Super Bowl Week Diary: Day Three

Day three is in the books, and man, do I need a nap.

As I’ve said in my previous entries, Wednesdays are the days where things really get moving, and this Wednesday certainly was no different. In fact, this Wednesday was hopping even for Super Bowl week!

Where to begin?

The alarm sounded early. I mean, I’m not a morning person, never have been, and never will be, so while a 6:15 alarm may be standard for many, that just makes me stare at my phone in disgust. But after dragging my corpse out of the bed, it didn’t take too long to realize that it was a good day. I was in Phoenix, the sun was going to be shining all day, and I was headed to radio row to put together some damn fun broadcasts.

Coming off the heels of LeBron passing Kareem the night before (Yes, Jordan is still the GOAT), it was going to be an interesting day to try to sprinkle in some LeBron talk while focusing on the Super Bowl.

As I entered radio row after my second free omelet of the week (this time we went bacon, mushrooms and mozzarella), I entered radio row around 7:45am and it was already at least twice as busy as it was the day before.

As I entered the SiriusXM footprint, I realized I forgot to grab a bottle of water, so as I turn around without looking, I almost slam directly into Kurt Warner. After avoiding the near collision and getting a much-needed beverage, I settled in to prepare for a busy day, and man, were the names flying around.

The show kicked off with WWE superstar (and huge Bears fan) Seth Rollins (more on him later), followed by a conversation with a man who was once the NFL’s all-time leading receiver, Steve Largent. Deebo Samuel and Ceedee Lamb joined the show at the same time, and we followed that up talking to the likes of Joe Montana. It was a parade of stars past and present on the channel, including folks like Cooper Kupp, Jonathan Taylor and NFL owners like Arthur Blank (Falcons) and Clark Hunt (Chiefs).

After my SiriusXM duties wrapped up, it was time to see what we might be able to do for a little Chicago Bears coverage. We kicked it off with a conversation with Colts linebacker Bobby Okereke. Bobby was a fabulous interview and a great guy. He couldn’t have better things to say about Matt Eberflus, and you could tell that the Bears were on his radar as the linebacker heads to free agency and looking to ink a nice deal for himself.

After that, it was the great Jim McMahon! The injuries have mounted for Jimmy Mac. He has some serious mobility issues after multiple surgeries on his foot, but he still has that same personality and smile that he’s so famous for. Jim has found relief in cannabis to help with his pain, and he’s there to advocate for it. We had an interesting conversation about how much it’s helped him, but we also discussed his relationship with Mike Ditka, Jim had some interesting things to say there, and I had to ask him about the dirtiest play in NFL history- the cheap shot from Charles Martin and you could tell it still bothers McMahon to this day.

Finally, and this was a real treat, it was WWE legend Seth Rollins who circled back to ME because the man wanted to talk Bears. We had an awesome chat, and he isn’t some celebrity that claims he’s a fan. He IS a fan. He knows the team well, and we had a great chat about this team and what they should do in 2023.

For any of the content, check out the Windy City Gridiron Podcast Channel to take a listen!

After that, it was time to circle back to the SiriusXM compound to see I Am Athlete kick off their show from the set featuring Pacman Jones and former Bear, Brandon Marshall.

After the show wound down, it was time to head back to the hotel after a brief 11 hours at radio row.

After a long day like that, a couple cocktails were needed to unwind.

There’s just two days left in our coverage, but they are certain to be even crazier days than this one.