Superbowl

On Super Bowl Sunday over 100 footballs will be used in the game. Some of those footballs will go to players, others to charity auctions and some will likely eventually end up on the collectibles market. The National Football League takes some interesting steps to protect against possible counterfeiting. Each ball used in the game will be be "tagged" with a specially-prepared synthetic DNA ink that leaves an invisible-to-the-naked-eye security mark. The sideline pylons and even the coin used for the coin toss will be marked, too.

For the 12th consecutive year, the National Football League will use sports memorabilia authentication company PSA/DNA Authentication Services of Santa Ana, California to certify all footballs used in the Super Bowl. A PSA/DNA representative will be on the scene in Miaimi to photograph and then mark each ball with a synthetic DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) strand that can be seen only when illuminated by a specific laser frequency. Just how serious is this? Joe Orlando, President of PSA/DNA, a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. says that the DNA ink has a 1-in-33 trillion chance of being accurately reproduced by counterfeiters. A letter of authenticity accompanies each Super Bowl football certified by PSA/DNA and the certificates have tamper-evident labels with individual, serialized numbers that can be verified online.

If you can't beat them and you are leaving anyway, why not spend all their money?

That seems to be Conan O'Brien's philosophy this week as he embarked on a series of skits and extraordinarily expensive props to put on the appearance that he intended to blow through the Tonight Show budget in one week.

On Wednesday he trotted out a Bugatti Veyron, a rare and pricey sports car that costs as much as some private jets. O'Brien unveiled the Bugatti Veyron, showing the million dollar car embellished with mouse ears and whiskers. O'Brien claimed to have purchased the sports car.

Last night, he upped the ante by bringing out Kentucky Derby winning racehorse Mine That Bird adorned with a mink "Snuggie" and by showing restricted Super Bowl footage. This "crazy expensive" skit, he claimed, cost NBC $4.8 million.

Super Bowl XLIV's location in Miami, Florida provides the perfect opportunity to combine a trip to the game and luxury vacation. The Advantaged, a company that specializes in extraordinary home rentals and yacht charters, is prepared to help you organize your stay in South Florida. Whether your idea of the perfect view is from seats near the 50 yard line or from the pool deck pictured above (a real photo from one of their properties),they offer several options for those who would like to enjoy the area in true luxury.

The Champion Super Bowl package includes:

• A stay at one of three special Miami Mansions
• Yacht charter of your choice, which stays docked in front of your mansion.
• Four Super Bowl tickets
• Limousine transportation to and from the airport

An example of a luxury property available in the above package is called the Venetian Mansion. It is a stunning 5,500 square foot waterfront home that features: 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, swimming pool, jacuzzi, as well as Miami skyline and panoramic water views from every room. Another property they feature is called the South Hampton Villa a 7 bedroom, 7.5 bathroom property featured in the gallery below. The available yachts range from 40' to 155' and are fully crewed with personnel who are prepared to take their guests on whatever route or excursions suit their mood. They also offer custom packages where the client is able to mix and match from an extensive list of properties and yachts.

With just under a month left until Super Bowl XLIV it is time for fans to start thinking about making their way to Miami, Florida for the big event. If you are a Ravens or Cardinals fan you must be thrilled by yesterday's wins and we now have the final teams for the playoffs in the AFC and NFC. Whether or not there are clear cut favorites for this year's Super Bowl is still up for debate but you can count on having a fabulous luxury vacation and seeing the game if that is what your heart desires.

One purveyor of luxury sports event vacations is the company Fine Things Packages. They offer an "Ultimate Super Bowl Package" for upwards of $15,000 per person. The company prides themselves on being a leading provider of major sold out sports events worldwide, having the best service team in the industry and independent of all of the normal ties that often lead to a conflict of interest in the travel industry.

Some of the items this ultimate package includes are:

• Four nights accommodation at the five star Four Seasons Miami
• Round-trip first class airfare from anywhere in the Continental United States to Miami
• One lower lever ticket between the 30 and 50 yard lines to Super Bowl XLIV
• Ticket for the Saturday night party of your choice including - Playboy, Leigh Steinberg, Sports Illustrated, etc
• Official NFL Hospitality
• Access to NFL Gameday Fan Plaza
• Various transportation from the airport, game, etc.

To see the exact specifications for this travel package click here. The company also offers more moderately priced packages starting at $4,350. the biggest difference seems to be in the quality of the hotels, class of airfare and stadium seat location. If the Jets, Ravens, Colts or Vikings make it all the way to the Super Bowl we know that their local fans could use to escape from the winter weather as well as go cheer on their home town favorite! Hope your team wins!

Once the Super Bowl is over the field is always a flurry of activity with players milling about and TV crews doing interviews. The postgame experience is usually reserved for participants but now fans can get access if they are willing to pay. NFL On Location is selling 700 spots for the "Exclusive Postgame On-Field Experience" after Super Bowl XLIV on February 7 at Dolphin Stadium. There are three premium package levels, white, gold and platinum which offer the experience. The packages include hotel accommodations, parties, parking and souvenirs and start at $5,749 depending on the seat location. $9,799 gets you a single luxury hotel room and a stadium seat in the lower level prime sidelines between the 20s. USA Today reports that after the game the fans will be let onto the field in groups. Each person will get around 30 minutes on the field as players celebrate and go through interviews.

Think bling is over? Don't tell that to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The rings celebrating their record-setting sixth Super Bowl title are covered in diamonds. The rings created by Jostens have 63 round brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 3.61 carats. The six round brilliant-cut diamonds on the top of the ring celebrate the six victories; the previous year's Steelers Super Bowl rings featured five oval diamonds. The Super Bowl XLIII logo is done on a field of green enamel and six Lombardi Trophies are shown on the side of the ring. Each ring is cast in 14K gold and personalized for the owner. The cost of the rings and the appraisal value haven't been released.

This Sunday is the Super Bowl and as we gather in pubs, bars and t.v. rooms many will be keeping a sharp eye on their bets. Whether you participate in an office pool or put money down with a local bookie it isn't uncommon to wager big bucks on the end-season game. More than 200 million people worldwide are expected to bet up to $10 billion during this event. At the sports books in Vegas you can even expand your betting opportunities to the length of Jennifer Hudson's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner which is a new one to me. Here are other wild wagers to test out:

• Who wins the coin toss?
• Will it be heads or tails?
• Who completes the initial first-down?
• Which team/player will score first?
• Will either team score a two-point safety?
• Which songs will Bruce Springsteen sing at half-time?

These proposition or prop bets are available on every conceivable stat or happening on the field that day. Personally I'm a big fan of the Gatorade bet...lemon/lime, orange or fruit punch? Las Vegas sport books state that lemon/lime has a 3-to-1 chance of getting thrown over the coach's head.

Arizona Cardinals running back Edgerrin James is celebrating his trip to the Super Bowl in grand style. He picked up a new Lamborghini while in Florida this week. His rationale is that he always told himself if he got to the Super Bowl he would do something special and get something that not everyone else has. James played with the Colts for years and received a 2006 Colts Super Bowl ring as a thank you for his work for the team even though he didn't play in the game. Now that he is finally in the game, a white Lamborghini parked in front of the team's hotel in Tampa is his way of announcing his presence. The funny thing is that James doesn't much like to drive. He says he prefers to be in the passenger seat text messaging.

One silver lining of the recession might be the most affordable Super Bowl in recent years when it comes to getting tickets. Of course we can't lay this all at the economy's feet, when the Philadelphia Eagles were eliminated, the ticket prices for Super Bowl XLIII on February 1 in Tampa, Florida went down dramatically. There are more tickets than ever available through online brokers and other sites like eBay and Craigslist. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that its a great time to be a Steelers fan with average prices to see their team play hovering around the $2,500 mark, far below the Super Bowl 2008 mark of $3,536 and the lowest in recent years.

A recent check on popular ticket website stubhub.com showed tickets that range from around $1,650 for the cheapest seats to $127,788 for a luxury suite. The decline in corporate spending on these types of events combined with a less exciting pairing of the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers have meant that even with only a few days left thousands of tickets can still be found. And if you are a Steelers fan you may have lots of company, ticket brokers are reporting far more interest from Pittsburgh's fan base than from the Arizona Cardinals fans.

In a related story, the lack of corporate Super Bowl packages also means that private jet travel through Tampa's airport is expected to be less than it was in 2001, the last time Tampa hosted the Super Bowl.

We are getting closer to Super Bowl XLIII (February 1) and hotels and vacation rentals are gathering packages to tempt sports fans. With every seaside Super Bowl there are always a slew of yacht rentals available, none more aptly named for a week of carousing perhaps than the Hooter Patrol IV. The Hooter Patrol IV is a 100′ Hargrave Motoryacht which has a professional crew of four including a chef. The Super Bowl package is a week-long yacht charter that includes dockage on the "channel side" of Tampa Bay, use of the 39′ Midnight Express to explore Tampa Bay for daytime fishing and fun, a private dockside party aboard for up to 40 of your guests, limo service for up to 8 guests, and full time concierge service for the week.

The yacht has a flybridge sundeck complete with retractable sun roof, sun pads, wet bar, bbq and Jacuzzi tub and a full complement of electronic and audio visuals including flat panel TVs throughout, satellite, internet, cell phone and karaoke. The cost for the package is $100,000 and includes access to pre-game parties like the Bud Bowl, Taste of the NFL and Club 009 James Bond theme but no tickets to the game itself.

With people in the U.S. starting to spend less on travel and on entertainment the National Football League is seeking greener pastures when it comes to marketing the Super Bowl. Bloomberg reports that the NFL has made a big push to market corporate Super Bowl travel packages outside the U.S. The hope is that corporate clients in Canada, Japan, the U.S. and Mexico will be willing to travel to Tampa, Florida to see the game on February 1 and take part in the surrounding festivities. Packages run from around $4,600 to around $10,600 depending on tickets and parties.The NFL has a dedicated website to sell these packages and is competing against travel companies that also offer packaged sports events promotions. Of course the NFL has the upper hand when it comes to access to tickets, hotels and all the parties. The game is traditionally one of America's biggest celebrations but it remains to be seen if the rest of the world is ready to join our Super Bowl party.

Oh, this isn't going to help the relations between Boston and New York. Over the weekend thieves in Attleboro, Massachusetts stole up to $2 million in gold, gems and other valuables including some of the New York Giants Super Bowl rings from a jewelry manufacturer. The thieves disabled the alarm system at E.A. Dion, then cut a hole in the roof and managed to lift a 1,000-pound safe out. The rings, which were manufactured by the company and designed by Tiffany and Co. are white gold set with 1.5 carats of diamonds and valued at $25,000 . Luckily the players and coaches received their rings last month.

Super Bowl partying doesn't have to be reserved for Super Bowl Sunday only -- why can't you start the fun a little early? High-rolling football lovers have been getting their party on since as early as this past Wednesday in all kinds of unique ways. Sunday might be the biggest day, but the days and week before it are the perfect excuse for golf outings, club openings, and even luxurious spa visits in preparation for a loud day of cheering.

The game itself on Sunday may be most comfortably watched from up in one of the University's party room suites, where you'll have plenty of flat screen LCD TVs for game viewing, private restrooms, a wet bar, and first class drinks and snacks ordered via video teleconferencing direct with the kitchen. And afterwards, if you're one of the first 500 to score a ticket (at $1000 each), you're sure to have a blast at the MVP Main Event at the Phoenix Art Museum.

The New York Giants will take on the New England Patriots in the biggest game of the year next Sunday but where will they be staying all week in preparation for the Super Bowl? No Motel 8 I can tell you that. Giants will be on sovereign ground staying at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass which exudes its celebration of local tribal culture. The Patriots will be at the luxurious Westin Kierland serving as a desert oasis for the team. Don't even try to book a room at one of these two hot spots -- only those who are part of the team or conference will be able to step foot on the premises and security will be tight. But for those that can get inside, they are sure to enjoy the first class spas, golf courses, pools, restaurants and rooms before the big game -- if you want to see it for yourself, check out the gallery below.

The Super Bowl is fast approaching...do you have tickets? Or even plans? If you don't then you might be getting in a panic about now, but if you're a Sentient Jet member no worries: they've got an awesome Superbowl package complete with tickets and all the perks you could want. The package includes seats on the 50-yard line, a 4 night stay in a five-star hotel, a VIP entrance to the game (no long lines!), free access to The NFL Experience (games, entertainment, autograph sessions, etc), and a Super Bowl XLII gift bag. And if you want you can add even more to your trip, like dinner reservations, golf outings, spa treatments, etc. Sounds like a good time to me! Packages start at $9399 per person.