LAS VEGAS, NV (WTKR)- Super Bowl LVIII is fast approaching. News 3 has you covered in Las Vegas as the Chiefs and 49ers get set to square off on the biggest stage in sports. Follow along throughout the week for daily updates as News 3 sports director Marc Davis chronicles his trip.
Saturday, February 10:
Every single Super Bowl has featured two things: the Lombardi Trophy and Don Crisman.
No, seriously. The 87-year old Maine resident will extend his impressive streak to 58 NFL title games this Sunday.
"It's a miracle," he said. "In my wildest dream, I didn't think we'd get beyond 20 and we're getting near 60 I think, but I think this may be my last hurrah."
Sports
Football fan extending impressive Super Bowl streak
Friday, February 9:
After working until 4:30 AM last night, we got up this morning and headed next door to Mandalay Bay to check out radio row. It's pretty incredible. Hundreds of networks are spread throughout a hall of the convention center doing their daily broadcasts. Everybody from the NFL Network, ESPN and CBS Sports to local stations are all in one place.
It's also full of famous faces. You never know who you might see walking around. During our 20 minutes there, we saw Kirk Cousins, C.J. Stroud, Shadeur Sanders, an Andy Reid impersonator and a lot of chicken wings.
We got to meet a football fan with quite the streak going this afternoon. Don Crisman has been to every single Super Bowl and will extend his streak to 58 on Sunday. He told us about Super Bowl I, where the stadium was only two-thirds full and a ticket cost $12. He also said his favorite edition of the game was Super Bowl LI, when his Patriots stormed back to top the Falcons, overcoming a 28-3 third quarter deficit.
Our News 3 Road to Las Vegas special aired tonight and we hope you were able to watch and enjoy. Those are always a lot of work, but they're also a lot of fun to put together and Kevin and I got done just before the sun came up this morning.
Sports
News 3's Road to Las Vegas
Hope you're enjoying our coverage of the Super Bowl and it's almost time for kickoff!
Wednesday, February 7:
Our Wednesday started bright an early with a 5:30 AM wake-up call and 6:30 AM departure for Chiefs' media availability. While most of the festivities are in and around the Las Vegas strip, the teams themselves are staying in Henderson, which is about a 35 minute drive from our hotel at the south end of the strip.
We had a great conversation with Cole Christiansen, the Kansas City linebacker who graduated from Nansemond-Suffolk Academy. You'll be able to learn more about his journey to the NFL during our special on Friday at 7:30 PM.
Our early afternoon was quite a treat as we had a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at the CBS production compound. It's a pretty incredible look at how things get from the stadium to your living room. 19 production trucks and about 1,300 employees make the broadcast happen.
After our look at the compound, it was back out to Henderson to 49ers media availability, where we had a one-on-one conversation with Deep Creek product Darryl Tapp. He's now the assistant defensive line coach for San Francisco and we had a great time showing him some of his high school plays on video and discussing his ties to Chesapeake.
We're excited to bring a lot of these stories to you at length during News 3's Road to Las Vegas special Friday at 7:30.
Tuesday, February 6:
Today was a little less crazy than yesterday, but still featured a pretty cool slate of activities. We started out getting an early look at the NFL Experience. If you're a Hampton Roads resident who's heading out here for the Super Bowl, it's a must-hit. You get the chance to try your hand at the things the pros do- kick field goals, test your passing accuracy, see how you'd fare at the NFL Combine, etc. It's good stuff. I'm a terrible kicker, but didn't do too bad throwing the rock.
In the afternoon, we got an opportunity to meet the CBS Sport broadcasting crew who will be calling the game on Sunday. Tony Romo, Bill Cowher, JJ Watt and Phil Simms will be featured on our coverage leading up to the game. We even got a chance to talk to SpongeBob! It was packed with reporters and other media speaking with the crew about a variety of topics.
Tomorrow our hope is to catch up with both teams and we're getting an inside look at the CBS compound. That will give us the chance to lift the curtain for you on how the game gets from the stadium into your living room.
Monday, February 5:
I'll tell you what, guys. Allegiant Stadium is cool. I haven't been to every NFL venue, but it's certainly up there with Dallas in being among the nicest I've seen in person. It has a unique look from the outside, but has it's own distinguishing features indoors as well. The game field sits on a retractable tray that will be rolled in for game day, a large torch sits at the north end of the stadium, along with retractable windows, and it screams new and modern.
Opening Night was off the hook. We ran into some famous Las Vegas faces, such as Carrot Top and Blue Man Group, to go along with the NFL star power that was on the field. A few local products gave us some of their time during the media sessions. Nansemond-Suffolk Academy graduate Cole Christiansen, a Chiefs' linebacker, spoke with us one-on-one about taking in the event and chasing his second Super Bowl ring. Deep Creek's Darryl Tapp, who's now an assistant defensive line coach with San Francisco, caught up with us about similar topics. We also ran into Virginia Tech product Chamarri Conner.
It's pretty amazing the things that can happen that you don't expect. Monday morning started out with the Super Bowl Welcome press conference, where we met Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton. He was gracious enough to give us an interview and could not have been nicer.
Sports
Super Bowl Opening Night kicks off first big game week in Las Vegas
We also took a little detour from football Monday afternoon, catching Norfolk native Keyshawn Davis during his public workout at Mandalay Bay. Davis is fighting Thursday night in Las Vegas and is thrilled to be taking the bright lights during Super Bowl week.
Tomorrow we will get a preview of the NFL Experience and chat with the CBS Sports commentators who will be calling the game Sunday evening.
Sunday, February 4:
Evening: The Chiefs and 49ers touched down at Harry Reid International Airport on Sunday evening.
Morning: We woke up to rain and high 50's here in Las Vegas. Come on!! Let's get some West Coast desert weather here!
After filing our first report to kick off our coverage, Kevin and I headed from our hotel next door to Mandalay Bay, where the Super Bowl Media Center is for the week. We picked up our credentials for the week so we can get access to things such as Opening Night and some of the press conferences that are taking place.
Both the Chiefs and 49ers landed in Las Vegas Sunday evening. A large group of media awaited their arrival as they got off their respective planes and boarded buses for their team hotel. Tomorrow will see both teams make their only full public appearance before the Super Bowl as they take the field at Allegiant Stadium for Opening Night.
Saturday, February 3:
We're eight days away from Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and we made our way to Sin City today. Our news operations manager, Kevin Rafferty, and I arrived at Norfolk International Airport a little after 9:00 AM and landed in Las Vegas around 4:00 PM Pacific Time. The excitement for the Super Bowl is evident as soon as fans exit their planes. Logos and decorations are up throughout the airport and it only gets bigger as they head towards the strip.
Our media hotel is Luxor at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. It's adjacent to Mandalay Bay, where the NFL Fan Experience, Radio Row and Media Center are located. Another good thing about this spot is it's proximity to Allegiant Stadium, which is only about a half mile away. We can reach it within walking distance if need be. We'll be able to get into the stadium on several occasions Monday so we're looking forward to giving you a look inside of one of the newest and most modern venues in the NFL.
Today was mainly a travel day for Kevin and me. We had some fun with some fellow passengers on our flight and we're getting ready for our week. Our coverage on-air and online will kick off Sunday as things start to ramp up here in Vegas. Both teams will arrive and we will be standing by at the airport awaiting each squad. If there are any questions you have about our Super Bowl coverage or the game in general, feel free to send me an email at marc.davis@wtkr.com
