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Saturday Night Super Bowl Parties Bring Out The Naughty And Nice

Tribune photo by JOHN W. ALLMAN

Kevin Costner, award-winning actor and co-host of the Saturday Night Spectacular, takes time to answer questions while walking the red carpet.

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By JOHN W. ALLMAN | The Tampa Tribune
and CLOE CABRERA | The Tampa Tribune
and RICHARD MULLINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 1, 2009

Saturday Night Spectacular

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."

A Good Cause: 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.

Party Like It's 1982: 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."

The Good Life Experience at The Venue

ST. PETERSBURG

Will he or won't he walk the white carpet? That was the question on everyone's mind at The Good Life Experience. Sean Combs, aka P. Diddy, is known for sneaking in the back way to his parties.

In fact, before midnight, rumors already had begun to swirl that he was already inside relaxing in his room.

But sometime after midnight, a black stretch limousine turned into the parking lot going the wrong way. When parking lot security did nothing, folks sensed something was about to happen. That something was Diddy. With his entourage in tow, Diddy slowly walked the white carpet, stopping to answer a few questions, and even pose for fans outside the media area. "We love you Diddy," they yelled.
He waved a terrible towel, proclaimed victory for the Steelers and dashed inside to experience The Good Life.

Shortly after entering the Venue, you could hear Diddy on the microphone saying the good life was about to get even better.

Outside, a truck with a video billboard roamed the parking lot playing Diddy's music over a loud speaker and flashing images of the star.

Several hours before Diddy arrived, a steady stream of athletes, some celebs and Playboy playmates, walked the white carpet. Most gave reporters a quick chat and posed for pictures. Many of the playmates wore next to nothing in 45-degree weather and they still stopped to strike poses for the camera. On a couple of occasions, a Venue employee walked out two beautiful women wearing only daisy dukes and colorful body paint with the words "The Good Life." They didn't even shiver. It must have something to do with living the good life.

Inside the Venue, Diddy had a room decked out in white - white sofas, white carpet, white lilies and white beads that hung from canopies and chandeliers. Chilling in an ice bucket were his favorite libations - Hypnotique, Hennessey and 1800.

Deion Sanders had his own room too, though it wasn't as lavish as Diddy's. There was also a champagne room and the Playmate Lounge. "An experience within an experience," said a Venue spokesperson. We didn't know what that meant, but it probably has something to do with the good life.

Athletes And Angels Party

TAMPA

Pamela Anderson had strong opinions about the TV camera lights that would be allowed to illuminate her on the red carpet.

No white lights. No way. Not debatable.

The lights must be a reddish, warm tone, her staff of handlers explained to aghast TV crews as perhaps America's most famous centerfold and amateur adult movie star sat in her idling white limousine outside the AJA ultralounge in Channelside Saturday night.

Pam was the star of the party after all, advertised across the region as the official hostess of the "Athletes and Angels" party – tickets $100 apiece and up. And tonight, what Pam wishes, Pam received.

Lights were adjusted to Pam's criteria. Détente prevailed and Pam appeared ever-so-briefly on the red carpet and took perhaps a 30-second interview, though nobody could hear what she said. Pam sauntered inside and TV crews threw a collective tantrum as they rewound their tapes trying to see if the audio caught her words.

Consider that just one of the many scenes within Planet Celebrity, where the laws of physics of the normal world don't apply. For instance:

-- Legendary NFL sack artist Warren Sapp literally muscled his way into the club, entourage of 15 in tow, zooming past at least 100 people waiting in line. Security staff just stood wide-eyed and let him pass. "It's Warren Sapp," one guard sighed, "What are you gonna do?"

--Several other current NFL players sent me text messages, trying to get into the party. Did I have pull with the staff, they asked.

--Kim Kardashian, who was all-but-guaranteed to appear, did not. Many in the press crowd looked bereft.

As the night passed, Pam sat centerpiece in the club's main room, on a white leather couch, bathed in a flurry of camera flashes, sipping champagne and tugging suggestively on her cocktail dress.

That is until she wished to move to the ladies room. Suddenly, what looked like a Navy Seal team and pack of ninjas leapt into action, parting the crowd for Pam.

At least a dozen women already in line for the restroom alternated between rage at having to wait longer, and snapping their own photos of Pam entering and leaving the powder room.

Refreshed, Pam was re-located to an ultra-secure VIP room, guarded by a phalanx of security.

Meanwhile, NFL players chugged from bottles of Patron tequila as aspiring models danced on the white leather couches trying to catch their attention.

The Towers of Channelside above the club may have taken a trip through bankruptcy court as the American economy crumbles but inside, the normal rules of the world didn't apply.

All in all, it was a great sign that Tampa's new ultra lounge nightclub is off to a roaring start.

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