BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- DKPittsburghSports.com is back at the Super Bowl, even if the Steelers aren't. I'll keep you updated on the goings on from Minneapolis via live files throughout the week.
Tonight is the first media access to the Patriots and Eagles in the ridiculous event called "Opening Night."
FOLLOW MEDIA EVENTS WITH DALE
10:15: Former Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams was on the floor at the opening ceremony working for Nickelodeon. Didn't get a chance to speak with him because of his duties, but perhaps I will later in the week.
I'd love to get his views on what he thinks a Randy Fichtner-coached offense will look like.
9:35: I covered James Harrison for all of his career -- at least with the Steelers -- and I can tell you that he's in a happy place. Harrison was always quick with a scowl or a sneer. But he was downright happy to see me and another Pittsburgh reporter here Monday night.
It was a big change, especially from the guy who was sulking around the Steelers' facility all season prior to his release by the team.
But Harrison wouldn't make comparisons between the Steelers and Patriots organizations, refusing to go down that road. He only wanted to talk about the upcoming Super Bowl, though we did get him to open up a little bit.
As he said, however, getting to the Super Bowl is surreal whether you get there in your first season or your 15th. He's enjoying every minute of this.
I saw a James Harrison Monday night who is very much at ease with what happened to him this season. Then again, what's not for him to like?
He gets to play in the Super Bowl and is a member of the team favored to win it. And there's no guarantee if he had played the 20 to 25 percent of the snaps he said he was promised when he re-signed with the team last spring, that would have happened in Pittsburgh.
12:22: I went over to the media center at the Mall of America in the late morning to get checked in and credentialed. The first person I met there was a young lady from Penn State who was working the NFL credential center named Jill Beckman.
She saw my credential information and asked," Hey, do you know Audrey Snyder?"
As it turns out, Jill is a Penn State senior and our Audrey Snyder is the advisor to the Women in Sports Media group of which Jill is a part. Small world.
12:02 p.m.: I went for a walk around the Mall of America -- at least some of it -- and took in the sights. I've never been here before but I'm pretty sure you could take all of the remaining malls in Pittsburgh and tuck them inside this place. It's huge.
Interestingly enough, both team hotels are connected to the mall. That means if the New England and Philadelphia players want to mingle, they'll be able to do so. They'll just have about a half-mile walk through the mall to get to each other.
THE SETUP
They used to call this Super Bowl Media Day. No more. But the Patriots emerge at 8:10 p.m. Eastern, and the Eagles follow. I'll have your coverage here tonight and all week.