Media Row: The Cavalcade of Stars
The feeding frenzy that is the media center began with a whisper early in the week. You may know all of the jokes, but the general thought is that Monday is the day for media-on-media love. That is to say, the product pitching doesn’t normally begin until the middle of the week, thereby leaving members of the media to interview one another.
Of course, the weather has also become a character in this Dallas drama. Sure, everyone wants to find or generate a sound byte out of the press conferences and there are myriad websites working to find “THE” story. The “Ben Roethlisberger took his teammates out to dinner” story made me yawn. The fact that Aaron Rodgers artfully dodges questions and references to Brett Favre is a tad better, but still, that’s a reach.
Right now THE story is the fact that schools and businesses have been closed all, flights delayed or canceled and the freeways are replete with abandoned cars. Forget about the fact that there’s a stripper shortage. They’ve have to bus them in at this point.
I spent a little time at the Pittsburgh team hotel today and is was eerily quiet around the Fort Worth Omni. There were fans in the lobby, my friends “Tunch & Wolf” broadcasting in front of a roaring fire and “larger than life” banners featuring Steelers players (I want one of Harrison to wallpaper my house. I’ll put a Driver next door to complete the theme.). I don’t mean to suggest that the passion isn’t there. It’s just not at a fever pitch.
I get that it’s only Thursday, but normally there’s a bit more in the air. Joe Montana, Michael Strahan, Kurt Warner, Mike Ditka and countless others worked the media room. Brooklyn Decker is the big star on tap for the end of the day.
The most buzz generated today was when The Black-Eyed Peas walked through the hallway to and from their press conference. Fergie stopped and said hello. That was it. She stopped, said hello and kept on walking.
