Super Bowl XLIV: What we can learn from the Pro Bowl
Maybe its the crappy weather for the past few days, or the less-than-awesome experience I had this past Sunday at the newly minted “Sun Life” Stadium, but I’m a bit nervous about how the Super Bowl is going to go down. Sunday’s Pro Bowl had all the makings of a great time- an “All Star” lineup including Andre Johnson, Darrelle Revis, Tony Romo, Donovan McNabb, Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson:
http://www.probowlgameprogram-nfl-hozimman.com/probowlgameprogram/2010#pg45
I was going to the game with great guys who I had worked with all week on NIKE spots with some of the players. We had great seats, we were ready to tailgate! Unfortunately it wasn’t just the wet weather that dampened our spirits- parking and traffic were a nightmare and the NFL’s so-called “Fan Plaza” was a major annoyance! I’ll admit it was a bit of hubris to head to the game at 4, we should have set out earlier knowing that the game was sold out, the largest Pro Bowl in attendance in the game’s history. What we did not expect (and I called and asked about parking twice) was all the stadium parking was completely taken up by VIP and the super lame “Fan Zone”!
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d814b905f&template=with-video&confirm=true
I’m sure it made the NFL and Sun Life/Land Shark/Pro Player/Joe Robbie stadium a lot of money- no outside food or beverage was allowed inside- which totally goes against the whole point of tailgaiting! So in order to tailgate you either had to be a VIP, or be fine doing it miles away in some random field. My group (after forty minutes of driving in circles being led by flashing signs to parking zones that were full) ended up being conned into paying to park in a high school parking lot with zero tailgate and employees who lied to us about a “free shuttle” which turned out to be disabled only. NOT COOL. The employees were nice enough to point out where NOT to walk in order to not get trapped by a chain link fence into a dead-end canal, or mugged.
The Pro Bowl is usually after the Super Bowl and its seen as a big party for the players and their families- so the game is more Harlem Globetrotters than next weeks’ power-house match up. The game was OK… the high points were the “wave” that went around the stadium four times (!) a cheerleader from each team was in attendance and the half time show was actually kind of fun- mascots playing musical chairs and a pretty great high school marching band with very impressive formations- NFC AFC NFL:
Sadly the game itself could not make up for the nightmare that was leaving the stadium. The MDPD directing traffic didn’t seem to have a clue as to why they were redirecting everyone to ONE EXIT AREA, and once in that section one of the traffic lanes was closed so that a guy on a crane could switch out the Pro Bowl banners to Super Bowl banners. Really? Couldn’t they wait to do that a few hours later?? It took us an hour to get from the stadium to 95- and this was having left early at the beginning of the 4th quarter. The whole experience made me feel sort of empty and frustrated- the spectacle seemed so shallow and corporate, the logistics of getting to and from there infuriating! I really hope my experience was the exception and not the rule, and I sincerely hope that those in charge learned from the Pro Bowl and will be better prepared to handle the national stage this coming Sunday.
The Superbowl is estimated to bring in 350 million dollars. There have already been rumblings in the press about how our stadium isn’t considered high-tech enough for big $$ corporate sponsors and that we need a retractable roof in order to keep them happy since the last time we hosted it rained! Oh yeah it rained at the Pro Bowl. Everything else needs to go off without a hitch, or it will be 2030 before we host another big ticket game.
I encourage anyone who was able to score tickets to this Sunday’s Super Bowl be REALLY prepared!! Umbrella’s are not allowed, bring a poncho. Parking may be far away- wear good walking shoes. The lines will be long, the parking annoying- get there EARLY! Oh and bring plenty of $$$, cash is king at an event like this and nothing is cheap- one beer is $10! That’s even higher than the usual $7 that South Beach clubs charge! It may be dark where you end up parking- bring a flashlight, towels and a great attitude. For information about South Florida’s Pro Bowl and Super Bowl check out:
http://www.southfloridasuperbowl.com/
