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09 Feb 2010 |
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Yes, people really do win free trips to the Super Bowl! Here is my story and what I saw at the big game. Back in November, I got an email from my brother. On a regular basis his wife enters the contest listed on the receipt you get at Golden Corral. The prize is $1,000. However, during the month of October, the prize was a free trip for two to the Super Bowl and she was a winner. At first they did not believe it – figured it was someone trying to scam them. But eventually the realization hit that it was indeed legitimate.My sister-in-law had no interest in going to the game. And even though they live in the Rust Belt, she did not have any interest in a four-day break from the rotten weather (as an aside, they got about two feet of snow while we were living it up in sunny Miami). They were successfully able to transfer the prize from her to my brother, who now was able to pick someone to go with him on the trip of a lifetime. And to my astonishment, he picked me. Most of you reading this know that I am a giant sports fan. Through my various freelance gigs I have covered all kinds of sporting events, ranging from high school girls softball to early rounds of the NCAA Tournament to the Carolina Panthers. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever go to the Super Bowl. There was no conceivable way I was going to cover one in an official capacity, and even less of a chance of going to one as a fan, since it would be a multi-thousand dollar expenditure once you include ticket, airfare, lodging, rental car and incidentals. And then this fell into my lap. Just to make it even more exciting, the Vikings, the team I had followed since the 1970s, were one of the best teams in the NFL and had a pretty good chance of making it to the Super Bowl. I promise not to get bogged down how the Vikings came up a game short because their head coach allowed 12 men to go on the field after a timeout, which pushed them out of field goal range and led to Brett Favre’s interception. The reactions from everyone I told were nearly identical – disbelief in the news that I had a free trip to the Super Bowl and excitement for me in my good fortune. Right before I left, I was telling my wife that it did not seem real. I think she enjoyed the sense of wonder I was having but was still confused as to why it was, with having a couple of months to digest the whole thing. When I told her that I never expected to go to the Super Bowl in my lifetime, she was shocked. She figured it would be a “bucket list” thing for me. She had no idea how exclusive this was, and how working class people simply do not get to do this. Because of her reaction, I went online and found out that the NFL makes available 500 pairs of tickets to the general public for the Super Bowl. These are for face value and are distributed via a lottery. The vast majority of the remaining tickets go to the two participating clubs. Sponsors and the remaining NFL teams get the rest. Of course, the ticket brokers still wind up with their share of ducats. One site I found had tickets at all levels, with the cheapest one going for $1,400 and the best seats fetching over $5,000 apiece. My trip included free airfare, tickets and transportation to the game, free hotel and VIP admission to an official NFL party. They put us up at the top floor in the Four Points by Sheraton in Miami Beach. While not officially in the big party area of South Beach, which was a short trek away via the boardwalk, it was right on the beach and all in all a pretty sweet location. There is no shortage of things to do in south Florida. Before the game we went to the Miami Seaquarium, took an airboat ride in the Everglades, walked through the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens and visited the Bass Museum of Art. And the people watching was very nice as there is an abundance of beautiful people walking around in Miami. The concert was Saturday night in Fort Lauderdale directly on the beach. It was a free concert put on by the NFL for the city and an estimated 40,000 people showed up. However, most of them did not have the VIP badge, which gave admittance to a special area right off the stage that included an open bar and all you could eat food. The musical acts were Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Barenaked Ladies and O.A.R. Afterwards was a giant fireworks show, which was all the more impressive with the beach and water background. And finally there was the game. We got our tickets Sunday morning and the distribution process was, uh, a little different. When we checked in we met the contest organizers and everything was light and breezy. But when we went back to get the tickets, it was much more serious. A large man was standing outside the room, allowing just one person to go in at a time. And only the prize winner was allowed to enter, so I was firmly shuffled off to the side. My brother had to sign a release saying he would not sell the tickets. We were told earlier that our seats were in the upper deck so the only surprise was to find out the exact section. We were in 437, which ended up in the right corner of the end zone that was painted with the Saints logo. We were about 15 rows from the top. But, as the organizers like to say, there is no such thing as a bad ticket at the Super Bowl. Our bus arrived about three hours before the game started and there were already tons of people on the site. After going through numerous ticket checks and security points, we were finally inside. The party atmosphere continued as there were all kinds of booths and exhibits set up along with even more live musical acts. Daughtry was one of the acts, which thrilled a bunch of people. He seemed like a pretty good guy and he came running by before taking the stage, high fiving a bunch of people near us. Steve Winwood was another performer, but we left the concert area before he came out. Among the many things displayed was a full uniform with pads for every team with a cut-out neck so people could get pictures of themselves in an official football uniform. Also, the Lombardi Trophy was on display in a special roped-off section. There were tons of booths selling official Super Bowl merchandise, where you too could buy a sweatshirt for $100. Undoubtedly, I would have blown a lot of money had the Vikings made it but since our gift bag had a T-Shirt and hat with the official Super Bowl XLIV logo, my memorabilia needs had been met. People asked me who I was going to root for at the game and I told them I would adopt whichever team had the cooler fans in our section. Overall, the crowd was decidedly pro-Saints, and I would guesstimate that the ratio was 3:1 in favor of New Orleans. Perhaps because of being heavily outnumbered, the Colts fans were not nearly as obnoxious as I had anticipated. And the Saints fans were thrilled to be there, shouting “Who’s Dat!” whenever they passed by someone else wearing Saints merchandise. I wore a Mets shirt, which drew several positive comments. The game itself was pretty good and was not bogged down by penalties and replay challenges, which normally kill a game for those watching live at the stadium. There were plenty of momentum shifts and each team had ample opportunities to cheer big plays. I think everyone in the stadium was expecting Peyton Manning to lead the Colts back to the tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter. But the Colts fans left en masse after Tracy Porter returned the interception for a touchdown and a two-TD lead. And the halftime show was fantastic. I was apprehensive about it because at one time The Who was one of my two or three most favorite groups. They seemed old when I saw them 20 years ago on the first of their numerous money grab reunion tours, this one to commemorate the anniversary of the release of Tommy. Anyway, I could not really see either original member from my seat, so I just listened to the music and watched the light show. The backing band sounded really good and I’m not sure how it came across on TV but the light show was outstanding. Prior to the game, the big video boards at the stadium tried to get the crowd to do a coordinated move to “Who Are You.” They wanted everyone to put their cell phone in their right arm and make up-and-down arm pump moves. They asked everyone to practice before (and during!) the game and I was amazed at how many sheep, I mean people, in our section were practicing right on queue. Fortunately, not many people actually did it during the show. It took a long time to get back to the hotel from the game, a time exceeded only by my return trip home. But it was a fantastic experience and I can only imagine what it would be like if the Vikings had made it and I had a true rooting interest in the outcome. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to start looking for online contests to enter to win a free trip to the NBA Finals.
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Comments (5)
  written by GHD, March 15, 2010
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written by Patrick W, February 15, 2010
Cool read, Brian. The entire event for the Super Bowl is pretty cool. I've had the pleasure of experiencing two while living in the Tampa Bay area.....haven't attended the game, but many of the festivities leading up to. Although, there's nothing like South Beach here on this side of the state!
I've been to many games, but after playing and coaching, I find it hard to sit in the stands when I was so accustomed to being on the field. I'm no longer a big basketball fan, but a spot on my bucket list is reserved for sitting courtside at an NBA game. Heck, I would do it at a Nets vs. Timberwolves game. 
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written by Brian Joura, February 10, 2010
Hey Brook - great news for your friend - hope he takes you!
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written by Brook Kilpatrick, February 10, 2010
This is kind of crazy to be reading this today - not only as a jealous Saints fan, but in particular for the fact that one of my great mates found out today that he won two free tickets to the MLB All-Star game in LA this year. There was a competition throughout Australia to name the new ABL (Australian Baseball League) franchises for the re-launch of the ABL in 2010. We all entered, and I would imagine somewhere in the vicinity of 200,000 fans entered the comp. The fact that it was won by a very good friend from my home State blew me away. I am so happy for him, yet so jealous that I won't be sitting next to Anze Kopitar, Kobe Bryant and Paris Hilton in the VIP seats!
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