Media Day Puts The ‘Fun’ In NFL
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By DERON SNYDER
The NFL has been derided as the “No Fun League” since at least 1985, when Billy “White Shoes” Johnson was penalized twice for his signature touchdown dance. But in another sense, 1985 is when NFL fun reached a new level that’s still growing, sparked by the Chicago Bears, William “Refrigerator” Perry and the Super Bowl Shuffle.
Whether you credit them or blame them, “Da Bears” helped make Super Bowl Media Day the spectacle it has become.
They were crossover stars in sports’ biggest crossover event, making Mike Ditka, Walter Payton, Jim McMahon and Perry icons in pop culture as well as NFL circles. Ditka starred on “Saturday Night Live,”Payton appeared on the cover of Time and Perry graced the cover of Rolling Stone. Meanwhile, McMahon was showing his behind — mooning a media helicopter at practice — and defying the rules on headbands.
It was only a matter of time before ESPN decided Media Day would make for great programming (or least kill some time). MTV, Entertainment Tonight, Nickelodeon and a bunch of other networks followed suit, all trying to get their own piece of America’s undeclared national holiday.
The NFL, always willing to tighten its stranglehold as the country’s No. 1 passion, has welcomed all comers. Two thousand credentials were issued for Tuesday’s Media Day at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. The bigger surprise — since the league never saw a dollar it didn’t crave — is that tickets were sold for the first time. More than 7,000 fans thought it was a worthwhile expenditure of time and money (one hour each for the New England Patriots and New York Giants, separated by a one-hour intermission, for $25).
