Sports

Super Bowl XLII Diary: Super Sunday

PHOENIX (CBS) ― Abigail Lorge, the national sports producer for the CBS Television Stations digital media group, is providing a running diary from Super Bowl XLII.

Monday Feb. 4, 2:30 a.m. MT
Super Stunner

My first Super Bowl is over, and obviously as a New England fan I'm disappointed by the result. I've tried not to reference my allegiance to the Patriots since my original post on Tuesday, but I feel compelled now to acknowledge that watching them lose the game in the last two minutes was crushing. I'm also feeling deflated because I didn't get to witness history in the form of a perfect 19-0 season – and the coronation of the greatest team ever.

What I did get to see was some gripping drama. The Manning-to-Tyree completion at third-and-5 with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter was astonishing. Eli was completely obscured from view by the defenders; there was no way he wasn't getting sacked. I could not believe my eyes when he emerged from that swarm, still standing, still scrambling, and launched a pass. When Tyree somehow came down with the ball, I clapped my hands on my head in disbelief. The reaction of the journalists around me was pretty much the same: shock at what had just transpired.

I will certainly never forget that play, nor how much fun it was to be on hand for the spectacle that is the Super Bowl. I'm bummed that the game is over, and that the outcome was not what I was hoping for, but I'm consoled in remembering that I got to experience it in person – and that the 2008 season is less than seven months away.

Sunday Feb. 3, 6:30 p.m. MT
Happy Halftime

Tom Petty rocked. He played four songs - American Girl, Won't Back Down, Free Falling and Running Down A Dream - and the show looked and sounded good. However, It was a bit bizarre to be attending a concert with Joe Benigno (WFAN personality, in the row in front of me).

Ok, I'm done with entertainment and back in full football mode.

Sunday Feb. 3, 5:28 p.m. MT
At The Game!

We're into the second quarter now. For the game, I'm situated in a media section at one of the corners behind the Giants' end zone - far away, but cool vantage point.

A quick word on the pregame festivities: Two of the performers were musicians whose pop hits, I must confess, get their fair share of play on my iPod. Alicia Keys did a medley of her most popular songs. Later Jordin Sparks, daughter of former Giant Phillippi Sparks, delivered a rousing rendition of the national anthem. (I was hoping she'd sing "Tattoo" as an encore, but no dice.)

It's an amazingly electric and intense atmosphere in here, and the stadium as a whole seems to be pro-Patriots. I'm psyched to be witnessing a game of this magnitude live, though a small part of me is wistfully wondering how the TV commercials are. Hope all are enjoying the game!

Sunday, Feb. 3, 12:30 p.m. MT
Tale of the Tickets

All week I've been encountering fans desperate to find some way into University of Phoenix Stadium for Super Bowl XLII. Many had even taken time off work and shelled out air fare to fly across the country, from Boston or New York, in the hopes that they'd be able to scrounge up tickets once they got here.

The ticket quest had a happy ending for at least two fans - Ray Hemmert and Kevin Sullivan - who this morning, about five hours before kickoff, got a visit from the ticket fairy.

Hemmert, a Long Island native who lives in Scottsdale, and Sullivan, a Vail, Colo. resident originally from Lawrence, Mass., have been trying to drum up tickets all week. They were disappointed on Friday when a promising Craigslist lead turned out to be scam, but continued to reach out to an old University of Maryland fraternity brother of Hemmert's who knows a ticket broker.

Every player in the NFL is given two tickets to the Super Bowl, and players on the participating teams are given several more. On Sunday morning, Hemmert's friend called with the news that one of the Giants players would not be using his full allotment of tickets, given that two of his family members were unable to make the trip to Phoenix at the last minute. Hemmert could have the tickets, which are in the Giants family section and have a face value of $700 each, for a total of $3300 - a 136-percent markup.

Hemmert and Sully jumped at the chance - and then jumped in the car to make the rounds of Scottsdale ATMs. Once they'd withdrawn enough cash to complete the transaction, they met with the broker to collect what is, obviously, the hottest ticket in town.

The pair is now getting ready to head to Glendale, where they'll be seated on the 15-yard line, about 20 rows up from the field. No need to pack the binoculars.

8:30 a.m. MT
A Taste Of Heaven

The Super Bowl is as much about the extracurriculars - the food, the commercials, the entertainment - as it is about the game. So even as kickoff inches closer, I can't stop thinking about the party I went to last night.

The Taste of the NFL event, a fundraiser for domestic hunger relief, is any food and football fan's dream come true; I certainly felt lucky to be there. A food and wine station was set up for each of the 32 NFL teams, where a nationally renowned chef served up a special dish, along with the appropriate wine pairing, representing that particular city or region. Each station also had a current or former star player from that team who chatted with patrons while they tasted (and sipped).

Three of my favorite creations: the Dungeness crab salad tower with grapefruit and avocado, paired with a Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc (chef John Howie for the Seattle Seahawks); the braised Berkshire pork shoulder with gremolata and heirloom chicories and a Martin Codax Rioja (chef Paul Arenstam for the San Francisco 49ers); and the wild Florida shrimp and mango curry, also served with a Sauvignon Blanc (chef Allen Susser for the Miami Dolphins). And to think I've happily spent many a Super Bowl downing Domino's pizza and Amstel Lite.

Just as impressive as the quality and variety of food and wine was the caliber of football royalty roaming around. I must confess that as a football fan who's also somewhat of a foodie, my inner monologue went something along the lines of: "Mmm, braised short rib meatballs… oooh, Gino Cappellitti! Mmmm… Zatar lamb takaki… wow, Roger Staubach."

Anyway, it seemed somewhat incongruous that an evening of such indulgence was all in the name of fighting hunger, but the cost of tickets ($500 a person) and the silent auction of sports memorabilia raised a significant sum for the cause - good news, indeed.

It's a different story, however, for my waistline. I had tasted my way through the NFC and was starting in on the AFC East when I started to think about the hours in the gym I'll need to put in to compensate for such decadence. It's going to be a tough off-season.

Sunday, Feb. 3, 6:30 a.m. MT
Let's Go Bowl-ing!

I woke up this morning feeling the same anticipation and excitement I had as a child on Christmas morning. It's Super Bowl Sunday, which - along with along with Selection Sunday and Yankees Elimination Day (celebrated mainly in New England) - ranks high on my list of great American sports holidays.

After two weeks of analysis, reanalysis, counteranalysis and hype, we're less than 10 hours from game time.

It's such an intriguing game: More than a year has passed since the Patriots last lost, but the Giants have nothing to lose. I can't wait for kickoff.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)