Here's the funniest thing about Super Bowl week's Media Day: The business of the NFL and the Super Bowl is so doggone serious it needs a day where the media and the players can talk in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Anyway, that's Media Day and this one was no different than any of the others. As expected a little kid from Weekly Reader posed questions along with Pick Man, a character from Nickelodeon dressed in an outfit that was a cross between Batman's Robin and one of the Ambiguously Gay Duo from Saturday Night Live. One of the questions he asked center Dan Koppen was how many times he's farted on Tom Brady's hands. You get the idea.
There was also this guy with slicked back hair walking around in a white lab coat claiming to be "The NFL Scientist." No one was biting -- he was neither interviewing nor being interviewed.
Someone from Mexico had a little hand-puppet in the shape of a football helmet with eyes. Although he was asking players questions, no one seemed too amused. Let's face it, ever since Terrell Davis and Elmo did their historic appearance together, everything else is junior varsity.
While the Eagles had their team photo taken in the morning, the Patriots chose to skip the time scheduled for them and wait until Saturday to have it done prior to their final walk-through. Couple that with Bill Belichick complaining about the practice field for the second year in a row and changing tomorrow's press conference time and one gets the feeling that if the Patriots were a customer in a restaurant, it would be sending back the wine, complaining about how the steak was cooked and huffing about the service. Ah, but that's why we love this team -- insistence on perfection.
The field at Alltel Stadium looked spectacular. Workers are everywhere still making preparations for Sunday but the bowl itself looks great. The field is immaculate but one thing I forgot about since the last time the Patriots played here was the crown of the field. Besides Texas Stadium where the Cowboys play, Alltel's crown is one of the highest. That does take some getting used to for a quarterback, particularly on sideline passes so I'm sure Tom Brady will take the opportunity to get some passes in on Saturday.
