For longtime Tempe entrepreneur John
Bebbling, Super Bowl XLIX is more than just
another high-profile, high-energy sporting
spectacular.
It’s Chapter 31 in the history book of pilgrimages
made by his group of Super Bowl fans—veteran
diehards, it must go without saying.
Whether it’s Green Bay, San Diego or New
Orleans—or any of the other sometimes farflung sites
of the NFL’s annual lovefest involving each season’s
top two teams—Bebbling and friends are sure to be
there.
“People don’t realize the number of events that
happen around Super Bowl, wherever it is,” said
Bebbling, founder of Arizona Flooring & Interiors,
which is celebrating its 40th year in Tempe and
Valley-wide.
As an example of how Super Bowl can engulf
entire regions, Bebbling recalls fabulous meals by
top chefs, skeet shooting with NFL alumni, 4-night
minimum stays at 5-star hotels, and queues of weary
Sunday-night travelers waiting for flights home as
the festivities wind down.
One of each host city’s top events, notes
Bebbling, is the annual “Taste of” celebration, which
at the coming Super Bowl will be headquartered at
Tempe Center for the Arts.
“There are so many great cooks at these events,
and there’s always a former outstanding player who
attends.” One such “Taste of” occasion was attended
by “Donny” Anderson, a former halfback and punter
for nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers, whom
Bebbling met and has called “a great personal friend”
ever since.
This year, as in the lead-up to previous Super
Bowls, admission will carry a hefty pricetag. Tickets
typically run in a range of $800 to $1,200, more
after they fall into the hands of brokers. One such
enterprising ticket vendor has been the holder
of 14,000 game-day tickets, and likely will have
a similar stockpile again this year, according to
Bebbling.
Meanwhile, according to Super Bowl publicist
Kathleen Mascarenas, excitement is building among
Tempe and west Chandler residents, as well as their
Valley-wide neighbors, for the game’s Feb. 1 kickoff,
which now can be counted in days instead of months.
Festivities, says Mascarenas, already are
underway. As of last week the Arizona Super Bowl
Host Committee and Visit Phoenix had unveiled a
super-sized football mounted in downtown Phoenix,
which will serve as the cornerstone for Super Bowl
Central.
Towering more than 20 feet high, it measures
more than 32 feet around, and weighs in excess of
7,000 pounds.
“This massive installation stands for the fun
and lasting memories in store for fans, and for
the heightened profile and lasting benefits for
Arizona as we welcome our third Super Bowl in 19
years,” said Jay Parry, committee president and CEO.
Located at the northwest corner of Washington
Street and Central Avenue, the enormous football
made of 7,000 pounds of steel, as well as wood
and foam, is 2,000 percent larger than a regulation
football.
“Super Bowl Central is a postcard from
downtown Phoenix to the world,” said Win Holden,
chair of Visit Phoenix.
“This super-sized football not only marks the
epicenter of downtown Phoenix’s fan experience, but
it’s destined to star in scores of selfies and socialmedia
posts.”
Fans are invited to take their photos in front of
the newly installed giant football and share them on
social media using #SB49.
Super Bowl Central will be a free, familyfriendly,
football-themed fan campus featuring
street-level merchants and restaurants, local food
trucks, beer and wine gardens, a concert stage,
network broadcast stages and a nightly fireworks
show.
The 12-block area in downtown Phoenix will be
the hub of fan activities for Super Bowl XLIX from
Wednesday, Jan. 28 through Sunday, Feb. 1.
The Super Bowl is America’s number one
watched television program and culminates the NFL
football season.
Arizona will host its third Super Bowl in 19
years on Sunday, Feb. 1 at the University of Phoenix
Stadium.
For more information, visit www.nfl.com/
superbowl/49.
Super Bowl XLIX marks big No. 31 for this diehard fan-atic
