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Athletes, Movie Stars Turn Out For Bryant Foundation Party

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By JOHN W. ALLMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 1, 2009

TAMPA - Unlike other Super Bowl parties that paraded a revolving door of A-list and B-list celebrities down their red carpets, the Saturday Night Spectacular offered a considerably lighter lineup.

More than 800 people crowded the T Pepin Hospitality Centre in east Tampa on Saturday. They drank for free, ate for free and kept a watchful eye over the roped-off VIP section on the left side of the room.

Press releases for the event estimated 150 "athletes, celebrities and notables" had RSVP'ed for the party.

Several athletes did walk the carpet early, including Major League Baseball hall of famer Wade Boggs and Tampa Bay Rays' first baseman Carlos Pena.

But the first recognizable stars didn't arrive until an hour after the carpet's 8 p.m. opening - Jerry Cantrell, guitarist for the seminal grunge band Alice In Chains, and Academy Award winning-actor Cuba Gooding Jr.

They were followed about 30 minutes later by one of the hosts of the party, iconic actor and Academy Award-winning director Kevin Costner, who spent considerable time talking to reporters as a large crowd gathered.

Once Costner was whisked inside, the wait began again. Party promoters suggested that Christian Slater and Hayden Panettiere, who plays indestructible cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC's "Heroes," might show up. Neither did. Some guests speculated that other mega-stars might arrive, such as Madonna, who was reported to have arrived in the Tampa Bay area on Saturday. She didn't show up, either.

By 10:30 p.m., as Costner's alt-country band, Modern West, was taking the stage, even his Saturday Night Spectacular co-Host Michael Strahan, a former defensive standout for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, had yet to arrive. Strahan's driver apparently couldn't find the T. Pepin Hospitality Center on North 50th Street because the venue does not appear on GPS navigational systems.

Strahan drove up shortly before 11 p.m., but his appearance was upstaged by an unlikely duo.

Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez of NBC's hit series "Chuck" hit the red carpet and ignited the crowd. Levi, who plays Chuck, a government spy and mid-level employee of Buy More, a comical take on electronics retailer Best Buy, and Gomez, who plays his best friend Morgan, were mobbed with requests by fans for photographs.

The pair flew into Tampa for the Super Bowl as part of an advertising blitz by NBC to promote their Monday primetime lineup. Levi said the network flew them both to an NFL game last year to promote the show as well, and because he and Gomez are friends off-camera, they decided to leave their hotel and check out the parties.

Plus they knew Strahan, who appeared in an episode of "Chuck" earlier this season.

Levi said he was excited for today's big game. He's hoping the Arizona Cardinals, making their franchise-first Super Bowl appearance, take the victory.

"Cinderella story," he said. "It seems like it could be a beautiful year for them."

The Saturday Night Spectacular served to benefit the Matthew Tryson Bryant Foundation, which was founded by Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Matt Bryant and his wife, Melissa, after their 3-month-old son, Matthew Tryson, died suddenly in September.

Money raised during Saturday's party was to go to the foundation to be allocated to several children's charities and to help fund research into SIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Costner said the opportunity to help the foundation's cause played a key role in his decision to lend his name and time to the party.

"Can you imagine the loss?" he said of the Bryants' tragic ordeal. "The charity made it easy for me to come down here. Otherwise, I'd watch the game at home on TV."

Strahan also said he wanted to participate to help Matt Bryant and his family. Strahan and Bryant were former teammates in New York.

"It makes me feel really good to give something back to someone I care about," Strahan said. "Once you play with somebody and they're your teammate, they're your family."

Show Me The Money: Despite a deepening economic recession, party-goers at the Spectacular gave generously to support the Bryant foundation.

The outpouring of funds was nearly as impressive as the items that the crowd eagerly paid tens of thousands of dollars to purchase.

The Pepin center lobby was filled with an array of items available through a silent auction. They ranged from signed movie posters by Hollywood celebrities such as Costner and the entire cast of his hit film, "The Untouchables," the cast of "The Dark Night," including the late Heath Ledger, and the entire cast of Brian De Palma's "Scarface," including Al Pacino, to autographed guitars by U2 and Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band.

But the live auction entries drew the largest contributions.

They included tickets to the 2009 World Series, tickets to the 2010 Super Bowl and an all-expense-paid, first-class trip to the television sets of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "CSI: New York," plus meet-and-greets with both casts, and a VIP visit to "The Price Is Right" with host Drew Carey.

But the big winners were two women who each paid $27,000 to have lunch with Costner, visit the set of his next film and attend the World Premiere of that film.

The opulence of the auctions was matched by the night and the venue itself. Guests paid more than $800 a ticket to attend, and the sprawling hospitality center offered multiple open bars, a full kitchen and a large main ballroom where members of Cirque USA performed various routines throughout the night.

One of the big draws of the event was the chance to see Costner perform live with his alternative-country band. Costner, who plays guitar and sings lead vocals, was a natural frontman, playing comfortably to the crowd and sharing the inspiration behind each of the songs.

But the crowd went wild for Starship SuperGroup, a gathering of lead singers from some of the biggest names in pop and rock from the early 1980s.

Mickey Thomas of Starship opened his set with the classic Jefferson Airplane song "Jane," before switching to early 80s hits by Starship.

Jimi Jamison, former lead singer of Survivor, followed with some of his most memorable hits including "The Wait Is Over" and "Eye of the Tiger," which caused the crowd to erupt in applause.

Bobby Kimball of Toto had an uneven time with fan favorites "Hold the Line," "Africa" and "Rosanna." The backing band was noticeably wincing at times during his performance.

And Mike Reno, frontman for Loverboy, ripped through a trio of songs including "Take Me to the Top," "Turn Me Loose" and "Almost Paradise," the love duet from the movie "Footloose."

Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915.

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