A Texas-sized howdy for ESPN on 'opening day'

By Gary West

gwest@star-telegram.com

The TCU band blasted its music across Sundance Square, and the cheerleaders rocked the crowd. Mayor Mike Moncrief meted out some inspirational words, and Ed Bass shook more than a few hands. And that was all before 5 a.m., all before ESPN even began broadcasting Monday from downtown Fort Worth.

ESPN folks said they never had seen such enthusiasm, at least not this early in Super Bowl week. And, of course, Fort Worth has never seen anything like ESPN. Network crews transformed the Sundance Square area into studios for both radio and television, complete with pods in nearby buildings, jumbo screens, roving cameras and a simulated football field on Main Street.

Anticipating the first broadcast, people continued to cluster in front of the stage at Fourth and Main, the one to be used for SportsNation on ESPN2 and for radio broadcasts. Then applause rose, sounding like "welcome to Fort Worth," when Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic stepped onto the stage for their popular Mike and Mike in the Morning show. They would later explain that they were stunned to see so many people.

"We've never had a bigger Monday crowd," Greenberg said, adding that this will be their 12th Super Bowl. "Nothing's even been close."

People brandished their allegiance and memorabilia proudly, waving their hats, banners and even children at the cameras. Roger Turner of Burleson, who described himself as a lifelong Pittsburgh fan with an appropriately decorated Steelers man cave, wore the team's black and gold from head to toe. During breaks, people tossed shirts and hats and balls onto the stage to be autographed.

"At our first Super Bowl," Greenberg said, recalling the Rams' victory over the Titans in Atlanta in 2000, "even the ESPN people didn't care who we were."

In the early days of their show, Golic explained, they had difficulty attracting guests, the most frequent response to an invitation being, "Who?" But now that the Mikes' show has soared in popularity, their guest list now reads like a who's who of sports, and Monday it included Darren Woodson, the former All-Pro Cowboys safety.

He predicted a Packers Super Bowl victory, and half the crowd, the greener half, roared. On a "fast track," he said, the Packers' speed will give them the advantage.

When Pat Summerall, the legendary announcer, strolled onto the stage, at least 20 hands went up from the crowd, each holding a camera to capture the moment. The first Super Bowl, he said, between Green Bay and Kansas City, remains for him the most memorable.

He was a sideline reporter. And after Green Bay kicked off to begin the second half, he recalled, he heard directions from the director in his earpiece: "Stand by to ask Vince Lombardi if he'll mind kicking off again."

Because of a Bob Hope interview, television had missed the kickoff. Well, Summerall said, he thought his career as a sideline reporter was about to end. He certainly wasn't going to ask the legendary Green Bay coach -- a person not known for his charity -- to kick off a second time. Somebody did, however, and Lombardi complied.

By early Monday afternoon, Main Street was shoulder to shoulder with people. When Andy Dalton, the TCU quarterback, walked onto the SportsNation stage, everything shuddered -- the stage, the street, the cameras. Dalton picked the Packers in the Super Bowl.

A moment later, in a grand finale, a vulture from the Fort Worth Zoo was led onto the stage. Everybody has a Super Bowl pick, even Freddy the vulture, who expressed his preference by eating from a bowl labeled "Steelers," and the crowd roared.

"This is wild," said Bill Hoffmeimer, ESPN's director of communications. "This is the kind of crowd we usually have on a Thursday or Friday of Super Bowl week."

Yes, ESPN's first day was wild. But Summerall, as usual, said it best: "When they talk about sports capitals of the world, this is one of them."

The Southlake resident said he was proud.

Pride, it seems, was widely shared Monday morning.

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