MIAMI – To my left, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith is getting interviewed by a guy with a puppet on one hand and a cardboard cutout of the other Will Smith in the other hand. To my right are a pair of clergymen – or, at least I think they are – there for no apparent reason other than they made for odd scenery.
My ears are still ringing from Colts defensive end Ervin Baldwin doing karaoke on a mock “American Idol” set, while linebacker Tyjuan Hagler hammed it up with the red carpet-crashing Ross the Intern from “The Jay Leno Show.”
I took my daughter to the circus a couple weeks ago, and that was far less ridiculous than Super Bowl Media Day.
“Media Day is Media Day,” Colts defensive end Robert Mathis deadpanned in his classic monotone, as if to say, “It is what it is.”
No truer words have ever been spoken.
The NFL credentialed more than 2,000 people this year. The threat of rain moved it indoors. It was like “Beyond Thunderdome,” only Mad Max wasn’t at Sun Life Stadium.
Nothing sums up the ridiculousness of the Super Bowl week more than this day, when players face questions in different languages from kids, C-list celebrities and even players from other teams with nothing better to do.
Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals was there interviewing for his social news network, OCNN. Child, please.
Telemundo was there, using cue cards to give Saints defensive tackle Remi Ayodele lessons in Spanish. I don’t speak the language, but I saw “Latinas” used prominently, and that made me nervous.
A reporter and photographer from the same newspaper got into a fight. No wonder the Colts showed up 20 minutes late for this absurdity.
There’s no question the biggest story of the day was Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney and his injured ankle.
“I know, I know, and I don’t know how Peyton (Manning) feels about this,” Freeney said.
Media Day serves this purpose: the players are required to attend, and so Freeney had to talk, admitting he has a torn ligament in his ankle and is in such pain he might not play Sunday.
But the game seems to get lost in the fray. How can a coach like the Colts’ Jim Caldwell, who has a 16-2 record and could become the third rookie coach and third black coach to win a Super Bowl, draw a smaller crowd than a practice-squad wide receiver such as Taj Smith?
“This is what you have to enjoy,” Colts tight end Dallas Clark said. “It is crazy. All these people are here for us and for New Orleans. It’s part of a weeklong process that makes this a special week.”
And a strange one.
Media Day is sort of like Jon Gosselin or the Kardashians – there’s really no good reason why we’re fascinated with them. Speaking of which, the Saints’ Reggie Bush said he’s much more concerned with getting a championship ring than the much-rumored engagement ring for Kim Kardashian.
A “reporter” no older than 10 asked Bush about that one, to which the running back smiled.
“My senior year in high school, I was actually an honorary reporter for Media Day in San Diego, when the Tampa Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders played,” Bush said. “It’s kind of funny to be back here. It’s a little ironic. It’s a blessing to be here and have a chance to speak to you guys.”
It’s a rite of passage for the players, albeit a strange one. And year after year, it gets weirder.
