Tuesday, January 23, 2001
Super Bowl Notebook
Ravens crash the party
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
TAMPA - The Ravens arrived in Tampa on Monday, but not before an eventful bus ride in Balti more.
One of the buses carrying Ravens players en route to the airport hit the police car escort and ran the car into a wall. No one was hurt.
Baltimore tight end Shannon Sharpe was on the bus.
“Twenty-four guys had (video cameras) and not one of them got the wreck,” he said. “Everybody was busy asking each other, "How does it feel to be going to the Super Bowl?'”
Defensive tackle Tony Siragusa said Monday that another bus clipped a police horse and left a tire mark on its rear end. The Ravens departed for the airport from a downtown Baltimore rally.
GIANTS FAN: Siragusa grew up a Giants fan in Pinebrook, N.J., which has switched loyalties because of its native son.
“Growing up, I always saw Giants flags,” he said. “But my whole town went out and bought Ravens flags, and the whole town is painted with Ravens flags right now.”
PRACTICE: While the Ravens made their way to Tampa, the New York Giants practiced for the first time.
“It wasn't a hard practice by any stretch,” Giants coach Jim Fassel said. “I wanted to get them stretched, break a sweat, go over some things special teams-wise. It was good to get their mind back on what they're doing.”
Four Giants, including starting strong safety Shaun Williams (hamstring) and Amani Toomer (ankle) practiced after being limited last week. All four players are expected to participate when the Giants return to practice Wednesday.
GLOBAL: Super Bowl XXXV will be broadcast in 201 countries and 26 languages; 15 international TV broadcasters will call the game.
LONG WAIT: Giants of fensive tackle Lomas Brown is in the Super Bowl for the first time in his 16-year career.
Brown, who turns 38 in March, has played for the Lions, Cardinals and Browns but was released after only one season in Cleveland.
“It feels great. Now it's really kicking in for me because I'm right here at the site,” he said. “It's just so exciting to see all the people and stuff that's going on.”
Brown has attended the Super Bowl festivities twice before but couldn't bring himself to go to the game. It was too painful.
“I've stayed almost until game time and left,” he said. “It was a conscious decision not to go to one until I was able to go for free.”
Brown started all 16 games.
FAT CITY: A survey by the American Institute of Food Distribution found that Super Bowl Sunday is the year's second largest day of food consumption, behind only Thanksgiving.
34 CLUB: Eight writers are among the 19 people who have seen every Super Bowl in person. The club lost a member earlier this month when legendary Baltimore sportswriter John Steadman — who also had seen every Baltimore Colts and Ravens game — died of cancer.
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Super Bowl Notebook
