Looking for a sense of Super Bowl security, listening to dumb questions on media day and keeping an eye out for phony tickets
Q. Is the security for this Super Bowl as strict as it was last year following the Sept. 11 attacks?
A. So far, media members have been screened extensively, just like last year in New Orleans. Bags have been inspected and picture IDs checked often. But San Diego police rejected the use of face-scanning technology for Sunday’s Super Bowl, citing the high cost and ineffectiveness of the machinery. Face-scanning compares the faces in a crowd with digital photos of criminals and suspected terrorists.
Q. What was the dumbest question you heard Tuesday during media day?
A. A reporter asked Jerry Rice (below) of the Raiders if he abstained from sex before the Super Bowl. Rice said he had a theory about that. “I make love to the football during the Super Bowl,” he said.
Q. Have you seen any Bears in San Diego to watch the Super Bowl?
A. Brian Urlacher arrived here Monday and participated in a soup commercial with the Eagles’ Donovan McNabb and the Giants’ Michael Strahan. Bears executive Michael McCaskey is expected to be here this week as a member of the NFL stadium committee.
Q. How many tickets do the players get for the game?
A. Each player is allowed to purchase 15 tickets.
Q. How many countries are represented in the media horde?
A. Broadcasters from 11 foreign countries will be covering Sunday’s game on site: Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Venezuela, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom.
Super Bowl XXXVII will be broadcast in 220 countries and territories.
“I’m the first Argentinian to play in the Super Bowl,” Tampa Bay kicker Martin Gramatica said, “and I have some family there who will be watching the game on TV. So it’s really nice.”
Q. Is there much ticket scalping going on?
A. Typically, ticket scalpers come down on their asking price as the week progresses. Super Bowl tickets are printed on holographic paper with additional technology to prevent counterfeit tickets from being sold.
Q. Does Rice feel a sense of revenge toward the 49ers by making it to the Super Bowl again with the Raiders?
A. I asked Jerry that question Tuesday during media day.
“There is always going to be some of that [feeling] because they had pretty much put me out to pasture and said my career was over,” Rice said. “I went to the Raiders and had a chance to rejuvenate my career. You just don’t know how it feels for me to be here.”
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Have a question or an idea for Fred Mitchell? E-mail: AskFred@tribune.com
