THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 23, 1995 TAG: 9501230073
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Should he get the nod next Super Bowl Sunday, Suffolk's Larry Pennington will dress up as a Ninja warrior, set his feet afire,and jump out of an airplane from 6,000 feet.
His descent will take him toward the center of the 50-yard line at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami at about 174-feet-per-second, flames still spouting from his shoes.
And after pulling his rip cord, Pennington will soar through a blizzard of mid-air pyrotechnics and into the homes of an estimated television audience of 25 million people - hopefully safely.
But that's just the beginning.
With four other Ninja-dressed jumpers, Pennington will then try to rescue the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophy from a bunch of bad guys who stole it during an earlier portion of the halftime spectacle.
``It's something to jump out of an airplane,'' said Pennington. ``But it's something else to jump out in a Ninja outfit with explosives on your feet. All I'm going to keep on saying is: Don't mess up. Don't fall down. Don't mess up. Please, don't mess up.''
If Pennington doesn't get the nod to jump, he'll at least be flying the plane that dumps the other ninjas. There's no chance he'll do both.
The uncertainty about whether to jump or not to jump lies at the feet of the Walt Disney Co., who is organizing the halftime show Sunday at Super Bowl XXIX. ``They're changing their minds, like, daily,'' said Pennington.
Regardless of his final role, it's safe to say that this 41-year-old Suffolkian is more than excited about this upcoming event, even if he doesn't get the chance to set his feet on fire. For come Sunday, this parachutist will become part of American folklore - if only for a mere three minutes.
Pennington, a professional skydiver and pilot, has been jumping since he got the bug 16 years ago. Since then he has left work supervising nuclear pipe fitters at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, moved from Virginia Beach to Suffolk (``I'm nearer the airport,'' he said) and now teaches Earth-bound novices the art of safely jumping from planes - sans the ninja get up and the hot foot thing.
``We train people that have never skydived in their life,'' said Pennington. ``Some don't even know how to spell the word. But this is something I've always loved to do and it's what I'm good at.''
Pennington has logged ``a little over 4,000 jumps'' at or around the Suffolk Municipal Airport, where he helps run Skydive Suffolk.
He considers this Super Bowl jump the most prestigious of his career, mainly because of the audience.
He is training hard. He performed about eight practice jumps in Suffolk last week. And after leaving for Florida this morning, Pennington said he planned to do another 15 practice jumps and three complete dress rehearsals.
Should it rain on Super Bowl Sunday and the jump should be scrubbed, fear not. Organizers plan to film the escapade during a practice run and show the film during halftime.
``The show goes on whether it rains or not,'' said Pennington. ``Man, it's a massive thing, a massive thing, massive.''
``I've been in this game a long time and I still get excited on every jump. But the prospect of jumping in front of 25 million - it's got to make you a little excited.''
Pennington won't have it easy even if he's only flying the plane.
``There's a lot of added things there,'' he said. ``They will be shooting fireworks from the ground, there'll be the helicopters from the news stations and the blimps. There's something like a 30 second window for us to do this in.''
The whole thing should take about three minutes.
Pennington is an old hand at these costumed jumps. He has landed in Harbor Park, jumped into Old Dominion University during a ZZ Top concert, and was supposed to be one of several ``Flying Elvises'' last week for a theater opening in Richmond before rain ruined his blue suede shoes. ``We just got dressed up,'' said Pennington, ``and walked around anyway.''
On one occasion, during a jump as Santa Claus over Tower Mall in Portsmouth, the weather was turning miserable just as the plane approached the jump site. Pennington peered out past the rain and wind - ``there were like 80 million kids down there.''
``At that point,'' he said, ``You gotta go. You just gotta go.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color photo]
LAWRENCE JACKSON/Staff
Larry Pennington, center, experienced skydiver and pilot, may become
part of American football folklore next Sunday.
The Walt Disney Co., which is handling Super Bowl XXIX halftime
festivities, may give Suffolk resident Larry Pennington the chance
to dress as a ninja, jump from a plane with his feet on fire to land
at the 50-yard line in Joe Robbie Stadium.
by CNB