Three Archies and a Dippy

"Archie" isn't exactly a common name. Yet yours truly can think of three notable ones in years past.

There was Archie Andrews of comic book fame. He hung around with Veronica, Betty, Reggie, Jughead, and occasionally got clocked by Moose when he flirted with Midge. This Archie met his demise by taking a bullet meant for his gay friend. I never would have saw that coming back in the 70's.

Everybody remembers Archie Bunker, the lovable bigot. He tried to "stifle" his dingbat wife Edith, had an air-head daughter Gloria, and a meathead son-in-law named Michael. Oh the way Glen Miller played -- songs that made the hit parade -- guys like him they had it made -- those were his days indeed.

In the sports world, one Archie Manning stands out for two reasons. He had a long career as an NFL quarterback on horrible teams and spawned a couple sons that would go on to win Super Bowls. You know, Peyton and Eli. A recent statistic came to light. Old Arch was sacked 396 times during his career. Peyton has 302 to his dubious credit. At last count, Eli had been forced to eat it 303 times. Add it all up and what do you have? The family of a thousand quarterback sacks. That's a bunch.

Of course a mere thousand pales in comparison to the seemingly millions of kindergarten level commercials the younger Mannings have shamelessly cha-chinged their way into over the years. And when it comes to dumb looks, perhaps the late astronomer Carl Sagan put it best. Billions and billions.

Though Mr. Andrews dates back a little further, all three of these Archies had something in common. They were a big deal in the above-mentioned 70s. All In The Family was the #1 ranked TV show, and while the elder Manning was not only getting sacked and absorbing losses playing for the dreadful New Orleans Aints, he spawned both Peyton and Eli.

Alas, Andrews' creators decided to finally kill him off in a blaze of politically "correct" glory, and Bunker moved on to be a sheriff in a small southern town in the heat of the night, where he would eventually marry a black woman. Times had changed indeed. He has since passed on to the mysterious land of "who the hell was I?" in the sky.

All of which brings me to a certain Dippy. There's only ever been one of those. About the same time the three Archies were strutting their stuff back in the early 70's -- good, bad, or otherwise -- Dippy had yours truly mesmerized. A fascinating creature. Never saw her image in any comic books, and trying to stifle her when she was in dingbat mode was futile. As for getting "sacked"? Let's just say it's probably a fair statement to say her stats surpassed those of the entire Manning clan.

No doubt, the early 70's featured some really interesting stuff going on in several different ways.

Forever and remember indeed.