They came wearing shades and bearing camcorders. Kind of like visitors to the zoo viewing the inhabitants with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
In other words, it was a Super Bowl media day scene Tuesday typical of recent years: 50 percent of people there in search of the stupid, a good 10 percent only too willing to oblige.
The Bears handled the field trip exceedingly well. No kids lost or even straggling behind, with the possible exception of Olin Kreutz, who, not surprisingly, looked like he might be sick.
“I wish they didn’t give me a podium,” said Kreutz of the 11 players chosen for their own special interview set-ups, more lemonade stand than podium, truth be told.
So this would be your worst nightmare, the media-friendly but wary Bears center was asked? “No,” he said. “But close.”
Other than Kreutz, however, the Bears took in Tuesday’s festivities in the spirit in which they were intended, had fun, looked relaxed and seemed even giddy at times.
“If we came out tense, nobody laughing, uptight, we might be in trouble,” Alex Brown said.
“I mean, I don’t even know how to put this in words. We’re here. We came up and we thought they had a game in here from the amount of cars outside. I love it. This is nuts.”
Or as Rashied Davis observed of the media horde: “You guys are like ants on a Popsicle.”
Asked how he will feel at kickoff, Brown said it might take a play or two to get all his adrenaline flowing in normal rhythm. “But I’ll probably hyperventilate and pass out,” he said. “I’m getting all amped up now. It’s crazy. So I have to stay calm and let it build.”
But he couldn’t do it. Not when his lemonade stand, like the rest, sat on the edge of the playing surface at Dolphin Stadium, the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl XLI.
“I can’t wait to get out there, actually put on my shoulder pads and my helmet and let’s go play,” he said, sneaking a peek over his shoulder. “You want to start the game but as soon as you start, you know it’s going to be over in 60 minutes. I just want this to last forever.”
Which is the great thing about Super Bowl week if you’re a player who wants to branch out a little. It does last forever. And, regardless of ability, everyone has an equal chance to be a star.
Brandon McGowan and Jamar Williams, young Bears players on injured reserve, raced around from player to player doing the fake-interview routine and finally drew enough attention to get themselves interviewed by a crew from “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.
“I just want to win the game, No. 1, and then we’ll see what happens after that,” said Brian Urlacher when asked about furthering one’s endorsement potential this week. “But it’s going to be a big opportunity for a lot of guys on our team, I know that much.”
Thomas Jones wouldn’t mind being one of them. Some cheesy guy from “Entertainment Tonight” presented him with a piece of plexiglass he called an MVP award “because we feel you can cross over in the entertainment world,” and Jones ran with it like he saw only open field ahead.
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“I appreciate it,” said the Bears running back, sounding like he was about to launch into an Oscar speech. “I’m actually going to go see some casting directors this off-season in L.A., so maybe in a couple years you might see me out there on the big screen, hopefully.
“I want to take advantage of the opportunity when I’m done playing football. That’s something I’ve always been interested in doing. I just haven’t had the time to pursue it.”
He has had the time, however, to dream up the perfect role.
“On the outside, I’m not hard or tough, but I have to get to know people before I open up,” he said. “I think it would be totally opposite if I was in a movie. I think I would be more of a `Love Jones,’ Larenz Tate-type guy. There are a lot of beautiful women in Hollywood. Or I could be James Bond. I think I can get it done whatever situation I’m in.”
Only a few people giggled.
Lance Briggs admitted Monday that he tried to plan what to say for the Bears media session. Tried. Didn’t really succeed. Jones, who has a PR woman and aspirations to create a reality show with his brother Julius, understands that Super Bowl week is not necessarily an empty exercise in oversaturation if you play it right.
“When you’re in the Super Bowl, there are a lot of people who want to talk to you about the game,” he said. “This is probably the biggest game in sports. Marketing people, they definitely want to get you out there just to give you opportunities to express yourself and show your face and get some more opportunities.”
If nothing else, there’s always the role of ex-jock or, in this case, a soon-to-be-ex-jock, wise-guy-with-a-mike like the Giants’ Michael Strahan, running around Tuesday and asking Bears players which “crazy questions” he should ask of other Bears players.
The Bears played along with Strahan’s gag, of course, because while they may hate his guts on the field, players tend to stick together when they’re making fools of themselves off it.
And Strahan did do some impressive investigative reporting, asking Briggs, “Why do you cut the toes out of your shoes?”
An alarmed Briggs was impressed.
“Wow, who told you that?” he said. “It’s because my toes point like this, so it pushes against my cleat and it hurts, so I have to cut big holes and pull it out so my toe gets air.”
And with that, Strahan took a picture of the Bears linebacker with Briggs’ camera and was off to complete his rounds.
“I could do that,” said Briggs, clearly inspired. “I could enjoy that right there.”
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