XXX's and OOO's on Getting Around During The Big Game
Alas, gentle reader--it's a shame Beachbum has only only just now happened on the scene in conjunction with my good friends at hotelsbycity...there is so much background I needed to give you; instead we're thrown into this huge week like a stuffed trash bag into a dumpster...so be it...
Much like Lovie Smith or Tony Dungy, you need to adapt a strategy. Offense or Defense? If you want the End Zone of Impressive Meals, Celebrity-Rubbing-Shoulders-With, and Memorable Clubbing, grab your wallet, and your buddies Green, Gold, and Platinum. Miami Beach is a fickle goddess, and when she's hot she's so SO hot, and this weekend promises to be (if not temperature-wise) Ground Zero for all things American. So you're gonna pay. That's Offense.
Defense? Maybe you're here for the game, maybe early for the Boat Show or you as fate, or business, had it. Maybe you don't have the interest or energy or money to "play the game." A good time still can--nay, MUST!--be had.
Where To Stay--This one's on you. OFFENSE:If you're here following a team, proximity to the team hotel is paramount. DEFENSE: Grab what you can get.
Where to Eat--OFFENSE: Go for the gold and use that vig you brag about to get in at, off the top of my head, to these well-regarded South Beach hotspots: The Forge, Smith & Wollensky, Joe's Stone Crab (natch), Prime 112 (you wish), Barton G, or Macalusos. Pacific Time, Nobu. DEFENSE: Fall back on that second line of restaurants, the Joe Allens, any of a dozen along Lincoln Road and a like number on Ocean Drive, all the way to Jerry's Famous Deli or whatever looks good. You never know where a really good meal can come from, and don't get your poor little heart too set on any one place.
Events...These are constantly evolving. OFFENSE Make the game. Or camp out at the Jay-Z show on 8th and Ocean and prepare to get overrun by kids. If you've got young'uns the NFL Interactive Experience is a winner. $15 at Dolphin Stadium starting again Thursday. DEFENSE: Do what I'd do and just soak up the ambience here there and everywhere, opting for the less-crowded place, parking that damned car and walking around. Listen to the Different Jerseys woof at each other.
Celebrities...Miami Beach in general and the Super Bowl specifically are celebrity magnets. OFFENSE--The athletes currently playing will be pretty much sticking to the team's itinerary (except for that one guy we all know is going to get arrested right before kickoff with drugs and a transexual!). Going to those team-sponsored events will give you exposure to 'your' team. Hints From 'Eloise--Try the Panthers hockey game Thursday or Saturday, or the Heat game Tuesday or Thursday. My bet is there will plenty of famous folks making the scene. DEFENSE: Just stay alert. That scruffy guy over there may be a Somebody, and that woman who looks familiar is for a reason. Don't expect them to look like themselves! WARNING: Celebrities are hot-house flowers, very fragile and skittish. Do NOT approach unless wlcomed. Maybe Billy Joel just wants ...a bottle of coke, a bottle of water. Maybe Paris Hilton doesn't want to have sex with you--but I doubt it :) Just remember, them being rude isn't the thing that'll ruin you for them--it's their ordinariness!
