Jane Slater's Super Bowl Blog: Day 1
The forecasters weren't lying when they said it would be cold in New York on Tuesday.
The minute they opened up the doors on the plane, you could feel the cold air. But it was the pulse of the city that got the blood boiling -- that and several layers of clothes.
The city is buzzing more than usual right now, with several streets blocked off for the Super Bowl week and various concerts and events. It took me and hour to get into the city by cab and cost me a pretty penny, too.
Once I arrived, I hit the ground running to pick up the week's media credentials and, wouldn't you know, one of the first guys I run into happens to be former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson. I asked him to talk about his thoughts on his former team and he told me he learned his lesson about commenting on the Cowboys. And out the door he went... the wind never touched his hair mind you. Perfectly coifed.
The Sheraton Hotel in Midtown is ground zero for the media events and live radio broadcasts, as well as the location for the live taping of the NFL Network.
It was relatively quiet on Tuesday, but today its a whirlwind of Hall of Fame coaches, players, comedians and actors.
One of the highlights was Eli Manning. Like his brother, Peyton, he never breaks his smile in interviews and manages to charm everyone he sits down... including rigid hosts. Its remarkable to watch. I had to snap a picture with him for the scrapbook, but felt dirty doing it with one picture. It's as if I crossed enemy lines and for that I apologize, Cowboys fans.
Eli, along with all of the personalities mentioned above, will go table-to-table conducting relentless interviews on the same subject this week... football and the product they're here pushing. The reporters who do their research get the guys to give them something good when they ask questions you won't find on Wikipedia. Honestly, doesn't happen often because that's about the height of preparation you get as you just grab guests to pack the shows.
I ran into Brady Poppinga on Tuesday, Super Bowl champion for the Green Bay Packers and a Cowboys linebacker before he called it quits on his playing career. Now he is working for Fox Deportes and is calling the game in Spanish. Talk about an unexpected professional turn.
The annual media party was another success, held at the Chelsea Piers. It's Spring Break for sports reporters. Everyone at CBS kept it tame last night, but it was nice to walk out to falling snow as we exited the party.
I was skeptical about this city and whether they could put this thing on... New Orleans was just so easy to navigate. But there is something about the big game in a big city that has this one shaping up to be one for the books.
Follow my adventures in the city on Twitter (@slatersnews) and every night at 6:00 p.m. on CBS 11 and 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on TXA 21. I'll continue to bring you live reports, blogs and pictures.
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