NEW ORLEANS — Scenes from the NFL’s annual Super Bowl media day – interviews with players and team personnel from the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers on the field at the Superdome:
SUGGS LIKES A LOT OF HAM WITH HIS MEATLOAF
Terrell Suggs stood up, threw down his microphone, kicked over his chair with a back heel as he stepped down from his podium, and then kicked over a cooler.
Onlookers laughed, satisfied that the Baltimore Ravens’ mischievous linebacker had properly punctuated the frenetic, free-for-all known as Super Bowl media day.
Suggs plays a central role in one of the more intimidating defenses in the NFL, and at least some of the conversation involved football, and what it would take to slow down San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick in Sunday’s NFL championship game.
But media day is never just about football, not even when the players are interviewing each other.
Posing as a reporter, defensive end Arthur Jones asked Suggs which staple of Louisiana cuisine he preferred, gumbo or jambalaya.
“That’s a good question, and I’m glad you asked that, Arthur,” Suggs said. “Definitely gumbo.”
Suggs also was asked if he is the best dancer in the locker room: “No way. ‘Be Nasty,’ (safety) Bernard Pollard – he’s definitely the best dancer. And I think if we get this done come Sunday, you all will get to see a good dose of it.”
And maybe even get a song from Suggs. He wasn’t shy about serenading everyone with a rendition of Meatloaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love,” moments after he took his seat behind the microphone.
NO ONE DENIES PICK BOY!
The NFL says 5,205 reporters from 24 countries have credentials for the game, and some chose to work in costume at media day.
There was a correspondent from the Nickelodeon TV network dressed as a super hero called Pick Boy, who approached 49ers practice-squad linebacker Nate Stupar, asking him if he wanted to race. Stupar declined, saying he wasn’t about to risk pulling any muscles for something like that.
“I would say that’s the first time I got interviewed by a guy with a cape on,” Stupar said.
Univision radio play-by-play announcer Rafael Hernandez Brito wore a Spanish-style wrestling mask for part of the session.
TV Azteca reporter Jose Marquez Zamora looked like a rodeo clown, with his painted face, round rubber nose and long, pointy shoes covered with light blue sequins. He said he was, in fact, dressed as a typical clown in Monterrey, Mexico.
Niners offensive lineman Alex Boone was asked about his hair style, which looks similar to a mohawk – Boone calls it a rhino hawk – and whether he had the best hair on the team.
“Absolutely. I think I get it from my mom’s side,” Boone said. “My mom’s got great hair.”
He reflected on how the questions on media day truly sets it apart from a typical NFL interview session.
“Weird. Very weird. A lot of questions coming this way and some of them aren’t football-related, which creeps me out a little bit,” Boone said. “But it’s a trip, and I’m excited to be here.”
MISS ALABAMA UPDATE
Katherine Webb credits a couple of camera shots of her watching the BCS national title game in Miami with landing her at the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Otherwise known as Miss Alabama USA and the girlfriend of Crimson Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron, Webb, 23, has been hired by TV’s “Inside Edition” to be its game correspondent.
“It’s so exciting and absolutely crazy at the same time. It’s happened so fast. I feel like I’m living on a plane, but it’s a great journey,” said Webb, who was making her first trip to New Orleans for her first Super Bowl.
ANYONE SPARE ‘A TWEETER’ FOR COACH TO BORROW?
When players and coaches were asked to play along with a joke about the growing influence of social media, results were mixed and appeared to expose the generation gap between some players and coaches.
Niners coach Jim Harbaugh and others were asked to answer some questions in hash tags only. The Twitter tags are used to help social media users identify trendy topics.
“That would be very challenging to me,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t know the hash tag world that well. I don’t have one. I don’t have a Tweeter (sic). I’m not real good at that.”
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