SportsBusiness Journal asked dozens of execs throughout sports to share memorable moments from the various Super Bowls they have attended. From encounters with entertainers, to last-minute field repairs, highlights of their responses can be found both in this week's issue and throughout the rest of the week in SportsBusiness Daily. Click here for yesterday's installment.
* Sal Ferrulo -- Centerplace Exec VP/Operations
He has attended 14 Super Bowls, and reflects on Super Bowl XLI in Miami, the first Super Bowl he was responsible for.
It started raining that day at around 4 in the morning, and just kept pouring all day long. That year, the Colts beat the Bears, and Peyton Manning won the MVP. The minute we brought the champagne out on the field to celebrate the award, the rain finally stopped. After the game, I took our senior executives and CEO on a tour, and stopped in the cash room. It had rained so hard, for so long, that all the money was wet and we had to dry it out in order to run it through the currency counters. We were using blow dryers, warming drawers, putting it in pizza ovens. If you haven’t seen a group of corporate controllers fanning cash in a pretzel warmer at midnight, you haven’t experienced all this industry has to offer.
* Carmen Policy -- Former 49ers President & CEO
Policy experienced five Super Bowls from 1981-1994, and the 49ers won them all.
The most memorable moment that I experienced was in the locker room immediately after Super Bowl XXIX when Steve Young held the Lombardi Trophy high in the air and he yelled at the top of his voice to everyone in the room, “We won this championship and no one, no one, can ever take that away from us!” It was stunning and actually profound. However, from that moment of ecstasy I soon fell into a state of stark reality and a form of depression. As I walked about the players to personally congratulate them, I heard responses being given to media interviewers that related to our soon-to-be free agents. Their responses were measured but definitely tied to the concept that they must do what is necessary to take care of themselves and their families and they may be leaving the Niners. The ever-competitive nature of the NFL took over the room before the first showers were taken. Winning is glorious, especially when you win it all. However, the joy remains in the moment and then the addiction to continued success overcomes all other emotions and thoughts. It was on to the next season and all the challenges that would bring. This recollection is not a lament but rather a tribute to the greatness of professional football and the NFL.
* David Baker -- Pro Football HOF President and former AFL Commissioner
Baker has been to more than 25 Super Bowls.
My favorite Super Bowl is XXXIV and my AFL man, Kurt Warner, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Such a spectacular story and it could not have happened to a better man. He was just like Joe Hardy out of “Damn Yankees.” Now it has come full circle, because he is up for induction into the Hall of Fame for the second time. Last year, when I told Kurt he hadn’t made it during his first year of eligibility, he really was more concerned about whether his buddy Orlando Pace had gotten in. That’s just like Kurt.
* Debbie Wardrop -- Former NFL Dir of Special Events & Corporate Services and former Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee CEO
Wardrop has attended 10 Super Bowls.
Have you ever considered how many security meals were served in New Orleans in 2002, the year that nearly everything changed in an instant? That was one of the many logistics that took on a new and significant meaning after 9/11. (More than 10,000 for the record, plus the dogs.) The reality of THE “game” is that everything surrounding those few hours is a reflection of the world at that time in history. Corporate Hospitality Village (our small part of the day -- typically a six-week build out of 20 acres of land, private tents, headline entertainment, local food and beverage, and several hundred temporary employees for the week) was a mirror into the way people were feeling, how their business life was thriving (or not) and how they could be a part of something that is, for most, a “once in a lifetime” event. We never forgot this as we planned the small details that created the environment and the experience.
* Mitchell Modell -- Modell's Sporting Goods CEO
Modell has been to 20 Super Bowls.
The most exciting one for me was Super Bowl XXV. My seats weren’t that great, so at first, I couldn’t tell whether the fans were screaming because (Bills kicker Scott) Norwood made it or missed it. Finally I made out the Giants jumping up and down and I knew the Giants had won. Those five seconds when I didn’t know were like five hours. Personally, probably the most exciting thing was having both my sons on the field after Super Bowl XLVIII. That was their first Super Bowl and to see their smiles as the confetti was falling, was just special.
* Peter Sullivan -- Univ. of Phoenix Stadium GM & Regional VP
Sullivan helped coordinate the two Super Bowls the stadium has hosted (2008 and 2015) and has been to eight others.
Looking back at my experiences with the “great game,” my first recollection was Super Bowl II, but having grown up on Long Island (and yes a Jets fan), the thrill of Super Bowl III will always be with me -- no one gave them a chance and I believe they were either a 13- or 16-point underdog going into the game. I can still see Namath running off the field waving his No. 1 finger in the air. ... Juxtaposing that memory to the recent Super Bowl here in Glendale, well there’s no comparison in terms of the size and scope of what the whole event and production have become to the stadiums which house them, to the cities that host them -- and what they have to guarantee in terms of responsibilities to the NFL.
* Andy Pierce -- Lagardere Sports & Entertainment President & CEO for the Americas
Pierce has been to 15 Super Bowls.
My composite view of what’s great about the Super Bowl is that unlike the (December) holidays, which are family-centric, the Super Bowl is the purest gathering of friends in America. That’s the NFL tie that binds. It’s a staple of the social fabric in the U.S. For the business world, it’s a gathering of the brands which support sports and a can’t-miss networking event.
* Frank Supovitz -- Former NFL Senior VP/Events
Some people say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. My definition of insanity is setting up a rock concert in eight minutes (for the halftime show), entertaining people for 12, and then taking it all apart in seven minutes without a trace of damage to the field. There is no risk manager in the universe who would think that’s a good idea.
* Chris Berman -- ESPN announcer
What’s amazing to me is, the Super Bowl is an unofficial national holiday. I know it’s a Sunday and the banks are closed and there’s no mail, but people start planning their Super Bowl weekend after New Year’s. They’re either going to the game or planning who they’re going to be with. And now they’re doing it no matter what teams are in it. “What are you doing for Super Bowl?” It’s long become an American holiday. It’s pretty cool that sports and football have done that. Even the people who don’t care much about football say “There’s a Super Bowl party. OK, I’m going.” I’m honored to be a part of America’s holiday pre and post on Super Bowl Sunday. We’re in peoples’ homes or wherever they are gathered to watch the game.
