LEFTOVERS: Nautical nonsense not for Broncos
Should the Denver Broncos lose Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday, they can blame the media.
Instead of conducting their daily media availability in their Jersey City hotel as the Seattle Seahawks have done all week, the Broncos had their sessions aboard a boat, the Cornucopia Majesty, docked at the city’s waterfront on the Hudson River. When other boats passed by, it created a wake and some players complained of seasickness.
“I don’t like the boat,” Broncos cornerback Quentin Jammer told the Newark Star-Ledger after Thursday’s rough-and-tumble session. “I’m not feeling very good with all this rocking. I don’t know who thought to have these interviews on the boat, but it’s really not a good idea.”
Defensive tackle Sione Fua said: “I have a headache from all of the rocking. Wednesday was even worse. Why couldn’t we do this in the hotel? It makes no sense. If they didn’t have a big enough ballroom, we could’ve done it in a hallway. That would’ve been better than this.”
Safety David Bruton said the NFL didn’t do him a favor with the arrangements.
“I get motion sickness regardless,” he said. “Riding in a bus or train, it’s tough. But I don’t like the water. I’ve seen ‘Titanic.’ Being on a boat makes me nervous. I can’t look out the window, because that’s when I see the boat moving up and down. Makes it worse. So I just look at my phone.”
As a Super Bowl souvenir, perhaps Bruton could take a selfie showing that queasy look on his face.
■ JERSEY’S EYESORE — For the past two weeks, every New Jersey politician has been bellyaching about the Garden State getting little recognition for hosting the Super Bowl.
Funny, but you never hear any of them talk about the eyesore that sits a few hundred yards from MetLife Stadium: American Dream Meadowlands, aka Xanadu.
The ill-fated, ill-designed, unfinished shopping and entertainment complex remains a blight to the Jersey landscape. The project began in 2003, and 11 years and some $3.5 billion later, it’s still not finished. As a tribute to ineptitude sits a 60-foot high indoor ski ramp that has more colors on its outer walls than a box of Crayola crayons.
Calling Xanadu a boondoggle is a slight against boondoggles. So if you’re going to the game Sunday, pay your respects to the ugliest structure in Jersey. By comparison, even Snooki looks good.
■ MAYOR GETS IN — Remember East Rutherford Mayor Jim Cassella, who was snubbed by the NFL for Super Bowl tickets even though his town of 9,600 is hosting the game? Apparently, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay saw the story, first reported by the New York Daily News, and decided that wasn’t right.
Cassella will be Irsay’s guest Sunday after the Colts owner offered him two tickets. That might be enough to make Cassella spurn the New York Giants (he’s a longtime season-ticket holder) and root for the Colts. Cassella came up empty in the Giants’ ticket lottery a couple of weeks ago.
There’s no word on whether Irsay’s offer requires that Cassella root against Peyton Manning, the former Indy quarterback who will lead the Broncos on Sunday.
COMPILED BY STEVE CARP LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
