There is something special about being at Super Bowl week, if for nothing else than it marks a chance to get a break from the cold at the deepest stage of winter.
This marks my ninth Super Bowl week, dating back to the 2002 game between the Patriots and Rams in New Orleans.
If I was to rate them for overall experience and game entertainment, it might go something like this:
2002 - New Orleans, Patriots over Rams
Overall: A
Game: B+
2003 - San Diego, Bucs over Raiders
Overall: B+
Game: C-
2004 - Houston, Patriots over Panthers
Overall: B-
Game: A
2005 - Jacksonville, Patriots over Eagles
Overall: C-
Game: C
2006 - Detroit, Steelers over Seahawks
Overall: C+
Game: B-
2007 - Miami, Colts over Bears
Overall: B+
Game: B-
2008 - Arizona, Giants over Patriots
Overall: B-
Game: A
2009 - Tampa Bay, Steelers over Cardinals
Overall: B+
Game: A+
So the first thing you can see is that the overall experience of a Super Bowl is largely determined by geography. Warm climates with lively downtown areas (New Orleans, San Diego, Miami, Tampa) make good Super Bowl host cities. Cold climates or cities with sprawling geography or dead downtowns (Jacksonville, Detroit, Houston) do not.
The other thing you might notice is the outdated myth that the Super Bowl is usually a lousy game. Of the eight I have covered, four of them were decided in the final minute and I have witnessed just one blowout (Bucs-Raiders).
Like Grey Cup week, each Super Bowl week has its own feel, the product of geography, the teams involved and whatever issues happen to be hovering over the NFL at the time.
In general, Super Bowl weeks aren't near as much fun as Grey Cups, especially where the general public is concerned, since most events and parties are aimed at high-end clientele, beyond the means of ordinary fans.
Simply finding a ticket to the game and a room in a Super Bowl city can run thousands of dollars, never mind trying to hit the hot spots in town. The media doesn't generally get to many of those hot spots either, although there are some perks on our side of the business.
There's usually a media party with its complimentary food and drink, which can range from excellent (New Orleans, Miami, Tampa) to ordinary (Arizona, Jacksonville, Detroit).
Occasionally we receive invitations to some of the parties where you might rub shoulders with NFL players during the week, but those are rare.
Just seeing the buzz on a Friday or Saturday night can be interesting. But it can also be perilous experience because getting around tends to be a nightmare since there is no tougher time to get a taxi than the night before a Super Bowl.
So here are a random list of some of the sights and sounds I've come across during my first eight Super Bowl weeks:
-- Military vehicles in the streets of New Orleans during the first post-911 Super Bowl in 2002
-- Seeing Hulk Hogan stroll down the street in Miami, surrounded by a throng of admirers.
-- Coming across a Jimmy Buffet concert on South Beach just as he was launching into Margaritaville
-- Watching the Gas Lamp district in San Diego be taken over by those freakish Raider fans.
-- Getting to try to hit the island green a TPC Sawgrass' 17th hole at the media party in Jacksonville (not even close)
-- Walking into a room in Detroit where i had the opportunity to interview almost every living Super Bowl MVP
-- Having a hooker hand me her business card on a street corner on South Beach the night before the game.
-- Being stopped attempting to cross the lobby of my hotel in New Orleans while an entourage that included former President George H. Bush walking by
-- Watching Peyton and Eli Manning run for their lives - Beatlemania style - up an escalator at the GM tower in Detroit.
-- Seeing the lights come on after the Super Bowl halftime show in Houston and seeing a fan who had snuck onto the field by impersonating a game office, then drop his pants.
-- Sitting just a few feet away from the Rolling Stones at their news conference prior to their halftime show at Detroit, where Mick said "the networks are absolutely terrified we're going to say f***"
-- Running into Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Casey Printers on South Beach the night before Super Bowl
-- Meeting the quarterback of the Chicago Bliss from the Lingerie Football League at a pizza place in Tampa.
-- Seeing former Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams line-up behind the hotel staff Monday morning in Detroit to buy discount SB merchandise
-- Seeing anti-war protesters set up a giant mock cemetery on South Beach, with a tombstone for every soldier killed in Iraq, right adjacent to all the Super Bowl hoopla.
-- Getting into a elevator in Tampa with 60 Minutes essayist Andy Rooney, who at roughly 90 years of age looks older in person than he does on television
-- Being able to say I've seen: the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain, Tom Petty, Prince, Billy Joel, Janet Jackson, and a few others -- all through Super Bowl halftime shows.
Looking forward to seeing what this week has in store.