Super Bowl: Celeb and Party Review

Rain, Rain Go Away and don’t come back in 3 years, when Miami once again hosts the big show. Though the weather wasn’t sunny and 70, the crowds that gathered in Miami wouldn’t exactly say they were disappointed or bored. While the Bears didn’t show much of a game in Super Bowl XLI, their fans picked up the slack. Miami was flooded with blue #34 and #54 jerseys and sprinkled with some polish sausage eatin’ – big bellied – moustached men from the south side. And Miami has probably never seen so many nice people in the history of the town. The 25 Colts fans that did show up were the nicest, friendliest people and didn’t gloat in the faces of the Bears fans after their team’s victory. Gotta love those Midwesterners.

So apparently the Bears team was staying at the Miami Airport Hilton while the Colts were put up at the Marriott ON THE BEACH in Ft. Lauderdale. Who got the shaft on that one? Beach or airport? Then again, most airports are surrounded by strip clubs. I retract my comment.

South Beach was transformed into a tourist haven. Ocean Drive was blocked off and turned into a pedestrian stomping ground with the cash falling from the sky into the famed deco eateries and hotels. Celebrities, tourists, sports icons and VIPs (uh… I’d like to say I fall into that category) could be spotted at every turn.

The Events & Parties

Throughout the week you could head over to the Home Depot NFL Experience where kids and adults could interact with games and players. Basically, it was the best place where kids could get a good grasp of the Super Bowl experience.

Thursday afternoon kicked off with Celebrity Beach Bowl pinning Steve Young against Warren Moon and refereed by Steve-O…yes, I said Steve-O. Other participants included the likes of Matt Leinhart, Icky Woods, Doug Flutie, and Maria Menounos. New Found Glory headed up the music on the stage.

And if there wasn’t enough activity on the beach, Ocean Drive perfectly timed their 14th Annual Volleypalooza right smack dab in the middle of the big games events. And for those of you wondering…Volleypalooza is MODELS playing volleyball against other MODELS. It was like a buffet for the eyes for the players.

Friday night was a huge block party hosted by ESPN Magazine in the up and coming design district just off South Beach. Streets were blocked off and if you were lucky enough to get into the VIP section, you were in for a treat. 4 levels of drinks, hors d’oeuvres, rockin’ tunes, newly released video games and a bevy of sportscasters and sports heroes. The best spotting of the night? Matt Hasselbeck. Mmmm. De-lish. The party was spun by DJ AM and DJ Irie (of the Miami Heat). Around midnight, LL Cool J broke out his biceps and performed in front of a crowd of thousands. Mmmm. De-sert!

Another Friday night event taking place on South Beach was the Leather and Laces party at Chakra hosted by Jenny McCarthy, Carmen Electra, Brande Roderick and Victoria Silvstedt. If you had $2,500, you, too could go!

Jamie Foxx’s party on Saturday night rocked one of South Beach’s hottest clubs, B.E.D. Celebs in attendance were the tennis sister duo Venus & Serena Williams, Spike Lee, and Eli Manning. Apparently, Chris Rock was there, but I didn’t see him. Maybe people though I was him. My impression is damn good. Foxx was dancing among a sea of 20-30 girls and the scene looked like a Snoop Dogg video audition. Tons of ’84 Bears were there, too.

One of the greatest star sightings earlier in the week was American Idol’s infamous rejected pair, Kenneth (bush baby) and Jonathan, garnering more of their 15 minutes of fame. Jimmy Kimmel hooked them up at the Delano for 3 nights. That Jimmy…

Other than the downpour on actual game day, the Super Bowl in Miami was a perfect combination of events, celebrities and nightlife. Hey, that sounds like every other weekend in South Beach, only with more athletes. And it’s about time that athletes garnered more attention than TomKat and Paris Hilton.