HOUSTON (AP) – The Atlanta Falcons’ media availability Tuesday is not being held at a stadium or arena or even in a hotel ballroom.
Try a skating rink inside a Houston mall.
No, the ice isn’t down at The Square at Memorial City. And only a handful of players are scheduled to meet with reporters.
Still, it’s an unusual setting for a Super Bowl event, hard by an Old Navy and a Cheesecake Factory.
Adding to the surreal atmosphere – Houston doesn’t have even a minor league hockey team any longer – was the presence of a high school band playing as buses arrived. Some folks, perhaps puzzled by who was riding in the buses, waved to media members as the vehicles pulled up to the entrance.