The team arrived at the hotel around 5:30PM and that's when the real fun began. Those players who had media obligations headed into the press conferences and by 6:20, Patriots.com had five simultaneous pressers running on its home page. It was a pretty cool experience and we'll do it again for sure on Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00AM ET both days. There's a slight chance we might be able to do it tomorrow (Monday) when Coach Belichick and other speak from the NFL Media Center at 3:30PM. We'll have the main podium live and if we can get some of the feeds from NFL Network, we'll bring some of the other speakers live as well.
Two players who had to be told to leave their podiums because they were up against the clock were Brian Waters and Logan Mankins. Waters, the consummate pro, is relishing this experience. He's had great success in this league but never the team type he's enjoying now. Mankins, on the other hand, has been in this position but we all know what that experience was like. I can bet he's ready to make things right.
We've been hearing it for a while now and I heard it again tonight from an insider, this locker room is different. There's a focus and comaraderie that is clearly palpable to those who have been around long enough to compare. I have no idea what the Giants locker room is like, but there's something special going on with the Patriots.
An annual ritual of the media during Super Bowl week is to immediately start ripping the host city, whether it's about proximity to key locations, traffic, weather, food … you name it. Not so this time, at least so far. All I've heard or read have been positive reviews. Good job Indy! I had a feeling Indy would be a fine place for a Super Bowl as long as the weather held up and it looks like it will. It's a nice downtown with everything within walking distance. Always has been a favorite destination among the PFW crew. Now if I can just get a table at St. Elmo's at some point this week, life will be perfect.
Catch any of that Pro Bowl?
