Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

I don't think I have ever made it a secret that I love all things New England Sports.

Obviously I want to the Patriots to win today... and get revenge (like in a big way) for that annoying night back in 2008.

I am watching ESPN right now (I love all the drama and analyzing leading up to the big game), and they were doing a package on how the Patriots were introduced as a team at the 2002 Super Bowl.  Ahh... that was a good moment!  Now all teams are introduced as a team at the Super Bowl.  

Aside from being ridiculously excited for the actual game, I am also soooo excited for the halftime show.

Madonna!

I have seen her in concert before, totally loved it and think she is just legendary.

This brings me to a question for you all...Why are the halftime shows always so polarizing for people?

Some are excited for it and some just loathe everything about it.

When all is said and done, it is over in 12 minutes.  Why do people have so many opinions about who is performing?  Why do people hate it so much? Granted, I am always excited to see the halftime shows, but really why do we care?

I can tell you that I now have a new appreciation for just how much work and attention to detail goes into those 28 minutes on Super Bowl Sunday.  Back in 2010 when the Super Bowl was here in Miami, I was one of the 700 volunteers that wheeled out the stage pieces for The Who's halftime performance.

Remember that year?  They had this cool stage...

Got this from Super Bowl Productions website

This was one of the most fun things I have ever been a part of!  To say I am jealous of the volunteers for this year's halftime show would be an understatement.

The teamwork and coordination that goes into getting the stage out on the field, plugged in and ready to go for one of the world's largest television audience is amazing.

Volunteering took a lot of time... 8 4 hour practices in the two weeks leading up to game day.  But it was definitely worth it on the nights we got to practice in the stadium and when we got to be at the full dress rehearsal two nights before the Super Bowl.  The Who did their whole performance... music, lights, lasers, fireworks everything.  It was cool. 

The majority of the volunteers were locals from South Florida and it probably didn't matter to most who was performing (I was one of these people), but there were some hard core The Who fans who came from all over the country to see their favorite band.  Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend were really nice to the volunteers on rehearsal night and many people got pictures and autographs.

On game day, the volunteers day starts early.  We had to report to a local school in the early afternoon.  This is where we parked, checked in, caught the bus to the stadium and got to watch the pre-game show on a screen they set up.  This is also where we watched the end of the game once we were back after the halftime show was over.

They bussed all the volunteers to the stadium in school buses with a police escort.

Parts of the Florida Turnpike were completely shut down to ensure the caravan of buses made it to Dolphin Stadium with no troubles.  Again, so cool :)

We spent the first quarter outside of the stadium, then we started wheeling the pieces into our line up.  

 

 

I was part of the group that was pushing the second piece of staging to go out on the field.  Luckily for us that meant we got to spend the second quarter in the tunnel behind one of the end zones.

Finally it was halftime!  Our piece of the stage was right on the 50 yard line and I got to watch the show from sidelines next to the Colts bench.  So cool!

 

Showtime!

And just like that, 28 minutes was over and we were headed back to the school to watch the end of the game and have a pizza party!  

What a fun memory and I know a bunch of folks from Indy are making those memories today!

Cart #9, Super Bowl XLIV