Superbowl - The Last Pieces

After taking the decision to got to the Superbowl, we had to scramble to get our final preparations made. I plan on writing a series of posts about our experience, but not too much about the game itself, everybody saw it. If you watched it on TV you probably saw it better than I did.

Superbowl Tickets

After losing the first two rounds of ticket lottery (and apparently a third round no one knew about) we also quickly exhausted our connections. Everyone we knew who won the lottery (not too many) had already made other arrangements. They had already sold their tickets, promised their tickets to someone else or were looking to retire on the sale of their tickets. We started started looking on line for tickets.



Although there are many websites that sell tickets we quickly decided on either Stubhub or the NFL official exchange Ticketmaster. Due to the last minute rush to get going we felt we needed the credibility of companies associated with the NFL. Ticketmaster is the official ticket scalper and Stubhub is a subsidiary of the Official NFL package provider. They both offered the largest assortment of tickets, almost 5,000 each.

We settled on Stubhub because they had the strongest guarantee, although getting your money back after investing thousands of dollars in the trip would hardly be a satisfying result. She selected tickets in the Upper End Zone Corner, row 10 on the Saints side of the field. They were not the cheapest tickets (those were on the Colts side or in the end zones), but they were not much more than the cheapest. Our final purchase was Monday evening, we were leaving on Friday. Stubhub did not offer to overnight the tickets but did tell us we could pick them up on Saturday.

Sunlife Stadium Section Numbers

We still didn't have a hotel room. I had already made some enquirers. We checked out our hotel in South Beach, the Marsalles and the first hotel we stayed in in South Beach The Ritz Plaza. We looked at the Yankee Clipper in Fort Lauderdale and one of out favorite hidden spots in Fort Lauderdale Lago Mar. We checked Trip Advisor my go to hotel site and we tried Travelocity Orbitz and Expedia. When we go to South Florida we usually rent a condo. I like having space and a kitchen, but since we usually deal with individual owners it takes a lot more effort and time to arrange. We called a few places we had stayed before.

As I expected there were plenty of rooms pretty much everywhere but prices were all pretty high, about double and sometimes tipple what rooms go for normally, even in "season".

The Contenders,

The Marseilles Pool

The Marseilles was out hotel for New Years Eve 1999, the Faux Millennium Eve. We have returned several times since. The hotel is located on Collins Ave, withing walking distance of Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road. The hotel have a nice poll and direct beach access. It is the best of At that time we first stayed there it was in almost original condition. It has since been updated with new decoration in the rooms, but most of the origiual hotel is still there, unlike many South Beach Hotels. Price $349/night.

The Ritz Plaza Pool

The Ritz Plaza a couple of doors down from the Marseilles it was the first hotel we stayed in in South Beach in the early 90's. We were were there for a conference. Then in almost original condition it has been closed for renovations for several years always due to open next year. There have been several owners and it's still under renovation. Maybe Next Year.

The Yankee Clipper pool side

The Yankee Clipper is a Fort Lauderdale Landmark, built in the form of a cruise ship it is one of the few hotels in Fort LAuderdale located directly on the Beach. There used to be a pretty goood Steak house in the hotel, I'm not sure it's still there.

The Yankee Clipper Bar

It features a bar with windows into the swimming pool complete with mermaids from a earlier era. Recently renamed the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel. It is located steps from the NFL Saturday NIght FREE Concert. SOLD OUT.

Lago Mar Bayside

Lago Mar was a sleepy relatively inexpensive beach resort when a friend first referred us to it in the mid 90's. It is located in a quiet residential area, with an almost private beach. When we discovered it it was the best deal in Fort Lauderdale, it has since moved upscale with little improvement in quality, still its a nice place. $429/night

We decided not to stay in Southbeach or Fort Lauderdale. We booked a room in our favorite area Hollywood, mainly because there is a lot of resturants within walking distance and its convenient to the stadium. We tried a number of condos, but that didin't work out. We kept coming back to the Ramada Hollywood Beach Resort.

Hollywood Beach Resort, Ocean Side

The Hollywood Beach Resort built in 1925 as the Floridian by the world renown Rubish and Hunter architects of Indianapolis has been converted to an odd combination of hotel/ Condominium/ Time Share/ Mall. We have an affinity for grand old hotels and this was once one of them. It has been the victim of several ill conceived and poorly executed conversions over the years. We were anxious over the possible accommodations and have avoided staying there in the past. Since this was not a typical trip we decided we could sleep there 3 nights since we would be out of the hotel most of the time. $189/night.

The Final Piece was parking. Where would we put the car during the game? I had read that if we bought tickets from Ticketmaster we would have the opportunity to purchase a Stadium Parking Pass. I got a pleasant surprise when checking out at Stubhub. I was able to order a parking pass at the Stubhub Experience located at the racetrack adjacent to the Stadium, even more surprising there was no additional charge, so I ordered one. The website was a little sketchy on where the parking was and how I could get the pass. I also tried to figure out how to purchase a pass to the Stadium parking. I looked everywhere and while I could find sites reselling the passes I could not find out how to purchase one directly. Finally I called the stadium. A very helpful lady there told me I could go to Click and Park to purchas one.

It was Tuesday afternoon and we had all of our pieces in place, but not our ducks in a row.

Guess what we did!

I've been a Saints fan for a long time. I was at the first game. I saw Tom Dempsey kick the field goal. I heard all of the squirrels on WWL talking about a Superbowl after a couple of preseason wins.

I'm not as flamboyant as some fans, in fact by New Orleans Standards I quite reserved. I am also an almost compulsive planner, looking forward to what might happen and guarding against what might go wrong. My major Saints superstition is not to get too far ahead of events. This year I was cautiously optimistic after 8 wins in a row, by the time we got to 10 I was confident we would make the playoffs. By 12 wins I couldn't get hold of myself, I started to plan. What if they actually did it? What if I missed the Saints' first Superbowl appearance.

The critical path was through airline tickets. If the Saints' won flights would be almost instantly full, in fact the closer the Saints' got the more Who Dat's would be planning on the trip. I secretly checked flight availability almost daily. Judging by the prices flights were either already heavily booked or airlines were holding seats back anticipating heavy demand.


I finally could not wait any longer and used some frequent flier points to book flights knowing that if they didn't go to the Superbowl, I could cash in the tickets and use them another time. I had almost waited too long. I only got the green light on January 20th after the Arizona game. Even then I couldn't get us both back on the same plane.

That left a rental car, tickets and a hotel. The car was easy, rental cars can be canceled with no penalty and the earlier it was booked the cheaper it would be. That could be done before we committed to a trip.

Tickets would have to wait for the season ticket holder lottery.

The Hotel was trickier. Being familiar with South Florida I thought getting a hotel wouldn't be that difficult and would likely have a cancellation charge if it was canceled the last minute. That would have to be the last piece of the puzzle.

One of the reasons I married her is that She is lucky, both kinds of luck, the kind you make for yourself through preparation, hard work and making the most of opportunity but also the other kind, just plain dumb not so random luck. She has won drawings lotteries and countless prizes awarded on a random basis, including Superbowl tickets the last time it was here and a 10 day Mediterranean cruise on a sailing ship. When traveling her luggage is always the first one out. Mine is usually last. She was sure she would win. So was I but not as sure as she was. She didn't win the first round, nor the second round.

It was time to decide. Time to make a commitment.

We decided that this is a historic event. A once in a life time opportunity. There would never be a second chance to attend the Saint's first Superbowl. We decided to go for it.
We're going to be leaving Friday. I'd be happy to hear of anything the Who Dat Nation has planned.

Mile High Pi(l)e

Recently corporate attempts to reduce the commons by Intellectual Imperialism , intimidation and bullying in New Orleans by the National Football League have been in the news.

This is not the first time I have heard of similar behavior towards New Orleans cultural icons.

Years ago after the Pontchartrain Hotel passed from the Aschaffenburg family to David Buras, we were told by one of Buras' executives that the hotel had received a cease and desist order from the Bennigan's Restaurant chain. They claimed that Mile High Pie was a trade mark of their chain. I understand that the hotel located an old menu in store room predating Bennigan's clearly listing Mile High Pie as a dessert and mailed it to the lawyer.


Any foodie worth the name knows that Mile High Pie originated at the Pontchartrain Hotel. I don't know the exact date but I bet someone here abouts does.

Bennigan's attempted to steal a well known trademark from the Pontchartrain and then prevent the originator from using their original product. That is unethical, illegal and despicable. Any Chef worth a damn would have known better but some MBA and a dumbass Lawyer decided to intimidate rather than research.

LA Times agrees with Cliff

This morning I see that LA Times has a story by Sam Farmer headlined
Reggie Bush might be the X-factor for Saints.

The money quote is

"To me, he's the X-factor" against the Vikings, NBC's Cris Collinsworth said.

Collinsworth must have been reading Cliff's Crib. Cliff has been on this for months. He's a believer in Reggie's potential to become the Saints X Factor. Starting in September he's written a series of Reggie posts.

In Search of Reggie's Confidence

48 Points in Philly Is Nothing To Sneeze At

Please Beat The Jets So I Can Watch Sportscenter

The Giants Are A Real Test

This Team Might Be The Real Deal

I think Reggie has suffered from "Fear of Commitment". He seems to always to be looking for an opening, rather than taking advantage what is there, extending the play, rather than looking up field. There have been flashes of productivity. Last week was a breakthrough. This week will be a test.

Perhaps it's his girlfriend. Reading between the lines he seems to have recommitted to her. Maybe their bet about the SuperBowl wasn't so much of a joke.

I know she motivated a bunch of guys in our section at the dome late in the game last week. Late in the game they were paying more attention to her in the box than to Reggie on the field

Character Matters

I'm something of a dilettante when it come to American history. I've read some and thought some and developed a few of my own theories. One is that at pivotal times history often depends on a few people of extraordinary character. Not perfect people but people with extraordinary moral strength.
George Washington was many things, but the one thing everyone agreed on was his extraordinary character. His steadfast devotion to the cause likely was the critical factor in the success of our revolution. He was the unanimous choice of his peers to preside over the Constitutional Convention which produced the most remarkable document in political history, yet by all accounts he seldom participated actively, instead demonstrating his resolve and commitment. As first President of the United States he established many of the customs we adhere to to this day.


Robert E. Lee was in the tradition of Washington. He commanded the respect of everyone who knew of him. He was called the best officer in the United States Army before the Civil War. At the end of the Civil War when he called on the South to accept defeat, his moral force was enough to override the president of the Confederacy.


George C. Marshall was the only military man in the US who could promote Colonel Eisenhower over dozens of more senior officers. He was the only person who by strength of will could resist Churchill and the British General Staff. “The noblest Roman of them all" was how Winston Churchill once described him. FDR said he couldn't sleep if Marshall was not in Washington. After winning the war, he was given the Nobel Peace prize for winning the peace.


Martin Luther King Jr. was thrust to greatness. He was a young little known preacher when he was "nominated" to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott. His strong conviction in the rightness of his cause, without recrimination and with universal reason strengthened his supporters and undermined his opponents. The moral force of his calm righteousness showed the country the way.

If only our local leaders could be just a little more like them. A little more concerned with good and a little less concerned with get.