LIGHTS... CAMERAS...

By: Tony Fay (Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010 - 8:30 a.m.)

Last night, when I departed the Media Center at about 7:30 local time, the famed Radio Row was dead. Only a handful of radio stations were broadcasting from the large convention space. Call it the calm before the storm.

Media from around the world arrived on just about every flight that touched down here yesterday. The same will be true the rest of the week. By Friday 4,500 media credentials are expected to have been issued.

That’s a big international spotlight for South Florida to enjoy — and one we in North Texas will bask in this time next year.

Today, things get cranked up in earnest. This morning the newly-formed media throng will descend on Sun Life Stadium for Media Day. Members of the Colts and Saints will be subject to literally thousands of questions (heck, Payton Manning and Drew Brees might have to answer that many each).  Who knows, they may even be subject to a return engagement by SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket’s Sports Fiddler (if you don’t get the allusion, Google it — funny stuff).

When Media Day ends around lunch time, reporters will head back to the Media Center in the Broward County Convention Center to file their stories to their various news organizations or talk about what the gleaned on the airwaves of several hundred radio stations that, by then, will have set up. A delegation of the Sheraton Dallas (which will be the home of next year’s Media Center) will tour the facility this morning to learn firsthand what they must accommodate.

The day will crescendo tonight with the Media Party, hosted by the South Florida Host Committee. The bash is scheduled for Miami Beach. No word yet on who the entertainment might be. This party is a Tuesday tradition Super Bowl week and a great way for the local Host Committee and region to welcome their guests — and in turn, welcome the world. After all, that’s what hosting a Super Bowl is all about.