I (and 49ers) survived Media Day

Takes one to know one: Deion Sanders interviews Randy Moss at Tuesday’s Media Day at the Superdome.

By PHIL BARBER

You don’t enjoy Media Day. You survive it.

Well, perhaps that’s not true. Despite the several thousand reporters and camerapeople jostling for position, the annual Super Bowl Media Day was kind of a hoot. The energy was palpable, even in the vast chasm of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, and the sights were ridiculous.

You would think the players and coaches would be the only ones vying for the spotlight at Media Day, but that’s not the case. The “reporters” can be more outlandish. One man dressed as a clown. I believe he was from a Mexican media outlet, and he was accompanied by a young woman whose cleavage looked one deep breath away from exploding. There was a guy dressed as a frontier trapper, another in superhero garb (I believe he was Danny Phantom from a Nickelodeon show) another in a lucha libre mask. The latter must have given a similar mask to Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh; I saw it peeking out from beneath the Ravens cap on the dais in front of him as he answered questions.

And yes, there were ridiculous queries of all stripes. The second question to Randy Moss, who was out of football last year, who is trying to cap a Hall of Fame career with his first Super Bowl victory, who is a lightning rod for both adulation and contempt: “Randy, do you prefer peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or ham and cheese?”

For the record, Moss’ answer was: “Well, I don’t mess with a lot of pork, so I prefer peanut butter and jelly.”

The 49ers had the first session, followed by the Ravens after a break of 1 hour, 15 minutes. There were 14 risers on the Superdome field, for 13 players and the head coach. Four other people sat or stood in the stands for interviews, including offensive and defensive coordinators. Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome spoke. San Francisco GM Trent Baalke did not.

And whether it had to do with the timing of their sessions or some measure of national interest, I can tell you that considerably more media attended the 49ers interviews.

While most of the throng surrounded the risers, “lesser” players were available for standing interviews. The world certainly has not caught on to the patience and wisdom of center Jonathan Goodwin, who had only a few people talking to him at any given moment. Some for fullback Bruce Miller, who was almost alone at times.

Ted Ginn, meanwhile, walked around while talking on his cell phone. News flash for Ted: You don’t have to go to such lengths to avoid the media; I’m guessing few of us want to talk to you that badly, anyway.

 

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