By Leonard Shapiro
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, Jan. 31, 2000; Page D10

ATLANTA – Whooo boy, were we ever ready for some football.

ABC Sports certainly was, right from Al Michaels' opening – "the meek finally inherited the earth" – that said it all about the compelling up-from-nowhere matchup between the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans today in Super Bowl XXXIV.

Boomer Esiason reported early that offensive coordinator Mike Martz was planning to "empty the entire playbook" and that's exactly what the Rams were doing on their first drive of the day. They got a key first down from a little-used fullback and moved into position for a field goal attempt that went awry with a Redskins-like blunder.

Esiason also said the Titans were planning to blitz frequently, and that's precisely what occurred on the play preceding that aborted kick when Blaine Bishop came up from his safety position to force a hurried Kurt Warner throw that landed incomplete in the end zone.

The good news for ABC, and what Michaels said before the kickoff would be "our worst nightmare, a 24-0 game early in the second quarter," never materialized. Instead, the network had the great fortune to have a relatively close contest entering the second half, always a good sign for better ratings in prime time.

Michaels, as usual, was superb in his play-by-play. How many announcers do you know who would say "[Marshall] Faulk, running with alacrity"? Talking about Warner, Michaels said, "if his story gets to a studio, it would be rejected as being too schmaltzy. It's too good for the movies; it's better in real life."

Esiason also was on his game. On a long Faulk gain with a screen pass, he pointed out that young free safety Anthony Dorsett was probably responsible for the blown coverage. He said a quick count by Warner prevented Dorsett, playing in place of injured Marcus Robertson, kept Dorsett from getting defensive signals to his teammates in time.

ABC's 32 cameras offered gorgeous views of plays from all angles, though the constant panning to players' wives, brothers, moms, 14th cousins and yes, Georgia Frontiere pacing the sideline, got very old, very quickly.

We certainly could have done without Lesley Visser's sappy interview with Brenda Warner between plays in the second quarter. Visser tried to recover with a John Elway interview, until he used it as a free play to promote his new Internet venture. Hey, at $2.2 million for a 30-second spot, why not?

Earlier in the day, Chris Berman mercifully seemed a tad more subdued than usual on ABC's fast-moving, sometimes quirky, occasionally moving and mostly entertaining pregame show. He's been fighting a cold, fever and flu-like symptoms all week and could barely talk on Tuesday, perhaps one reason for him keeping the decibel level down, the better to preserve himself for the four-hour marathon.

But without question, the pregame star had to be 49ers quarterback Steve Young, a natural in the host's chair. Clearly, all those concussions have done nothing to diminish Young's ability to recall so many marvelous anecdotes from his playing days with a smooth delivery far more typical of a 20-year veteran than a rookie broadcaster.

During a segment on Saturday's Hall of Fame selections, Young recalled new inductee Ronnie Lott going into a small rage at halftime. "Lott says, 'If we don't win, don't bother coming back into the locker room,' " Young said. "I'm thinking, 'How am I going to get my car keys?' "

Speaking of Young, the show included an informative and rather chilling piece on concussions, including former Giants linebacker Harry Carson saying, "I chose broadcasting as a career, and I still have problems with memory." But Young insisted in a brief exchange with Berman that "if you rest, and let it heal, you can play again."

Berman asked him if he thought he could return to play again next year, and Young, perhaps wishfully, insisted, "I'll be cleared to play." Better he should retire and head straight for the studio, where he's going to be a star. A very big star.

A few other observations:

Andrea Kremer, ESPN's long-time crackerjack NFL reporter, had a baby boy Wednesday. Today, Kremer showed up in the studio to appear live on ESPN's pre-pregame air with a penetrating piece she'd been working on all season on athletes' travails dealing with off-the-field issues. Some of her colleagues weren't wild about the idea and tried to talk her out of it, but Kremer insisted on taking part. Sadly, ESPN let her.

Wildest scene of the weekend was Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Bruce Smith collapsing on the set of TNT's Friday night live Super Bowl special while talking with Trev Alberts. Smith quickly was revived off camera, then left the studio on his own, telling TNT officials he was heading to the hospital. TNT used tape replays of the incident in subsequent shows and never told viewers whether Smith had actually gone to seek medical help. Happily, Smith is okay.

What's up with Hershey's chocolate? They bring a guy in from Connecticut to attempt a 40-yard field goal for a $1 million payoff. ABC gives them almost three minutes of air time (at a very pretty price, no doubt) in the first hour of the pregame show, and poor Rod Sylvia kicks it short left. Hershey's then pays him just $10,000. What's with that? They don't sell enough Krackel bars?

A company called Webex.com uses cross-dressing RuPaul in its 30-second commercial spot. After watching the tasteless ad, including RuPaul pinching one of the male principles in the derriere, I have no idea what Webex.com is or does.

Speaking of derrieres one last time, a taped segment from ABC's daytime "The View" was as sexist as it gets, starting with Meredith Viera saying she started watching football at age 10 when she discovered players' "butts." It got worse from there, including an Internet poll question asking "would women watch the Super Bowl if the players' pants were looser?" Oh, please.

On a day when defense prevailed, it was most offensive.