Filed under: Super Bowl, Sports Business and Media
DALLAS -- Super Bowl XLV Media Day went on Tuesday despite the best efforts of Mother Nature and the ice storm she blanketed over North Texas overnight. Cowboys Stadium still was invaded by print hacks and electronic talking heads by the thousands.
The lines were dozens deep at the podiums of quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers. There were plenty of hairy questions for Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews. There was Inez Sainz (hot) and Ochocinco (not) and cameos from kids from Nickelodeon.
But there was no star that outshined the event -- ala Joe Namath before media day became MEDIA DAY -- or shook the Super Bowl with headlines. And there were no reluctant talkers of note, like when Leon Lett excused himself from the podium twice because he got dizzy from the attention.
In honor of those newsmakers, allow us to relive some of the most famous and/or infamous Media Day divas of the Super Bowl era.
1) Ray Lewis (Baltimore), Super Bowl XXXV at Tampa, Fla.
It had been nearly a year since Lewis, the Ravens Pro Bowl linebacker, had been indicted on murder charges stemming from a fight that broke out in downtown Atlanta and led to the two stabbing deaths during Super Bowl XXXIV weekend the year before. Lewis eventually pled guilty to charges of obstruction of justice for giving police misleading statements. He was sentenced to one-year probation. Lewis went the entire 2000 season without speaking to reporters, but was required to climb the podium on Media Day for Baltimore's showdown against the New York Giants. Yes, the subject of the murders came up. "Yeah I got money. Yeah I'm black. Yeah I'm blessed," Lewis railed. "But at the same time let's find out the real truth. The real truth is this was never about those two kids dead in the street, it's about Ray Lewis. And that's the same thing this is about and that's not right." Asked if there was anything he'd like to say to the family of the victims, Lewis responded, "Na." Five days later, he was voted MVP of Baltimore's 34-7 victory. Not one of the game's finer moments.
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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/02/01/super-bowl-top-10-media-day-divas-through-the-years/
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