Yesterday, after carefully navigating my way home during the then still active snowstorm that hit the northeast, I watched a part of the Super Bowl Media Day on ESPN.
Normally, this is a pretty boring event, in all honesty. But, I learned that mostly last year, when attending the event when it was hosted locally, at the Rock (Prudential Center) in Newark, NJ.
I am still thankful to have gone, because it was my first (and so far only) chance to actually see all of the players and staff members (as well as other notable personalities) that would be participating in the Super Bowl just a few days later. My son went along with me to see it, and I allowed him to take the day from school, because really, how often can you see a Super Bowl event? The New York/New Jersey region has only hosted the one Super Bowl, and there is absolutely no guarantee that it will ever come back. So, I wanted to share the experience with my son.
Of course, it was not the Super Bowl itself. Yet, it allowed us to get a taste of the media spectacle that the Super Bowl has become, which was interesting. I wrote a blog entry on it, which included pictures, and thought it would be cool to republish that here (see below).
As for the Super Bowl Media Day yesterday? Well, there were of course questions (for members of both teams) regarding "Deflate Gate". But there were also some other interesting moments, as well. Marshawn Lynch, who avoided the questions on Media Day last year, did go to the podium this time around, in order to avoid a hefty $500,000 fine. But, he warned ahead of time that he would simply answer each question with the same answer: "I'm just here so I won't get fined."
Lynch was true to his words, too. That was pretty much how he answered each question.
Also, there were some interesting moments with other players, including dancing by a few players.
Perhaps the most interesting moment involved, rather predictably, Richard Sherman. He was one of those who danced (and quite well, I might add), but he also got in a fairly heated debate with a reporter over "Deflate Gate".
Of course, the really interesting event is yet to come: the Super Bowl itself. One team will walk off the field with a championship, and will await their Super Bowl rings. The other will stalk off with a missed opportunity.
We'll see which is which on Sunday.
In the meantime, here is a look back at yesterday's Super Bowl Media Day highlights yesterday in Arizona, as well as a personal look back at the Super Bowl Media Day last year that I was fortunate enough to attend last year in Newark, New Jersey.
Here were some interesting articles that highlighted yesterday's event:
Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch: 'I'm just here so I won't get fined' by NFL Highlights 1:22 mins:
http://sports.yahoo.com/video/im-wont-fined-201900067.html
"I wish this would be a better debate," Sherman lamented, "but ... the levels aren't there for us."
Richard Sherman takes all comers, including unrelenting questioner over Roger Goodell Eric Edholm By Eric Edholm of Shutdown Corner, January 27, 2015:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/richard-sherman-takes-all-comers--including-feisty-questioner-over-roger-goodell-231328761.html
Last Year's Post on Super Bowl Media Day, Newark, NJ - January 28, 2014
So, yes, I went to the Super Bowl Media Day event yesterday. I wanted to post this blog entry then, but the computer crapped out on me, and I could not even get on, let alone download the pictures and post this entry.
But now, I have managed it, and so here comes the review:
Truth be told, I was looking forward to this for some time. Now, we all know how expensive and ludicrously overpriced Super Bowl tickets are. And I kind of thought that this would be a cool, obviously much cheaper alternative. The tickets sell for maybe around $35 or so after all of the service charges and such, so you are not exactly breaking the bank to go there, as opposed to the actual Super Bowl game itself, where tickets are going for no less than $1,000 for face value! No way that I can get those, unless I win them in some contest of something. So, this offered me the chance to take my son, so that we both could see the hoopla of the media coverage, as well as all of the players and coaching staff from both teams, and perhaps some extras.
And indeed, see those things we did. Also, indeed, there were some surprises.
Now, some of it was good, and some of it was...well, not bad, exactly but...well, kind of long and a bit on the boring side.
It's just that the ticket said that the event started at 9:30am, and so we got there a bit earlier. But the Broncos, the first team slated to make an appearance, were going on not before 10:30am, and it was closer to 10:40 or so when they actually came out. I had arranged to get out of work a bit early (yes, I work overnights, in case you were wondering), and rushed to go pick up my son. But it was early yet, so I kind of just hung around and let him wake up a bit, before we went on our way. It was extremely cold, in the single digits, when we left. The day got warmer as it progressed, and it would be in the teens when the event was over. Now, that might seem cold, but it felt positively balmy compared to the single digit, deep freeze of the morning. But after rushing like that, waiting in very heavy traffic, it was disappointing to see that the event started at 10:30, one hour earlier than we had been led to believe.
Then came the next disappointment. I had told my son that both teams would be wearing their uniforms, so that it would make the thing feel more like a game, and more like an actual sports event. After all, to my knowledge, both teams participating in the Super Bowl had always had worn their uniforms for media day in the past as far back as I could remember, and that included last year. So, I was looking forward to seeing them in their uniforms.
Instead, both teams wore these kind of gray-silver jumpsuits. It it were not for the bright orange caps and the t-shirts that the Broncos wore underneath (and not all of them wore the caps, nor did all of them have those jumpsuits unzipped enough to see the orange Broncos t-shirts underneath), you would not even really be able to tell the difference between the two unless you went right up to them as could see it. So, that was (which were really good, and my son really loved them!), all of which I think they were experimenting with, giving free samples to people to test a new line, or something. Also, we got cell phone protectors from the NFL, and little radios that allowed us to tune into six different stations, or podium lines. Each player was assigned to different podiums, and you could choose what line you wanted to hear. So long as it was one of the major players, or the head coach, you could pretty much listen to whoever you wanted to. For the most part, I listened to Peyton Manning, Head Coach John Fox, Eric Decker, and Knowshon Moreno for the Denver Broncos, and Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, Head Coach Pete Carroll, and Earl Thomas for the Seahawks.
Predictably, the men with the most media around them were Peyton Manning and Richard Sherman.
I remember looking for Marshawn Lynch, but he was nowhere to be found. I listened in to the NFL Network (they were among our radio options), and there was a rumor going that Lynch had physically left the building. That ended up not being true, although he was not at any podium, and was kind of hiding away. The media circus just wasn't his thing, and he wanted to get away from it. It just wasn't his thing, and he was more interested in the actual game on Sunday, rather than the media blitz of Super Bowl Media Day. On some level, you can understand and respect that, right?
The other players were a bit harder to find, but once you got the gist of the podium orders, it became relatively easy - again, for the major players. As for the others like, say, the placekicker for the Denver Broncos who scored that NFL record 64-yard field goal earlier this season? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Just one more reason why, in my opinion wearing the uniforms (without the shoulder pads) would have been more considerate to the fans.
There were a few other appearances by notable football personalities. You can see the program hosts from the NFL Network (I cannot specifically remember their names at the moment. But some of these included Deion Sanders, Michael Irving, Terrell Davis, Kurt Warner, and Marshall Faulk. Also, John Elway was one of the special guests. Like with Peyton Manning, I had seen him in a game before (actually, in a season when the Broncos would win the Super Bowl, but the Broncos lost that day to the Giants, ending their bid for a perfect season after starting off 13-0), but from nosebleed seats. So, it was really cool to see him in a lot more detail.
Indeed, you did get a taste of all the hoopla surrounding the Super Bowl. The presence of the media was just incredible, and I've never seen so many media people in one place before. It was a bit like a circus. In fact, I heard that they did have a clown, literally. They also had cheerleaders (from the Jets), a drum line (from the Giants) and some players from other teams milling about. I also saw a couple of guys wearing superhero outfits. Why? I don't know. But they were there.
Quite a few people seemed to be hosting their own television shows down on the floor, which was very crowded. So crowded, that several news sources were relegated to the stands themselves, and were interviewing the fans. A couple of them were in our section, and the next section over, and there are pictures of them down below.
Again, I have been looking forward to this event for some time. Not that my Giants were here, but it was a pretty cool event nonetheless.
But, a little long, and I think that was the main thing that took me by surprise. Not sure what I was expecting, exactly. But the length of the thing was just...well, it kind of wears on you. The Broncos came on at 10:30, an hour after the ticket suggested the event started. That's a long wait. And they were on for one hour, plenty of time for the players to be asked (and unfortunately, often to answer) some ridiculous questions that had nothing to do with football. For instance, Eric Decker was asked about Bruno Mars, and he answered that while he was not all that familiar with his music, he did feel Bruno Mars had some good music, and that he was the right choice for this event. Another player (can't remember his name) who had a big, bushy beard, was asked something about it (I could not quite make out what it was, because you could not hear the reporters asking questions), and he was walking about not washing his beard ever again, and putting some maple syrup in it, or something like that, to make it even thicker.
After a while, you begin to feel like it is a circus, and the appreciation for just how huge this event has grown begins to get clearer. In fact, it is actually absurdly popular.
Another thing that was different, and a bit of a disappointment specific to this Media Day, was that since it was not held in the stadium itself, you did not get to see the field, with end zones painted up in the colors of both teams, and the painted logo of the Super Bowl, and all of that. I think that could have made for great picture taking, but obviously, that was not an option in a hockey arena, miles away from where the game will actually be played. Not a huge thing, but a bit of an annoyance, nonetheless, although that obviously has to do with this being a cold weather Super Bowl, and is not likely to be repeated in future Super Bowls, to my understanding.
So, would I recommend it?
I don't know, actually. Depends on how big of a fan you are, or how curious you are about it. It is definitely pretty cool to see the players fairly close, and without all of their gear on, particularly the helmets. Also, it was interesting to see just how much media there is there, and how they reacted and competed. It can't be easy in their situation. But it also gives you the sense of scale regarding the enormity of this thing, of just how huge (some might suggest that it has gotten preposterously big) it has gotten over the course of the years, and even decades. This is a taste of the media circus, and so it is interesting, nonetheless. And being able to hear the interviews for at least the biggest names from both teams (save Seattle's running back, Marshawn Lynch - and he was ultimately found and interviewed by the NFL Network's Deion Sanders), was pretty cool.
That said, I know this event will not be for everybody. Some will find it rather boring. I was tired from the lack of sleep (usually, I sleep right after returning from work in the morning), and some of the waiting certainly was not helping me to stay awake. My son, when told that players would be coming out in their uniforms (and again, I really wish they had come out in their uniforms), then being disappointed that they didn't, and that they weren't playing the Super Bowl right then and there, that is something to bear in mind, if you have children and are thinking of taking them. I thought it would be special, a once in a lifetime kind of thing, because who knows if this area will ever host the Super Bowl again? But there were times, especially during the waiting, when he certainly appeared bored. He did not get as much excitement from seeing some of the "old" players, like John Elway. That's understandable, since he is too young, and would have no memories of him, having been born more than six years after Elway retired from the game.
Overall, it's not that much of a financial commitment. And if you want to see your team, or just the whole media circus surrounding a Super Bowl, this can be intriguing, indeed. it pales to the actual Super Bowl, but then again, with prices as exorbitant as they are, the Super Bowl Media Day can be a cheap and rewarding alternative, if you are into it.
A panel from the NFL Network. Not sure who the two far guys, and the woman are. But Michael Irving and Terrell Davis are the two figures closest to the camera.
Broncos coach John Fox talking to the press.
Peyton Manning answering some questions at his podium.
Demaryius Thomas of the Broncos trying on a wrestling style championship belt
The media day from event set back a bit, while it's going on.
Legendary quarterback John Elway, who still works for the Denver Broncos, appears as a guest on the show for the NFL Network.
The lady next to us, who was a Broncos fan, absolutely adored my son, and told us that she was glad that she sat next to us, because we were so nice. She was very nice, as well, and when she saw this (which I had not noticed), she took a picture, with her own camera, and send it to SBMEDIADAY site, so that our picture could go up on the screen, in the waiting time between the appearance of the two teams.
And here we are. Our picture is the middle picture on the top row. My son is wearing a red hoodie, while I am wearing a brownish gray hoodie. This was the clearest shot that I was able to take of our picture being posted here.
Here is the other picture I managed to take of our photo being posted. Here, we are on the bottom row, second from right.
Of course, it seemed fitting to take a picture of my son when we arrived. Here, he is posing before the camera, with the Super Bowl Media Day festivities preparing to kick off shortly. When the players came out, the floor was far more packed than what you see here in the background.
The Seahawks are about to come out for their portion of Super Bowl Media Day.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll was all smiles today, talking to the media.
The most popular guy for the media to focus in on was Richard Sherman, the Seahawks outspoken cornerback.
It was relatively quiet when we got there, with our section pretty empty (we must have been one of the few people who did not know that the starting time had been pushed back to around 10:30am, annoyingly. There were still a lot of reporters and media around, but nowhere near as much as when the players came out.
A picture of the transparent bag that we were given, with the stuff inside. The bag was pretty cool, and it had "Super Bowl Media Day" printed on it, a cool little souvenir. Otherwise, there were a few snacks and a couple of drinks (Pepsi), a cell phone protector from the NFL, the portable radios with Super Bowl XLVIII logos on it, some football cards (don't believe they were Topps, but can't say for sure), and some other stuff. I think there was shaving gel, or aftershave, or something, in there (will have to check later). Maybe a few other items that I'm not thinking of or remembering. Nothing grandiose or anything, but a cool little makeshift souvenir of the event, which was appreciated.
The special shows being broadcast live from this event were still just setting up with makeup crew, and the women getting their hair done, all while preparing their notes and such. Also, in the above picture, you can see some people were interviewing special guests, although I could not always identify just who some of the people were. Some of those in attendance who gave interviews were Antrel Rolle of the New York Giants, and DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles, who was roundly booed. This I did not agree with, despite being a Giants fan, because his son was there, and looked at the crowd and appeared surprised and a little stung at the reception his father got.
The outside entrance of the Prudential Center in Newark, adorned with a huge banner advertising the Super Bowl Media Day event.
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