Radio row at every Super Bowl is a place to see and be seen. Hundreds of radio stations set up camp in a convention center and interview players and celebrities as they parade through the media circus.
The setup in Tampa this year is no different. Let me paint a picture of the scene. On Thursday after the Rookie of the Year press conference, I walked running back Steve Slaton to his fist radio appearance of the day. We passed Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, who was camped out with his entourage. Meanwhile, ESPN's Mike Greenberg was sitting on a bench flipping through some notes.
We entered radio row and saw legendary coach Mike Ditka was holding court on Sirius Radio. The Saints' Drew Brees was talking to Scott Hansen on the NFL Network soundstage in the middle of the room. Oh, and Jared from Subway "fame" was walking around with two reps and hoping to get a little air time.
While Slaton went on Michael Irvin's radio show, I got to chat with Warren Sapp about competing on "Dancing with the Stars." I think he has been talking about the show more than his career this week.
The most impressive guy I saw was boxer Floyd Merriweather's bodyguard, who looked about 7-2, 350.
Typically, the players travel with an entourage of three, usually an agent, family member and a girlfriend. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was walking around about six-people deep. Slaton and Andre Johnson just brought their managers.
On Friday, the frenzy starts to slow down, but there always is enough hype to go around. If not, Jared is happy to step in.