Location, Location, Location
Posted January 29, 2006, 10:21 AM ET

I'm off to Motown.

Michael Rosenberg wrote in his Detroit Free Press column, "Welcome to Detroit, by which I mean: I feel your pain."

I know everybody in the media is going to complain about the accommodations this week for Super Bowl XL, so I'm going to keep an open mind about the host city.

Plus, I think it's admirable that the NFL executives would like to highlight America's best sport at a place that doesn't get the chance to see real professional football in person. I'm so confident that Detroit will enjoy the game, I think that they will demand that a franchise be placed in their city.

This will be the second Super Bowl rodeo for the Motor City. The first game was played 24 years ago at the Silverdome and it was a classic. The San Francisco 49'ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals en route to their first of five titles. In fact, Super Bowl XVI is still the highest rated Super Bowl game ever.

Super Bowl XL can only wish for those TV ratings and hopefully the game will be as competitive as Super Bowl XVI. But forget the game and the hype that will soon follow, there will be plenty of time for that....let's talk about hosting the big game.

Last year, Jacksonville was the place to be for the Super Bowl, and the city failed miserably. The people of South Georgia were great and friendly, but Jacksonville just wasn't big enough to support the masses.

The NFL had to anchor cruise ships in the St. John's River to offset the shortage of hotels...and amazingly, Hooters and Waffle Houses were built on every street corner to feed the influx of visitors and fans.

The only rational reason I could come up with that Jacksonville was hosting the Super Bowl is that the Jags' owner, Wayne Weaver, had compromising pictures of NFL commish Paul Tagliabue.

The only rational reason that I can come up with that Detroit is hosting Super Bowl XL is that the Ford family made prints of Weaver's pics at Kinkos. Therefore, we look to be held hostage in the Motor City for the week. But I'm still going to keep an open mind. Plus, if it gets out of hand, I can always leave the country and go across the border to Canada.

So how is Detroit going to do in hosting the America's party? I go back to Michael Rosenberg's column. He writes, "If you find yourself out late at night, you might come upon a young black man blasting hip-hop music out of his expensive and ridiculously super-sized SUV. Don't panic. That's probably just the mayor."

I'm staying open-minded.

Last week on my radio show, Joe DeLamielleure called in to discuss Detroit. Joe D. is the only Football Hall of Famer from Detroit, so the guy should know what he's talking about.

Joe D. said that he's excited about his hometown hosting the event, and that he will personally take part in the "Taste of the NFL Party". He even invited us to his dad's pub, which will be a great local hangout during the week. (Now, that's Southern hospitality!)

When I asked Joe D. about the city itself as the host...Joe D. said,..."Oh, Detroit, it will suck !"

I respect that answer.

I also respect the fact that Detroit doesn't seem to care what the national media will say when it blasts the city. After playoff visits to true, world-class cities like New York, Chicago, Seattle...Detroit might just grow on me.

So it is off to the Motor City.

The city that produced the world's largest tire; stove, the Motown sound; icons like Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Eminem and comedians like Robin Williams and Tim Allen. The city which is the home of Little Ceasars and Dominos Pizza, is now the home of Super Bowl XL.

I'm going to keep an open mind and give it a chance.

And if I'm not back on Friday night after our last Super Bowl radio show...Tell my wife and kids that I love them and call the cops!