Sanchez got to dine at the White House. Today, we got to mix and mingle with the Governors of New York and New Jersey. OK, so that's a wee bit of an exaggeration. However, I did attend the press conference discussing the successful bid for the 2014 Super Bowl and both David Paterson and Chris Christie were in attendance.
Random observation - Governor Paterson is not tall.
Anyway, there were beaming faces from one end of the podium to the other. Owner Woody Johnson, along with Rex Ryan were there representing the Jets alongside Giants owners John Mara, Jonathan Tisch and Steven Tisch and head coach Tom Coughlin.
One of the funniest quips came from Governor Paterson who said, "Another good fourth round pick," alluding to the number of rounds it took for NY/NJ to be selected and also the Jets history of success with Draft picks from that round.
The most awkward moment occurred when a reporter asked why the Mayor of East Rutherford (where the Meadowlands Stadium is officially based) was not in attendance. Crickets. Oops.
The weather was discussed and discussed. Apparently no one is the least bit concerned about this. Governor Christie assured everyone that the roads would be cleared as they normally would. When pressed by a reporter, who reminded him that during the Blizzard/Nor'easter/Storm From Hell thing we had this past February that he told people to stay off the roads, and asked what he would do in similar circumstances, Christie replied, "We said don't drive if you don't have to. Not, 'don't drive.' 82,000 people will have to drive." OK then. And, that's why he's a politician.
The interesting thing is that both teams and all politicians are visualizing a fairy-tale ending with the Jets and Giants playing each other in this Super Bowl. Now, not to be a wet blanket, but, while this would be great for all of the fans in the tri-state area - probably not so much for the businesses, especially the hotels and restaurants, which are of course counting on out-of-towners. If it's Jets vs. Giants that will certainly decrease hotel booking exponentially.
In the meantime, the committee now has to raise somewhere in the area of $40 million.
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