[Editor’s Note: Last week I mentioned that Joe Skiba had sent me some Super Bowl confetti. That prompted longtime reader Nicole Haase to recall her own Super Bowl experience, which included a lot more than confetti. Here’s her story — I’ll rejoin you down at the Ticker.]
By Nicole Haase
I went to college in New Orleans, which was the site of Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. A few months prior to the game, I learned that they were hiring security personnel to work during the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, with a chance to work at events on gameday and possibly even at the game itself. I don’t exactly project the kind of imposing presence that security people usually have (I’m 5′4″ on a good day), but it sounded cool, so I applied and ended up getting hired.
Remember, this game took place a few months after September 11th, so we had to go through some pretty serious background checks to be allowed to work. Once I passed that, I was asked to come to an orientation at a local hotel. I sat through a slide show that basically said to look for things that might be suspicious and to behave professionally. I had my picture taken and was given an official I.D. badge, which I was told to wear at all times.
Whenever we arrived for a shift, we were given a shirt/windbreaker/jacket to wear, which we had to turn in at the end of the shift. I had two serious problems with this policy: First, the hand-out windbreakers were always some combination of mustardy yellow and navy, and we were always required to wear black pants and black shoes, and I’m the staunchest member of the No Navy and Black battalion. As far as I’m concerned, there is absolutely no time when you should EVER wear these two colors together. EVER. Also, I’m certain the windbreakers weren’t washed after every shift. If ever.
I worked somewhere between seven and ten shifts (they’ve blurred together in my head) during the two-week period leading up to the game. The first few shifts I worked were from 7pm to 7am, around the perimeter of the Superdome itself. The whole thing was fenced off, and there were helicopter patrols as well as police and dogs, but they wanted a “security” person at every bank of doors. In case you were wondering, there aren’t many things more boring than sitting outside the Superdome around 2am staring at the sky.
I also spent a couple of days working at the NFL Experience, an interactive fan thing held at the Convention Center. My most notable encounter here was the day I was “security” for the MTV Rock N’ Jock football game that took place. This mostly meant I stood between the two sections of bleachers. Ostensibly I was ensuring that no one jumped Tara Reid, but mostly I just stood there. A lot.
When I checked in on Super Bowl Sunday, we were given new polos that we were told we could keep. They were long-sleeved with white and another color block, dependant on which area you’d be working in. Unfortunately, mine was lime green and white — talk about a bad color combination! As you can see, they were also screen-printed with the new Super Bowl logo (because of September 11th, the logo had been changed from earth tones in a vaguely Survivor-ish theme to a big red-white-and-blue extravaganza) and lots of confetti-ish fanfare.
So that’s what I had to wear this to the “Owner’s Tailgate,” which is basically a big free food and drink concert to keep all the big shots entertained until they head over to the game. I mostly watched the loading dock, which turned out to be cool because I met the Barenaked Ladies and Gwen Stefani, who were performing. The downside was that the loading dock was open and it was chilly and we weren’t issued any coats.
After the tailgate I was sent over to the Superdome, where I had to check in again and this time I was given mustard windbreaker (here’s the back view), complete with NFL tagging. I was also given all sorts of laminated maps and information cards to wear around my neck, as well as a bigger and brighter I.D. badge.
They put me in a holding room and I was waiting for an assignment when a guy came and said I was going to work outside. I was still shivering from my previous assignment outside and basically told him, “Look, I was just outside for four hours without a coat and now you’re going to put me out there in this flimsy windbreaker thing? No way.”
He was taken aback and told me to sit down and eat and warm up. The food sucked, and as I was sitting there in the depths of the Superdome, bored senseless and a little indignant, I realized I was the only one in the holding room. I also realized I had complete security clearance, so I got up and started poking around.
When I got to a ramp that led to the field, I was a little nervous, but I wanted to see, so I kind of peeked my head down the tunnel and looked around. Another security guy approached me and I figured I was totally busted. Instead he asked, “Are you here for the post?” For a second I was confused, but then I realized he was asking me if I was there to work. So I looked left, I looked right, and then I said, “Sure!” And I hoped no one would catch me.
So he walks me down the tunnel, places me at the 15-yard line, tells me to always have my front to the seats and my back to the sideline, and leaves me there. Right, like if some crazed fan were to bum-rush the field, I’d be able to do anything about it. The security guys stationed on either side of me were in the 6′6″, 300-pound range. Then there was me!
It was a little more than an hour before kickoff and the Fox guys were doing their pregame show about 100 feet from me. Eventually, once they were off the air, they stood on either side of me, taking notes and chatting. Let me say that Chris Collinsworth felt about seven feet tall. And Terry Bradshaw does look as doofy in person.
Turns out being a loudmouth and nosy pays off. I watched the whole game over my shoulder. There was a spectacular pass to the near corner of my end zone that was crazy to watch. The game-winning field goal was also on my end of the field.
But it wasn’t all fun and games. The halftime show was by U2 and of course was a tribute to the victims of September 11th — they used a projector to scroll the names of those who’d died in the attacks. Because of where I was standing and the way the stage was situated, those names also ended up scrolling down me! It was the most poignant, simple remembrance and for me, and it was very moving. I was frozen in place — I couldn’t have moved if I wanted to — and I had tears in my eyes.
After the game, those of us who’d been working the sidelines were taken to the area where they set up police barricades to create a path from the tunnel up to stage where they present the Lombardi Trophy. We quickly shuffled over there and we stood inside the barricades with our backs to the aisle, making sure that only players and team personnel were in this area. The whole Patriots team and the trophy passed within inches of me.
Of course there was tons of confetti, those fake newspaper front pages, etc., and I pocketed a bit for posterity.
I’ve never worn the windbreaker since, mostly because I hate the color. Plus, I guess I figured it would be really pretentious — kind of along the lines of wearing the T-shirt of the band to the concert. All of the Super Bowl items have been in a tub in my basement pretty much since I got them.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Victory Pennants prexy Morris Levin has a new projedt: Obama of Dreams, a series of baseball-themed Barack Obama T-shirts. “One of my underlying goals is to marry Obama with mainstream culture through baseball,” explains Morris, and I’d like to think that everyone here can appreciate the results, regardless of your political affiliation. … Lightning players like to hold onto their battered gear (with thanks to Ryan Connelly). … Interesting story here about the name of Toledo’s new minor league hockey team (courtesy of Tom Konecny). … Interesting piece here on the evolution of car logos (with thanks to Mike Cooperman). … More about Adidas and Dale Jr. here (with thanks to Scott Steele). … “The Blue Jays have changed the font on their BP jerseys to coincide with their new road jersey font,” writes Ben Wideman. “Compare last year with this year and you see a direct correlation between last year’s road font and this year’s.” … “I work as a media coordinator for the USA Sevens Rugby Tournament and Festival, the largest commercial rugby tournament in the States,” writes Blake Mannion. “As a Uni Watch fan, I’ve compiled a gallery of all 16 international uniforms, some oddities, and some images of rare occurences (New Zealand wearing white, the rarely seen South African away jersey, etc.).” … Several readers reported that Virginia Tech’s Dorenzo Hudson, who normally wears No. 2, threw up on the court and on his jersey during last night’s Maryland/Tech game. After a clean-up break, he returned wearing No. 4 and NNOB (nice job by Hannah Krug with the screen grab). … Earlier this season, UConn unveiled a gray alternate set. Now the women’s team has done likewise (with thanks to Ed DiPrimio).
747 Comments so far
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#1 by LI Phil on 02.21.08 8:18 am | Quote
cool story nicole! must have been (and obviouly was) an incredible experience…great writeup
/you wouldn’t wear a band tee to a concert?
//thanks for sharing your SB memories!
#2 by Nate in the PDX on 02.21.08 8:27 am | Quote
So I read this whole SB story expecting a scoop on the Patriots’ cheating… oh well :)
#3 by Dane on 02.21.08 8:30 am | Quote
Ric Bucher is a guest host today on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike morning show. His suggestion to “fix” the NBA is to shorten the regular season to 65 games, and to make up the lost revenue, have 65 uniforms for each team, with each design only worn for one game.
That way, you just won’t own a Kobe Bryant jersey - you’ll own THE Kobe Bryant jersey from FEB 20 2008.
OK, sharks, there’s your prey. Commence the attack.
#4 by bengals55 on 02.21.08 8:41 am | Quote
Awesome story, Nicole! I’ll disagree on one point. I cant imagine 20,000 Iron Maiden fans wearing their gear to be pretentious. That’s like saying only nerds wear jerseys to games.
#5 by Stuby on 02.21.08 8:43 am | Quote
I can see a market for the the jerseys of the superstars, but is there really a market for 65 different jerseys worn by Sasha Vujacic? At least enough of one to make up for the lost revenue?
#6 by James R on 02.21.08 8:53 am | Quote
http://devils.nhl.co...
Youth jerseys unveiled at Prudential Center
Some of the photos aren’t good
#7 by John T on 02.21.08 8:54 am | Quote
Great item from Blake on the Rugby 7’s, uni’s looked good, really liked the USA away. If your out there today Blake, can you let us know how the event went attendance wise? 7’s is a lot of fun to watch and the stamina that the athletes have is fantastic. BTW, never knew that Mexico had a team….
#8 by Brian on 02.21.08 9:05 am | Quote
I want a Royals Obama shirt…can you make it happen?
#9 by Rich on 02.21.08 9:16 am | Quote
Thanks for sharing your experience Nicole, and if a crazy dude DID try to rush the field, just kick ‘im in the groin!
#10 by Gary on 02.21.08 9:19 am | Quote
And they are also a year old. The jerseys have been in the PC for awhile now.
Not being a prick, just sayin’.
#11 by hott rodd on 02.21.08 9:22 am | Quote
Are there plans to have Obama shirts for all of the major league teams?
#12 by KW on 02.21.08 9:24 am | Quote
Regarding the UCONN women’s gray alternate…they are not new…they wore them a few years ago for one game against Duke. Lost the game and didnt wear them again (until now).
I have pictures somewhere as I was at that game and had press passes so was able to walk around the court and get some pretty cool pictures.
#13 by War Damn Eagle on 02.21.08 9:29 am | Quote
I’d love to see an Obama Braves-themed shirt, but I’m guessing the tomahawk is what’s keeping this from happening.
How about the Nats - Barack is trying to get to Washington, after all.
#14 by Kim on 02.21.08 9:32 am | Quote
A more detailed account of the UMd/VaTech games events.
http://blog.washingt...
#15 by Stan aka the took on 02.21.08 9:35 am | Quote
Those Obama shirts look pretty damn nice.
#16 by johnt on 02.21.08 9:46 am | Quote
Can you spot the “C”
http://www.belfastgi...
or the “A”
http://www.belfastgi...
(no wagering please)
#17 by todd krevanchi on 02.21.08 9:57 am | Quote
great experience nicole! that U2 halftime show was incredible, absolutely incredible.
anytime they do “streets” at a live show it is an amazing performance but with this backdrop, on the the largest stage, and the emotion both in the stadium and on tv’s nationwide, this is by far their greatest performance.
folks, if you dont remember this performance, youtube it… it’ll give you goosebumps.
#18 by chance on 02.21.08 10:00 am | Quote
I sure hope so.
But when they get around to the Brewers, I hope they go with a gold-and-blue throwback.
#19 by Rick on 02.21.08 10:05 am | Quote
I mentioned them on here after I went to the grand opening of the arena back in October 2007 for a Bon Jovi concert……
#20 by My Name is not Earl on 02.21.08 10:05 am | Quote
Don’t know, but teams had better start getting those “Obama 44″ jerseys ready for their Rose Garden visits.
#21 by SeattleMatt on 02.21.08 10:13 am | Quote
The Cubs version of the Obama shirt is not cool. Obama is a vocal supporter of the White Sox. It is completely wrong for the two to mix.
#22 by Tony in Erie on 02.21.08 10:13 am | Quote
And how long before we see “McCain” in major league fonts?
I’m sure there’s a few UniWatchers that are gritting their teeth at all this Obama love.
And what about Mike Huckabee? His last name sounds like some class A baseball team name anyway!
#23 by LI Phil on 02.21.08 10:18 am | Quote
i can’t imagine 20,000 iron maiden fans
period
#24 by chance on 02.21.08 10:20 am | Quote
Yeah, but those would all be throwbacks to the 1920s…. :p
#25 by Floormaster Squeeze on 02.21.08 10:32 am | Quote
No navy and black. Amen.
#26 by Robert on 02.21.08 10:35 am | Quote
It is a sight to behold. I figure that Maiden’s fans are exempted from the “don’t wear a band’s shirt to their concert” rule since at least one or two of the guys in Maiden wear their own merch during performances.
#27 by Dane on 02.21.08 10:39 am | Quote
Then you can’t imagine AWESOMENESS!!!!! Rock on!
Uniform comment… ummm… this is nice.
#28 by Brian on 02.21.08 10:40 am | Quote
Oh man! Get me an “Obama” shirt in the Phillies’ 70’s-80’s throwback style!!!
#29 by Rick on 02.21.08 10:41 am | Quote
Darren Rovell on CNBC has some cojones. He wore that new Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit.
http://www.cnbc.com/...
#30 by Steve Flack on 02.21.08 10:46 am | Quote
I love the Obama shirt, but am bitter there isn’t a Yankees variant.
But after seeing it, I was reminded of this shirt, that I have seen in skate shops for awhile now-
-Steve!
#31 by LI Phil on 02.21.08 10:52 am | Quote
i didn’t check to see if he has the frank to match the beans…
but michael phelps went to the same school of lisp as eli
#32 by Shaftman on 02.21.08 10:52 am | Quote
Ok, I know many of you are just going go “ewwww” and forget that you ever saw Mr. Rovell in that getup. I, however, will remember this until next September; for that is when I will probably see Darren next (we go to the same temple) and that is when I shall let my old camp buddy have it (yes, we went to camp together too).
I’ll have some repenting to do on Yom Kippur for the fun that I’m going to make of him. I can’t wait.
#33 by Blake Mannion on 02.21.08 10:52 am | Quote
Thanks and glad you liked them. The combined two day attendance was 36,000. This represents about a 30-40% increase in paid attendance from last year.
Mexico does have a team, credit to them for never quitting esp. when playing teams like England and South Africa. They are a crowd favorite, hopefully they will be back again next year.
In the gallery, http://www.erugbynew... , you’ll see that the Scotland, South Africa, and Australia Uni’s are very similar. Same manufacturer and pattern, different color schemes. They look amazing in person when you can see all the detail work.
#34 by Joe Drennan on 02.21.08 10:57 am | Quote
I like the pice on the Lighting players not letting go of equipment. Hockey players are notorious for keeping old stuff. Chris Chelios, he’s like what 115 now, has had the same shoulder pads since his days at the University of WI. I’ve been playing for 16 years now and have only gone through 3 pairs of skates becasue I hate the feel of new skates. All I have to say is it’s amazing what a shoe repair guy can do with hockey equipment.
#35 by Football » The Pats, the Big Easy, and Me on 02.21.08 11:08 am | Quote
[…] Paul Lukas wrote a fantastic post today on “The Pats, the Big Easy, and Me”Here’s ONLY a quick extract[Editor’s Note: Last week I mentioned that Joe Skiba had sent me some Super Bowl confetti. That prompted longtime reader Nicole Haase to recall her own Super Bowl experience, which included a lot more than confetti. … […]
#36 by Morris Levin on 02.21.08 11:08 am | Quote
This is Morris; I started www.obamaofdreams.co...
(1) Response has been very positive, and Scott and I have definitely spoken about doing more teams!
We have been limited by time (for Scott to do the designs) and money (I am primarily self funding this).
(a) Yankees - We looked at doing OBAMA as the road and it’s just plain-block font that really doesn’t pop. I want to do Yankees and we are playing with designs.
(b) Brewers - If we do Brewers, yes, I would want to do 1980s blue and yellow on sky-blue.
(c) Royals - Design suggestion? Would welcome the thoughts!
(d) Mariners - Scott did a great design with the current logo-lettering. I want to see what a throwback would look like.
(e) Phillies 1970s-1980s – Agreed – that would look very hot. That’s my team and colors (my UniWatch membership card is Phillies 1988 home, LEVIN 17).
(2) Cubs. Yes, Obama is a White Sox fan. And, there are too many Cubs fans who love Obama not to do a Cubs version. I am a die-hard Phillies fan and if I am willing to sell a Mets shirt, I think White Sox fans can open their hearts to Cubs-Obama supporters.
(3) Other suggestions? Thoughts? Want to tell me how awesome the shirts are? Want to tell me why you think Obama is inferior to McCain? Email me at mlevin@obamaofdreams...
#37 by Minna H. on 02.21.08 11:13 am | Quote
Nicole, excellent job on what sounds to be a tedious, but worthwhile experience.
Blake M., I like the gallery (All-Blacks, all the time), but that pic of the New Zealand All-Whites has got to go. I am scarred permanently from viewing it.
As for the Obama shirts, I think they should only be in blue.
P.S. The Twins online shop is offering Johan Santana on sale–it would hurt way too much to buy it.
#38 by Brian on 02.21.08 11:17 am | Quote
Excellent! My membership is the Phillies road uni #76. It’s good to keep great company!
Make that T-shirt happen, and I’ve got $19.99+tax with your name on it!
#39 by Duckstyle on 02.21.08 11:21 am | Quote
Only if a cool breeze swept thru the room. I can’t stand U2, and IMO they probably should ahve picked an American band to play considering how patriotic(no pun intended) the ceremonies were.
Those Obama tees are awesome, I’ll be picking up a White Sox one as soon as I get home.
#40 by Rick White in Cedar Park, TX on 02.21.08 11:24 am | Quote
I don’t like the idea of turning Baseball jerseys into ads for political candidates no matter what the party.
#41 by Joey Guns on 02.21.08 11:27 am | Quote
Justin Timberlake is starring in a minor league baseball movie:
http://breakingnews....
#42 by LI Phil on 02.21.08 11:29 am | Quote
kids today are amazing…playin’ winter ball down in venezuala, they had kids half his age, every one of them speaking spanish…that’s a hard language…
#43 by ThresherK on 02.21.08 11:40 am | Quote
I’d thought the UConn Women’s previous alt was a really silver silver. After losing that game, we joked that they were burned.
In my household the men’s alternates have been aka “dishwater greys” for weeks. Ugh.
#44 by Morris Levin on 02.21.08 11:44 am | Quote
Rick, I would be happy to hear your thoughts on what you don’t like about it. You can email me at mlevin@obamaofdreams... Kind regards, Morris
#45 by Evan on 02.21.08 11:48 am | Quote
They arent endorsed by MLB or anything, the guy just made his own shirts and is selling them
#46 by Joe Drennan on 02.21.08 11:49 am | Quote
One reader made mention of McCain shirts for those on the right side, just curious if that’s a thought. Another thought being expanding into other sports too?
#47 by LI Phil on 02.21.08 11:51 am | Quote
true that…and im sure mr. levin got permission from MLB and mr. obama to produce and sell them
#48 by Joe Drennan on 02.21.08 11:58 am | Quote
To quote myself, I’m just asking as I work in marketing and see all kinds of opprotunity here.
As far as a need to get MLB approval, ther etrully isn’t a need as they’re simply using fonts and styles, not exact logos.
#49 by bengals55 on 02.21.08 12:01 pm | Quote
They are nice. The best thing about the shirts is they aren’t dated. No way Obama wins a national election this year so they can be brought out in 2012 or 2016.
#50 by Terri on 02.21.08 12:02 pm | Quote
I posted this last night, but it was pretty late, so I’m posting it again. The Dallas Stars posted a video on their website about everything the equipment managers have to do on a roadtrip-
My favorite part is the fact that 15 yrs after the team left the state, they still have Mike Modano night.
#51 by John T on 02.21.08 12:02 pm | Quote
Think the