-1- w;th every !;p,'FP? I li 19570R-14.- . .5199 4 53 99 ' . r y X- I nmrmouicmumucam C5- - TTvT n WM LTi f? - 5 P23575R-1- . ' 'BDODT v Some Cash g -- myself." Nor are others. There is rib question the commercial "shows a side of George few of us see,"' as Policy put it, and he wasn't talking' shot of a about that d guy doing the body rear-vie- w white-haire- w " iggle, either. "This is not your typical pile-:.- " driving coach," Policy said. "He's not an egocentric individual who' has to have to total control. him for that, but I woulJ say the vast majority of other' coaches look at that and laugh anil say. 'I wish I could be in the same position." . Give A Gift 24 HOUR MESSAGE 1 1 1 942-725- 2 "caS llllVl fV I 00 ,i CAN SEE YOU TODAY!!! LEW HANSEN ATTORNEY 063-???- . V!irtl T """T fl Ij 1 WRONGFUL DEATH ' 1 s I ? i r"m fi S" ( g WS? 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But if we get beat;: I'm not going to be upset with CALL TOLL FREE IN UTAH Dog Bite Cases y SsfM v Holiday Gilt Certificates ....60.99A 5 .Ammm FINANCING I ,wy,..tt 5r . M&5R-1- - of Good Taste ....48.99 4 jJSSSg: HridHHi lbr ? 4RGQ I ?m r !j 44X75R-1- 1 v ' Free Replacement" certificate mM:m& "!?c2?!. I 1 I &n 1 U.JU-- t SAT. 0:30 5 hI'T i fTI H A ; aoco'jnt NO PER MINUTE CHARGES - cR inrtirar ALMOST ALWAYS A LOCAL CALL IDT New! Now with local i8S7nR-- W f , - We also provide fcej Netscape7' the ulSmate VV: m tI 1 -- - fHfoQ MlifS 2J4MMMMMMM ::::: S- G ( . . San Francisco quarterback Steve Young, right, and wide receiver Jerry Rice celebrate after a touchdown in Super Bowl XXIX. Lately, they ve in a Visa ad that has everyone laughing. been crooning badly QJ il7570R-13 .. 7 le high-profi- J HK" ay by Russ Bunker -P c tion imagine how his wife, Jackie, felt. "Before it aired," Rice said, "I told her, 'Never have I gone so low.' But she laughs. She can't believe it I did it." Despite the presence of acts, the star of the produce tion is the head coach, ri v i '. v. , ''.-V-vl' - mittM hN!' tngoQiNlTifl WOODS' CROSS n.PAYS0N Tb Young got acclaim long overdue. The 49ers got another Lombardi Trophy. And w e got ... "Stand By Your Man"? "1 feel like we need to do a little more of that." Young said. "I think George realized that holding on too tight doesn't necessarily get you what you want. And I found the same thing in myself." Others couldn't help but notice. "I think there's been a maturing process of George and Steve as professionals and also a maturing process of their relationship with each other, the team and the public." 49ers president Carmen Policy said. "When you're comfortable and mature and self confident you can laugh a lot easier and make fun of yourself." Steve and Joe. Joe and Steve. For years, it wasn't one without the other. But Montana went off to Kansas City, and Young went off to Miami's Joe Robbie Stadium, site of Super Bow l XXIX. and look what happened. think Steve feels like the monkey's off his back." said Dwiht Clark, the team's vice new contract. vi. ' h - : don't do," Rice said, "but I thought it would be fun to do something with George and Steve. I thought I'd never see George do with him something like that being so conservative and everything. In a way, it's relaxing to see him enjoy himself like that." To see Rice is to see another side of the NFL's greatest wide receiver, and if you were surprised, AP Pholos "We think this commercial is one of our strongest," said Matt Biespiel. director of advertising at Visa. "From a sample si.e of friends, family and reporters, it's gotten the attention of the public." : - - . safety-lineback- breaking into song. "Love ... is ... " The room broke up. "I'll try to humiliate myself," Young said. If there's one guy you never expected to see in the commercial, it's Rice. He is serious, reminding Deion Sanders at Super Bowl XXIX that the 49ers were there to win, not to have fun. He is intense, once scolding the media this year for slighting his teammates. He is professional, a workaholic who is living proof that practice, practice and more practice make perfect. But a crackup? That's something Rice was not supposed to be ... until Visa jumped in, and, suddenly. Tammy Wynette never sounded so good. "That's something I normally :i y. 1 ' ' v access UNLIMITED E MAIL In the Greater Provo Area ' 5 ... v I |