Wonderfully Disappointing

February 9, 2010



Reggie Wayne

Wonderfully Disappointing





The Super Bowl game itself was amazing, though the result was not what I had hoped, it was an exciting game that went right down to late in the fourth quarter before being decided. The atmosphere inside the stadium was incredible as both Saints and Colts fans pretty much remained standing and screaming throughout the game.

Queen Latifah

Colts take the field.

Things started off great for us Colts fans as we jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead and even had a chance to go up by more until a big dropped pass by Pierre Garcon stalled a drive and allowed the opening that the Saints seemed to need. They finally seemed to get their offense going and scored a field goal to make it 10-3.



I know the game has been analyzed a lot, but in my opinion it all turned late in the first half when the Colts failed to capitalize on the brilliant 4th & 1 goal line stand and got the ball back at the 1 yard line with 2 minutes left in the half. Rather than try to drive down for more points as they have been doing all season, they got ultra conservative and ran the ball up the middle three times, failing to get a first down and allowing the Saints to kick a late field goal to close the gap to 10-6 at the half.



Goal Line Stand

It was as if the Colts were playing not to lose, while the Saints were pulling out all the stops and playing to win. That trend would become readily evident right from the start in the second half.





Before that was the incredible half-time show by the legendary band The Who. I’m not sure how it came across on television, but it was a spectacular show in person. It was a thing of beauty to watch them assemble and dissemble the spectacular stage in a matter of moments, all for a 30 minute performance. The laser light show was amazing, though the sound was somewhat muffled it was still a pretty cool thing to witness.







The second half began with one of the most daring calls of Super Bowl history, a successful onside kick by the Saints that completed the momentum shift and allowed the Saints to drive down and take the lead and start off the second half in which their offense was pretty much unstoppable, while the Colts continued a series of tentative, questionable decisions. I mean what was the thinking on attempting that 50 yard field goal?







Peyton Manning was visibly frustrated and it seemed inevitable that he would try to force things and commit a critical error. That is what happened when the Saints returned an interception 74 yards for the clinching TD in their 31-17 victory. As disappointing as it was, it was hard to be too upset. The Saints fans that I encountered were gracious and friendly and seemed (deservedly so) to be having the time of their lives. They certainly know how to have a great time and their team deserved to win.





It was a fantastic experience and it was thrilling to be there surrounded by so many wonderful football fans from New Orleans and watch them celebrate a victory that somehow seemed bigger than just a game.





Happy Saints Fans!

XLIV

February 8, 2010







XLIV

Saints come marching in!

In January of 1995 I attended my first and up to now only Super Bowl. Like this year, the game was held in Miami and featured the San Francisco 49ers pummeling the San Diego Chargers 49-26. I think the face value of the tickets was around $300.00 compared to the $900.00 price on this year’s tickets, but the real difference was just in the size and scope of the experience of attending the game.



Drew & Andy



The day of the game started fairly early and I joined two fellow Colts fans, Danny & Adam, who just happened to be staying at our hotel and were also scheduled to attend the pregame tailgate party that my friends from Indianapolis had organized. After a brief stop for some provisions, we headed over to the stadium. We were early enough that we didn’t hit any major traffic at all.





My buddy Andy Deemer had scouted out a good tailgating spot in a nearby high school where we set up camp. Throughout the day we were joined by about 50 additional Colts fans both known and new friends who all wanted to celebrate being at the game. It was cool to hang with so many Colts fans, everyone was pretty excited and it was a really good time.





After spending a few hours at the tailgate, we headed over to the stadium where we joined the throngs going through the exceedingly tight security. It didn’t take that long and after a few minutes, we were through the gate at actually at the Super Bowl. It has grown into a massive, massive event. There were stages, activities, concessions and even a few rides set up all around the stadium, literally acres and acres of stuff to do. While the throngs at the beach were overwhelmingly Saints fans, at the actual game the ratio was far more even. I think many New Orleans fans just made the drive down to party, having no intention of attending the game.



With the Lombardi Trophy

The area around the stadium had a carnival atmosphere and there was all sorts of stuff to do, from watching the live CBS broadcast of the pre-game show in person, to watching the likes of Daughtry or Steve Winwood perform at the FanFest tailgate party to going through the NFL experience where you could compete in training exercises conducted by former NFL players.



Jeff

With George Teague

We tried to do as much as possible, catching a little bit of each thing before eventually heading in to our seats. Andy was able to recognize former Dallas Cowboy George Teague, who famously knocked Terrell Owens off the Dallas star at midfield some years ago an got him to pose for a photo with Andy holding a No T.O. sign.

Emmitt Smith





After a few hours enjoying the fun, we headed in to our seats. A group of us were sitting in the same section, though not together. Section 155 was located on the lower level in the endzone toward the Colts side of the field. We were way closer to the field than I’d ever imagined. They were great seats. We were able to get a great view of all the pregame action and even caught a good view of celebrities like Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher, Chris Rock and Adam Sandler as well as all the new members of the NFL Hall of Fame including Jerry Rice & Emmitt Smith.





The pregame was as exciting as any I have ever seen, the mood of the crowd was totally electric. Queen Latifah sang “America the Beautiful” and Carrie Underwood did a great job on the National Anthem, and then it was time for the actual game to begin.

Super Bowl Pre-Partying

February 7, 2010





Danny, Andy & Adam

Super Bowl Pre-Partying

Steve Young

The day prior to the Super Bowl was a long day of activity on South Beach. In addition to the celebrity Beach Bowl that I attended, I also spent much of the day just roaming around the beach soaking in the sun and all the pre-game festivities. The NFL set-up a huge area for fans called the NFL experience where there were all sorts of sponsor displays and activities including many appearances by current players who would mingle with fans.

Derrick Brooks



I also watched a little of the ESPN crew filming their analysis broadcast from the beach-studio that they had set up. It was a crazy and hectic day, but really enjoyable for the people who choose to come out. With Ocean Drive open for pedestrian traffic only, it gave the entire beach area a party feel. All the bars and hotels along the strip were decked out in the gear from the teams, though New Orleans fans outnumbered Colts fans at least 4-1. I think many people drove down from New Orleans just to be a part of the action with no intention of actually attending the game.





I saw a bunch of current or former NFL players including Warren Moon, Eli Manning, Steve Young, Cadillac Williams, Willis McGahee and Derrick Brooks. I also visited a cool display of old memorabilia before heading back to the hotel to get ready for another late night in Miami.

Willis McGahee

Cadillac Williams

My friends from Indianapolis had all arrived and we have a table for 18 reserved at Morton’s Steak House in downtown Miami. We sort of dominated the entire place, which is a favorite among Colts players. While none were there while we were there, tennis star Andy Roddick did show up. Dinner was great and it was great to be with so many Hoosier friends here in South Florida.



Dinner at Morton's

My friend Drew who was hooking me up with my ticket for the big game couldn’t make it downtown for dinner from South Beach because of the huge traffic snarl, so after dinner a few of us headed over to meet him and pick up our tickets. I ended up staying in South Beach and hanging out with Drew for a while as he conducted business in the fast paced world of ticket broking. It was a fun and fascinating experience. He really came through for me, hooking me up with a seat 14 rows off the field in the lower level Colts side endzone.

Drew- The art of the deal

Before heading back, I checked out my favorite Miami band Suenalo at Jazid for a few songs before heading back across the causeway for a brief stop at the Blue Martini lounge before finally getting tack to the hotel for some needed sleep.

Tickets First Class

The Blue Martini