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Media Day: Sublime meets ridiculous
By Kevin Jackson
ESPN.com
ATLANTA -- The uneven roof of the Georgia Dome looks a little like the top of a circus tent.
|  | | | The Titans' Eddie George and Steve McNair didn't choke in the media spotlight. |
No better setting for the annual circus that is Super Bowl Media Day.
Hundreds of TV cameras and boom mikes represented all the networks under the big top Tuesday afternoon -- and when we say "all the networks," we mean all the networks.
Consider:
The Cartoon Network -- yes, the folks who deal with the original Warner Bros. instead of Kurt Warner's receiving corps -- provided one of the day's strangest sideshows. A crew from Toon Town made its way to some of the big-name players in Super Bowl XXXIV and asked them to pick a cartoon character they'd like to support in the 2000 presidential race.
For those scoring at home, Titans running back Eddie George selected Batman, and ESPN NFL analyst Joe Theismann went with Elmer Fudd.
The Rams' Warner selected Bugs Bunny because the rabbit is -- what else? -- the signature character for Warner Bros.
George said he had "no clue" what the network's promotion is all about. That's OK, Eddie, no one else got it, either.
|  | | | Marshall Faulk was amazed by the magic of David Blaine during Media Day. |
Not to be outdone, the folks at MTV Jams also were there to make sure the conversation never drifted toward football. VJ Ananda Lewis -- who actually changed outfits in between the Rams and Titans media sessions -- barged her way onto George's podium, interrupted a reporter's question and started asking the Titans star about his musical taste.
For the record, George's preference leans toward hip-hop, with Jay-Z and DMX topping the charts.
The MTV crew also asked Warner about the importance of his religious beliefs.
When the MTV folks had moved on, Warner was asked if he'd ever actually watched MTV.
"Well, it's not one of the stations that's on the top of my remote control," the NFL MVP replied.
The award for asking the most crass questions goes to the folks at Comedy Central.
A female reporter from The Daily Show approached Titans offensive guard Bruce Matthews and asked this off-color question: "You're a 17-year veteran, but you're a Super Bowl virgin. How does it feel to have your cherry popped?"
After Matthews said something about not liking the extra attention and media, she said, "Kind of uncomfortable at first, but it gets better?"
| SAY WHAT? | | Some of the best -- and worst -- things we overheard in the Georgia Dome on Tuesday:
Titans offensive tackle Brad Hopkins on where rookie defensive end Jevon Kearse gets his strength: "His neck is so strong from all those gold chains he wears. He's got a Mr. T starter's kit going on."
Hopkins again: "I always tell him (17-year veteran Bruce Matthews) that it must have been great blocking for Red Grange."
One "media member" approached another at the rear of a large gathering for Matthews. "Who's this?" he asked. "Bruce Matthews," came the answer. "Is he any good?" asked the first.
Atlanta Falcons cornerback Ray Buchanan, who sported a dog collar at last year's Media Day, interviewed Marshall Faulk for BET.
"I'll let you borrow the dog collar if you need it," said Buchanan, Faulk's former teammate with the Indianapolis Colts.
Faulk laughed at the question, but declined.
"I don't need no dog collar," he said.
From Titans DE Holmes: "I've been getting all these telephone calls from friends and family. They're all yelling 'We made it to the Super Bowl! We made it to the Super Bowl!' And I'm thinking, man, they didn't make any tackles but they still made it."
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Nickelodeon, the kids' network, was roaming the field, asking players to look into the camera and offer their most menacing "game face."
The approach didn't really work on Rams coach Dick Vermeil, who simply offered a big smile.
As if all that weren't distracting enough, magician David Blaine entertained both the Rams and Titans with card tricks.
At one point, Blaine threw a full deck of cards just over the head of Rams running back Marshall Faulk. Startled as the cards slammed into the back of his interview station, Faulk was amazed when one of the cards was revealed to have "magically" landed behind his name placard.
No wonder the players hate Media Day so much.
The only dumb question ...
Forget that old saying about "the only dumb question being the one you don't ask."
At Media Day, plenty of ridiculous questions are asked. Here's this year's dubious offerings:
For Rams offensive tackle Orlando Pace: "After the game, in the shower, what's your favorite bar of soap?" After laughing, Pace answered with "Zest."
For Warner: "How many times have you seen Rudy?" For inquiring minds, the answer was "a couple."
For Faulk: "Do you view the word 'Ram' as a noun or verb?" The versatile back said he likes to "make people miss" rather than "ram" them. Thus he chose the noun option.
Another for Faulk: "How come you have a podium while all your teammates are forced to stand out here?" Taking the silliness in stride, Faulk replied, "I'm saving my legs for this weekend."
Taking the strangeness to a new level, a German TV crew was walking around with a woman dressed in a giant football costume.
The reporter accompanying her asked players about their relationship with the pigskin -- or "egg" as the Germans call it.
Check out this exchange with Titans defensive tackle Joe Salave'a:
Reporter: "What's your relationship with the football?" Salave'a: "I'd say it's strictly platonic."
Reporter: "How did it feel the first time you held the football?" Salave'a: "Like warm apple pie, so to speak."
Reporter: "Do you eat pork?" Salave'a: "Yeah, I like pork. Bacon's good."
With that, the reporter moved quickly to get the giant pigskin away from the 290-pound lineman.
Only on media day.
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