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Super Bowl Organizers Want You To Be Nice

Super Bowl Host Committee

Super Bowl organizers are asking residents to let visitors know good places to eat, shop and play while in town.

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By BAIRD HELGESON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 5, 2009

TAMPA - Smile, Tampa.

Super Bowl organizers are asking Tampa Bay area residents to be helpful, courteous and welcoming to visitors in town for the big game Feb. 1.

"The campaign is a reminder that everyone in the community is part of the Super Bowl effort," said Reid Sigmon, executive director of the Super Bowl Host Committee, which is kicking off a hospitality campaign.

The "Super Host" campaign for Super Bowl XLIII even has a slogan: "Put Your Game Face On."

The campaign features three smiling faces, which will appear on billboards and television, online and newspaper advertisements. Plus, people will see thousands of buttons, posters and retail displays as part of the effort.

Super Bowl organizers are asking residents to let visitors know good places to eat, shop and play while in town. If a visitor looks lost, point them in the right direction.

"To boil it all down, the core attribute is: welcome," said Ted Moore, who chaired the hospitality campaign committee, a group of volunteer local advertising and marketing professionals.

Super Bowl organizers believe the community can reap big dividends if visitors have a good time during the NFL's championship game.

"A positive experience for guests in January will keep them coming back to the region for future tourism, business and special events," said Dick Beard, host committee chairman.

The "Super Host" hospitality campaigns got their start in the Tampa Bay area when the Super Bowl came in 1984, Sigmon and Moore said.

Tampa Bay area leaders came up with the idea to let the NFL know how much the community relishes the chance to host the game, Moore said.

The community's reputation for hospitality is part of the reason the Super Bowl is returning a fourth time, Sigmon said.

So are Tampa Bay area residents known nationwide for their smiling faces? It's hard to say.

The Bay area didn't rank among the 25 friendliest cities in a 2003 survey by Travel & Leisure magazine and America Online. Miami and Orlando made the list.

A year later, the magazine did rank Tampa and St. Petersburg among its favorite communities, with visitors giving the area high marks for quality of life, family trips and romance.

The Tampa Tribune, WFLA NewsChannel 8 and TBO.com are partners with the Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee.

Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668.

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