Is the City Throwing Itself at NFL Only to Be Left at the Altar Again?

Am I wrong or is San Diego becoming a pushover for any conventioneer who promises a good time?

OK, OK, we got jilted by the Republican National Committee. We had all but mailed out the invitations for the 1992 convention when the Republicans up and eloped with Houston.

Remember how it happened: the Republicans had been hot and heavy with Houston but then decided to date around a bit (enter San Diego).

Suddenly, Houston became a lot more accommodating, the Republicans’ ardor was rekindled, and San Diego got dumped. It’s an old story; live and learn.

Which brings us to the National Football League.

The NFL has decided not to hold Super Bowl XXVII in Phoenix. Pasadena and San Diego have been asked to reapply; originally, Pasadena had placed second, San Diego third.

If Pasadena is discreet in its approach, San Diego is downright frantic.

Still in its wedding dress from its unrequited romance with the Republicans, San Diego is blowing in the NFL’s ear and dropping its room key in the NFL’s pocket.

As a come-on, the private and public sectors in America’s Finest City have assembled a suitcase of freebies for NFL high rollers: lodging, limos, sky boxes, free use of the Convention Center, and more and more.

The value for all this could be in the millions of dollars; this in a community that can’t muster the money or cooperation necessary to meet any of a dozen civic needs more pressing than a football game.

“There’s no end to the NFL’s greed,” the San Diego Marriott manager told Times’ reporter Mike Granberry.

The NFL has learned the first rule of the professional cad: A girl on the rebound is easy pickings.

Next month, the city’s Super Bowl Task Force will follow the NFL owners to Hawaii, where the decision for the 1993 super game will be made.

The task force members, civic-spirited San Diegans all, will hang around the hotel lobby, trying to attract the eye of the owners, available to party day or night.

Maybe they’ll get lucky. But will they respect themselves in the morning?

From Another Galaxy

Words and pictures.

* The National New Age & Truth About UFOs Conference in San Diego is only two weeks away.

Keynoter is William Cooper, a retired Naval intelligence officer who says he saw Top Secret documents about a pact between extraterrestrials and the U.S. government: “The CIA-Alien Connection.”

* Dodger pitcher Jesse Orosco is building a home near Poway. Near the Padres’ Tony Gwynn.

* Local officials are worried that the cash-poor state government will try to grab some of the $40-million-a year-surplus that the San Diego Unified Port District rakes in for managing state tidelands.

* Mixed message.

Paul Walton, 35, of San Diego, hasn’t had a single offer for his cherry-red 1988 Chevrolet Camaro convertible. Despite a sign on the car’s rear bumper.

He suspects people think he’s just clowning around. Right above the FOR SALE sign is his personalized license plate, IT’S FREE.

The plate is from his days as a U.S. Sprint salesman (free installation).

* Stuck in a heap of political trouble, San Diego Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt has adopted a folksy tone in recent letters to local newspapers.

To the Union: “ Jeeze , guys, give me a break!”

To the Tribune: “The Tribune must be in possession of a crystal ball. That’s gotta be the source.. . .”

* San Diego license plate: LY 2 ME.

Open-Air Bowling

Why, you may ask, is there now a bowling ball in the evidence room of the San Diego Police Department?

Because last week a fellow of uncertain temperament and unknown motive decided to bowl an unauthorized frame on a city street.

He drove to the top of a hilly street near Balboa Park, stopped his car, calmly took out his bowling ball and bowled it downhill at an approaching motorist.

He then drove off. The other motorist, startled but unhurt, told police he has no idea who his would-be attacker was.

This is much is known though: the guy’s not much of a bowler. With a clear shot, he still managed to roll a gutter ball.