'Two Steps Into the Desert'

TAMPA - We. Is. Here.

Southwest delivered me last night to Tampa, Florida, site of Super Bowl 43 and a place with a lot more degrees than the place in the Northeast from which I flew (Providence). It's about 55 here and I haven't seen 55 degrees since back in 2008.

I got in at 11:30 p.m. and, after first going to the wrong Embassy Suites (I just punched the first one that came up on the Neverlost in my snappy wine-colored Impala), I redirected myself to the correct one which is on the water and connected to the convention center.

The Embassy Suites and Marriott are the two main hotels for this Super Bowl so I got myself at ground zero for the preamble.

This is my sixth Super Bowl since 2001 and it's always a little surreal on Sunday night when you get to town and it's basically nothing but bunting, banners and silence. Calm before the storm. By Wednesday the downtown will be quite stacked and by Friday, when the fans arrive, it'll be shoulder-to-shoulder.

That's another interesting dynamic. The people working the Super Bowl have long since gotten used to their grind when the fans arrive full of piss and vinegar (and beer and stuff). I often tell my friends (ok, friend) that this is one of the more amusing parts of working a big event...you're on the phone with your desk talking about a story and carrying a laptop while some 334-pound guy in a Casey Hampton jersey is sweating like a fountain and singing Christmas carols right next to you.

In anticipation of the weekend crush, I got myself off the 17th floor where I was right next to the elevator. A parade of drunks (good name for a band) at 3:30 a.m. disembarking outside my door on Friday and Saturday night I can do without. I'm going to a lower floor. Plus I'm scared of heights.

So far today, I got myself credentialed up at the media center and swung through to see who was in there. At 9 a.m., there weren't many. Rick Gosselin, a friend from the Dallas Morning News, told me that there will be 20 fewer radio stations on "radio row" this week than in the past. Many papers pulled the plugs on their coverage.

Gary Shelton, a talented Tampa columnist, was the last guy I saw in the media center this morning.

I asked him how it's going so far (writers for papers in the host city have a special little hell to deal with), "We're two steps into the desert. I'm fine so far."

- Tom E. Curran