Black Sunday Super Bowl Attack



The Black Sunday Super Bowl Attack was an incident that occurred in the Black Sunday Universe version of the Super Bowl in 1976. It was depicted in Black Sunday in 1977.

Background
After murdering members of the Irsaeli Olympic team in Munich during the Summer Olympics in 1972, the terrorist group known as Black September plotted out for further attacks. In 1975, a plan was put into place to attack a major American event with the target being the Super Bowl, the Championship game of the National Football League. Dahlia Iyad, a member of the organization recruited Michael Lander, a Goodyear Blimp pilot who was also disgruntled and depressed from his time as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam Conflict. Dahlia tapped into Michael's anger with planning and maneuvering to have everything in place in time for the big game.

On the other side of this struggle is Major David Kabakov of the Israeli Mossad, wanting to track down the Black September cell in the United States and nullify their plot. In the US, Kabakov would team with FBI Agent Sam Corley. Knowing Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami on the day of the Super Bowl is the target, Kabakov and Corley arrive, still unsure as to how the attack will unfold.

Further complicating matters was that President Jimmy Carter would be in attendance at the game, making him a direct target as well.

The Plot
Michael would pilot the Goodyear Blimp over the stadium during the game with a bomb planted under the gondola, lowering it down and then detonating the bomb, along with thousands of flechettes firing into the live audience. For Michael, the day of the game would involve some work as he would first have to kill the original lead pilot, take over as the new lead pilot while covering for the original's absence, cause an issue with the blimp during the game in order to have it returned to the field for repair, bring Dahlia in during the confusion, have Dahlia climb aboard the blimp with the explosives now in place, and then take back off while killing anyone who interferes.

Upon realizing the plot, Kabakov and Corley commandeer a helicopter to chase after the blimp.

The Game
On January 18, 1976, Super Bowl X was played in Miami at Orange Bowl Stadium between the Dallas Cowboys who had won the National Football Conference Championship and the Pittsburgh Steelers who had won the American Football Conference Championship. Broadcast live on CBS, Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier handled commentary for the television audience. A group called Up With People teamed with Tom Sullivan to perform the National Anthem before the game. Up With People also performed the halftime show without Tom. Over 80,000 fans were in attendance.

In the 4th Quarter, the Steelers led 21-17 with 1:20 remaining.

The Attack
A shootout over the skies of Miami between Iyad and Kabakov ensued with Iyad being killed and Lander being shot as well, but not before guiding the blimp to the stadium and lighting the fuse in his dying breath to trigger the bomb and flechettes. In a daring rescue, Kabakov led the effort to have the blimp connected to their helicopter as the thousands in attendance broke into pandemonium.

As Kabakov looks to lead the blimp away from the stadium, attendees are running and screaming in terror. Some jump from upper deck seating out of panic. US Secret Service agents immediately surround the President as the chaos unfolds. The game is immediately halted with thousands of terrorized citizens suddenly on the field.

Kabakov's efforts are successful and the helicopter pulls the blimp away from the stadium and the fleeing people. Moments later, the blimp is let go over the Atlantic Ocean, safely away from the city as it explodes, the flechettes firing into the water below.

Aftermath
The remainder of the game was not played with the Steelers being awarded the victory, but with no one in the mood to celebrate.

Danaverse Connection
The Black Sunday version of Super Bowl X is unique in that it deals with a terrorist attack. While it still ended the 1975 NFL season, it did so prematurely with the blimp incident literally running everyone off.

In this universe, security measures for major entertainment and sporting events would undergo increased security. President Carter would fail in his reelection bid, losing to Ronald Reagan in 1976 on the promise of increased security.

By 1981, the universe is viewed by the Council of the Multiverse as a looming dystopia.

Dahlia Iyad's essence would be rescued just before her death by Zoe Graystone as a preventive measure against others looking to recruit her instead.

This universe has the distinction of Jimmy Carter being elected President in 1972, after running successfully against incumbent Richard Nixon. This is in sharp contrast to DC Timelines 31 and 53 where Nixon is not only reelected, but serves more than two terms.

Information
Part of Black Sunday was filmed on location at Orange Bowl Stadium during the Super Bowl. This included certain shots that could only be taken once. Paramount Pictures produced the movie with some help from NFL Films and the reluctant blessing of Goodyear who were not pleased at their blimp being used as a weapon by the villains.

In the real Super Bowl game, the score was indeed 21-17 Pittsburgh with 1:20 remaining in the 4th Quarter and would be the final score. In the real game, Dallas scored a touchdown with under two minutes remaining and were able to get the ball back. As time expired, Roger Staubach threw a pass to the end zone for the win, but it was intercepted by Glen Edwards to seal the win for the Steelers.

A slight difference in the CBS broadcast was that Hank Stram joined Pat and Tom during the 4th Quarter. In Black Sunday, Hank is absent as the attack unfolds.

In the movie, Jimmy Carter is heavily implied as being President of the United States with a lookalike portraying him as he arrives at the stadium. This may have been the result of the movie being released in cinemas in 1977 when Carter actually was in office. In our reality and in most of the Multiverse for that matter, the President on the day of the Super Bowl was Gerald Ford. Ford would be defeated in the 1976 Presidential Election by Carter. Prior to Ford, the President was Richard Nixon who would resign after being reelected in 1972.