A Day In The Life: My First Super Bowl!

12:45PM - The eagle has landed. Well maybe not an eagle, but our Lincoln Navigator has pulled into the parking lot. Just waiting for rest of Access crew to arrive and it's go time!
 

1:15PM - The rest of the crew arrives. We're packing up the gear. Counting tapes. Getting cameras ready to roll. Access is about to invade the Super Bowl!
 

1:22PM - Did we take a wrong turn and wind up in Pittsburgh? You'd certainly think so with all the black and yellow jerseys walking around. Cardinals fans are easily outnumbered 10 to 1 here. I'm disappointed in the fans from my home state of Arizona. But before you ask, I am no Cardinals fan. In fact, I typically enjoy watching them lose.  But on this day, they'll get my support since they're the heavy underdogs.
 

1:35PM - Boy, you'd think we had a date with Obama judging by the security check points you have to walk through to get into the stadium. But I won't complain about the extra safety precautions. The NFL definitely doesn't mess around.
 

1:45PM - I've just been handed a lime green vest with the words PREGAME/HALFTIME MEDIA emblazoned on the back. I'm not sure, but I think this makes me official.
 

1:50PM - We've found our temporary home -- the media tent. Big room. Long tables. Little TVs. No air conditioning. It ain't all glitz and glamour folks. But you've never met someone who is so happy to sit in a muggy tent!
 

3:12PM - I just bought a $25 Super Bowl program. Woo hoo! I come back to the tent and they tell me we probably get those for free after the game. D'oh! These things happen when it's your first rodeo. Maybe I should try to sell it for $20 outside. Ugggh. On a positive note, I ran into former Chicago Bears legend and San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary and got a photo. Told him I was a die-hard Bears fan. I don't think he was impressed. But thanks for the pic Iron Mike!
 

3:50PM - Looking for something to eat and got my first look inside the stadium. I'm in awe trying to soak it all in. Still two hours away from kickoff, but a lot of people starting to fill the seats. So this is what the inside of a Super Bowl stadium looks like.
 

4:42PM - Time to get ready to shoot the pre-game festivities. Everyone is all set. Green vests are on. We're ready to hit the field!!!
 

4:58PM - Oh my God! Oh my God! I'm on the field!!! Literally, two feet off the sidelines watching Cardinals QB Kurt Warner throw warm up passes to receiver Larry Fitzgerald. My boys back home in AZ would be dying right now. I kind of am too. We didn't see too many Cardinals fans all week, but we definitely see them now. There are quite a few - and in good seats.
 

5:10PM - The players have left the field. Faith Hill will soon be coming out to sing "America the Beautiful." In the meantime, the now-packed stadium is taking turns with chants of "Let's go Cardinals!" and "Let's go Steelers!" It's almost deafening on field level, and the Steelers' fans are noticeably louder. One thing is for sure, if this place is going this crazy right now, it's about to be insane come kickoff! 
 

5:45PM - Wandering around the field with Maria Menounos and the Access crew, and we come across a tall, slender older gentleman beaming from ear to ear as people come up and shake his hand in apparent admiration. But he's no athlete - it's Chesley B. Sullengberger III - the pilot from the US Airways flight that made the miracle landing in the Hudson River. He's with the rest of his flight crew - there are five of them total. They will be honored before kickoff - an amazingly classy move by the NFL. Kudos. And while I've been in absolute awe of the athletes I've seen all day, for the first time, I find myself overcome with pure emotion standing in the presence of a hero by every definition of the word. Hats off to Sully.
 

6:12PM - Faith Hill and a large chorus fill the stadium with a melodic rendition of "America the Beautiful." I'm not a huge country fan, but that girl can sing! A fantastic performance. She's set the bar high for Jennifer Hudson, who will be following her with the National Anthem.
 

6:19PM - Access has all four corners of the field staked out waiting to catch a glimpse of Jennifer Hudson entering the stadium to make her first public performance since her horrific family tragedy. All of a sudden, the voice on the loud speakers introduces her and she appears in the middle of the field. We hear she "snuck" in when the Cardinals came out on to the field for their grand introduction.
 

6:22PM - Wow. Honestly, that's all any of us can say. Wow. An amazing performance by an amazing singer. Jennifer knocked it out of the park with amazing courage to return to such a grand stage. Goosebumps. Lots of them. Kudos again. And the four-jet flyover at the end of the song was the perfect way to close the pre-game ceremonies and get ready for kickoff! Honestly, is there anything more inspiring than a good national anthem?!?
 

6:32PM - We make our way off of the field and back to the media tent for some dinner - nothing says football like sub-par-at-best hot dogs, chili and chicken fingers. We watch kickoff on the TVs inside the tent... and after a few minutes, it's quickly 3-0 Steelers. They made their way down the field with ease. This may be the beginning of a really long night for the Cardinals and their fans.
 

7:23PM - An hour later, we've got a game again. The Cardinals march down the field for a touchdown to make it 10-7 Pittsburgh. You can feel momentum starting to swing a bit - and the crowd can feel it too, as the boisterous Steelers faithful aren't as loud as they once were.
 

7:25PM - Time to head back out to the field for the last few minutes of the first half and the halftime show! We take our place just a few feet away from the Arizona sideline, as the Cardinals are marching down the field for what appears to be a game-tying or leading score before the half ends.
 

7:26PM - And in the blink of an eye, the entire game changes. Kurt Warner throws it near the end zone for what looks to be a Cardinals TD, but Steelers linebacker James Harrison (who showed why he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year) intercepts the pass one yard deep in the end zone... and starts running right for us. Dodging defenders, Harrison sprints directly in front of me down the sideline... and he doesn't stop until 100 yards later when he scores a touchdown as time expires on the first half. As if watching that historic play in person wasn't enough, the 17-7 halftime score just won me a nice chunk of change in my office Super Bowl squares pool! Man I love this game!
 

Interesting side note, as Harrison is rumbling down the sidelines for the end zone, someone from the media (but not with Access!) is clapping and cheering him on - and the not-so-smart "journalist" is doing this about 10 feet from the Cardinals bench. Kicker Neil Rackers takes exception to the fan and starts screaming at him. I almost thought I was about to witness an episode of "When Good Players Attack!"
 

7:40PM - The teams leave the field. The stage is wheeled out - and The Boss is getting ready to rock the house. No more typing right now... this is something I just want to sit back and watch.
 

8:11PM - Holy cow. Future performers take note -- THAT is how you do a halftime show! I've never seen Bruce Springsteen in concert before. And I'm not a huge fan, but I do like his hits. I've just witnessed why so many others are fanatical about The Boss! What an amazing performance! I'm having trouble recalling any other halftime performance with so much energy, where the crowd was so into it as well. It usually feels like a throwaway performance. But Springsteen his first ever Super Bowl gig was nothing short of unforgettable.

8:20PM - The Boss is done. And now very large men in very large Security jackets are politely yet very sternly pushing us all off the field - which not only means halftime is over, but that my in-person Super Bowl experience has also come to an end.
 

Once halftime is over, we no longer have access to the field, but we're welcome to sit in the tents and finish watching the game. No thanks.
 

We get all packed up and motor back towards our hotel, listening to the game on the radio. We pull up to a local sports bar just in time to watch Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald catch what many think is the Super Bowl-winning touchdown on a 64-yard pass from Warner. The bar we are in is most definitely full of Cardinals fans as high fives and cheers fill the air.
 

Of course, at this point we know the celebration was short-lived, as Ben Roethlisberger led his team down the field in a drive for the ages, capped off by a storybook catch in the end zone by Santonio Holmes (who dropped the game winner just a play earlier).
 

That's game folks. The Steelers are the first team to ever win six Super Bowl titles. Impressive.
 

What a way to put the finishing touches on my own personal historic day. To the rest of the Access crew - John, Jeff, Steve, Buddy, Maria, Cate, Darryl, Marc, Frank, Laura, Matt, Mike, Rob and Brando - thank you for being part of a day this sports fan will truly never forget.
 

My first Super Bowl -- absolutely incredible from start to finish!