Who cares about Super Bowl, it is no longer the single most watched sports event :)

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/3280912/Champions-League-final-tops-Super-Bowl-in-TV

You don't need to specialize. When you can use a decent frigate, warp disruptor, web and MWD, you can tackle. Sure, you can specialize, if you want to, but even a T1 tackler with bad skills is a welcome addition to just about any fleet.

(For non-EVE people who might read this: frigate = small fast ship; warp disruptor = keeps an enemy ship from warping away; web = slows down an enemy ship; MWD = micro warp drive, boosts the ship speed by 500%; T1 = level 1 technology, not as good as T2)

You can fly a "tackler" in a couple of days (tackler is a ship that is designated to get in fast, hold an enemy ship for 10-20 seconds until the heavy ships get in, and then bail out). You can fly a decent mining ship in a couple of days. You can start doing effective trading in a few weeks. Production does take a bit longer to do effectively.