JasonPafundi.com

Super Bowl XLIII

Check out that picture I got of Santonio Holmes making the game-winning catch with :35 left in the Super Bowl.

I was supposed to go to the game with Ted, but he chose to not have to deal with the length or the afternoon/night and stuff. So it was Tone's first Super Bowl.

We got to the parking lot and paid $50 for parking. As soon as we got out of the car, a scalper offered $3,000 for the pair. It was tempting, but Tone may never get a chance at another Super Bowl, so we decided against it.

We got to the entrance to the official, invite-only NFL Tailgate 2009. They frisked us and scanned our tickets and we were in, no more line (and the regular line to go through security was huge). We got in and John Legend was on stage. We walked around, checked out all the food and stuff, and waited until 4:10. At that time, Journey took to the stage, with their Filipino, Steve-Perry soundalike. They were great. At around 5:00, we started walking to the stadium.

We got in and I had a burger, fries and a water for $20.50. Our seats were in the third level in the corner, but row A, so they were terrific seats. The pregame ceremonies started with Faith Hill singing "America the Beautiful", followed by Jennifer Hudson singing the national anthem. The F-17 Thunderbirds flew over and the game was on. It was basically a Steelers home game, with Terrible Towels everywhere.

The game was okay in the first half, culminating with a huge momentum swing when Warner threw that INT for a 100-yard touchdown to end the half. The best part of the game was about to occur.

Bruce and the E-Streeters took the stage and opened with "10th Avenue Freeze Out", followed by "Born to Run", "Waiting on a Dream" and ending with a rousing rendition of "Glory Days". It was a great 12 minutes.

The second half was much better, including the greatest fourth quarter in Super Bowl history. After Fitz took that slant to the house, I still didn't think it was over because Big Ben has a knack for 4th quarter comebacks. The stadium was dead quiet after the Cards took the lead late, but then it was going berzerk when Santonio scored the winning TD with 35 seconds left. After the game ended, all the Steelers fan stayed for the post-game, so we got out of the stadium, to the parking lot and across the bridge in about 25 minutes. It was amazing.

We stopped and had appetizers at Applebees before finally arriving home a little before midnight. All and all, it was much better than my first Super Bowl (XXXV in Tampa in 2001). Hopefully the next time I go, the Redskins will be playing.

P.S. Jen is at sea on her cruise, and we haven't spoken since Sunday afternoon. It is weird and not good at all. Feel better and have fun, Fi!

Saturday night @ The Venue

This was Diddy's night, the "Icons of the Good Life" party. We knew it was going to have a great A-list, but we were hoping for some really big stars. Rumors were that maybe Will Smith, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Paris Hilton and Michael Jordan would be there. None of them were, but it was still a great night.

The red carpet was actually white, there were spotlights and dozens of onlookers hoping to take a picture of their favorite stars.

The first star of the night was one of the judges from "So You Think You Can Dance", Mary Murphy. After that, the stars kept coming, including:
Deion Sanders, Winky Wright, Gary Sheffield, Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, Joe Mauer, DeMarcus Ware, Joba Chamberlain, Myron Rolle, Pepa, Ryan Howard, Ryan Nece, Bernard Berrian, Willis McGahee, Adrian Peterson, and Terrell Owens.

Diddy rolled in with a big posse, and posed for pictures for the fans behind the barricades. He was gracious and friendly once again, even taking a Terrible Towel out of his pocket and waving it around.

All-and-all it was a wonderful three days.

Friday night at The Venue

Friday night was the "Legends of the Good Life" event at The Venue, hosted by legendary cornerback Deion Sanders. It wasn't raining, but with the wind chill, it was under 40 degrees.

This night wasn't as big for celebrities, which was expected, because Maxim Magazine and ESPN had their parties as well.

The first celeb to arrive was Tommy "Tiny" Lister, better known as Deebo from Friday or as Zeus from the WWF in 1989. He is huge, but also very religious. He was talking about Jesus a lot.

Among the stars on this night included: Michael Clayon, Deion, Brian Davis (Duke basketball), Winky Wright, Playboy playmates, Rickey Watters, Maurice Stovall, Devin Hester and Gator quarterback Tim Tebow.

Diddy arrived with his security, but once again, he was friendly and posed for pictures and spoke with reporters.

Saturday night is Diddy's party.

Thursday Night at The Venue

Thursday was my first night as a member of the media covering The Good Life Experience, Diddy and Deion Sanders' three-night Super Bowl event.

I arrived at the Venue at around 8:30 pm and got my credential for the red carpet. Stars weren't expected to arrive until after 10:30, but I wanted to make sure I got a good spot.

At around 9:30, the rain started and all the members of the media were forced underneath the entrance to The Venue, making us all tightly squeezed and uncomfortable. Since I was taking photographs, I had to kneel so I wouldn't block the TV cameras. It was cool, though.

Quarterback Joe Flacco, who is on my fantasy team, was the first celebrity to arrive. Winky Wright, who was the night's official host, arrived soon after, followed by "Primetime", Deion Sanders.

In no particular order, these stars were at the party, and seen on the red carpet:
American Idol Jordin Sparks, Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, Reche Caldwell, Andre Johnson, Chad Johnson, Andre Berto, Michael Clayton, Chidi Ahanatu, Ronnie Brown, Stormy Daniels, Albert Haynesworth, Chris Richardson of American Idol, Steven Jackson, Jason Witten, Kyle Orton and Shannon Sharpe.

Everyone, including the TV cameras, were waiting in the rain for one guy: Diddy. He finally arrived at a little after 1 am, but it was well worth it.

So my first night on the red carpet was terrific.