South Florida Sunshine

On the eve of the Super Bowl, we just got some internet and some time to write a little recap of the Pro Bowl and the South Florida sunshine (or lack thereof). My father was able to join us for the annual NFL All-Star game being played on the mainland for the first time in some many years and the first time being played before the Super Bowl. It was an excellent opportunity for me to see the game since it is difficult to get to Hawaii where the game is usually played. The morning of the game, I was invited to a Fan Forum setup by the NFL to talk about the Pro Bowl and the NFL season in general with the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell. It was a unique experience afforded to me by the AZ Cardinals because I had season tickets and a ticket to the Pro Bowl. Luckily I was able to bring guests and Nolan and my father enjoyed hearing one of the most powerful men speak about football topics such as the Pro Bowl, tailgating, NFL International, salaries, increased costs, and a slew of other general debatable topics. Afterwards, Mr. Goodell was kind enough to take a picture with Nolan and I as we presented him with a 31 Stadiums T-shirt. Unfortunately he didn’t have an Super Bowl tickets for us, so we are still in search of those highly coveted tickets.

After the Fan Forum, we headed down to Sun Life Stadium and parked next to the commissioner of another sort, Commissioner of Tailgating, Joe Cahn. He has a new show out all about tailgating on TLC, called Tailgate Takedown. We setup our final tailgate there by him and enjoyed the spit that the south Florida weather was giving us. So we packed up the gear and headed to the game to see a stadium filled with star players and very little tackling. I thought that it might degrade the game a little not having the Super Bowl players playing, but the game is far from competitive. So with that, it is more of a vacation for the players and their families to go to Hawaii every year. I think it is better for the fans and NFL in general to have the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl in the same city. Another good point that might make the game a little more interesting would be more emphasis on charitable organizations receiving donations for outstanding plays, possibly going as far as each individual player has their foundation he is supporting. The game will never garnish the effort that the season warrants, but there are small ways to make it exciting and fun to watch. We stayed until the third quarter and the rain was too much. AFC, on the shoulders of Matt Schaub, won the Pro Bowl this year and I am happy that I got that chance this year to finish the season in South Florida for two weeks.

Now we will continue the search for the ever elusive Super Bowl tickets. If you are reading this and know anyone in South Florida with a few extra, let us know. Thanks!