The Online Reflector

Super Bowl Media Day—an event during which representatives of hundreds of media outlets push, shove and sprint to Lucas Oil Stadium to get one hour of face-to-face time with the stars of the NFL. This year, I was lucky enough to participate in the madness as a representative of The Reflector.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady answers questions from media members during Media Day. Photo by Kelbi Ervin

Initially, I had no idea what to expect. I’d never been inside Lucas Oil, nor had I ever participated in an event that drew such big media names.

With a media pass hung proudly from my neck, I started the day with a bus ride from the J.W. Marriott to Lucas Oil. From there, I was taken through a series of security check lines that included police dogs, patdowns and metal detectors.

Once inside Lucas Oil, members of the media were treated like royalty. At this point, there was no hierarchy between ESPN and The Reflector—everyone was important.

At the field, about fourteen booths  were set up with the names of the featured Patriots players, who were available from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Many outlets already were scrambling for a prime camera shot in front of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Coach Belichick. This is the cutthroat, chaotic part of the media; people will literally shove you out of the way to get a better shot or to get their microphone closer.

At 10 a.m., Patriots players began to file out of the tunnel, holding cameras of their own and looking around in awe at the stadium.

As they made their way towards the various media outlets, I excitedly snapped pictures of them, and they did the same, snapping pictures of all the media madness. Sometimes it was hard to remember that this experience was as special for them as it was for us.

While the featured players made their way to their booths, the remaining 15 or 20 players, in uniform, walked shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of us, answering any and all questions. It was a surreal experience to be walking around and suddenly see Chad Ochocinco standing two feet to your right talking into an ESPN camera or to see someone rush by you lugging a huge CNN camera.

Another thing that surprised me was how fun the interviews were. Although there were the serious questions, some about Gronkowski’s injury and the Super Bowl rematch, the majority of the event was lighthearted.

There was everything from Televisa’s Marisol Gonzalez teaching players how to salsa to “106 & Park,” having players hilariously interview each other about their favorite music, to Maria Menounos telling Tom Brady how she hates the Giants.

Over the next hour, we also were able to visit every formal booth, standing mere inches from the players. At one point, while visiting Tom Brady’s booth, I listened to him talk about how he often has wedding invitations sent to his home requesting him to be the best man—from people he doesn’t even know.

At the conclusion of the Patriots’ hour, we were all fed a delicious brunch before preparing for the Giants’ media time, from noon to 1 p.m. Once again, people lined up in front of big names such as Eli Manning and Coach Coughlin. The atmosphere outside the booths, however, remained just as enjoyable as six Giants players scrambled to get in a picture with singer Ciara. Overall, the day was exciting and filled with celebrities, big media names and NFL stars.

Not only did I get a firsthand look at how these events work, I also learned many other little lessons by watching everything around me: what to wear, how to get your question answered, what questions are OK to ask and so forth. There is nothing more exciting and no better way to learn than watching the top reporters in the world at their job, and I was honored to have this experience at the Super Bowl Media Day.