Miami Beach comes alive for weekend parties ahead of Chiefs-Niners in Super Bowl LIV
The ground is trembling, but this is no earthquake.
Thumping, undulating beats are spilling from the next car over, a lifted matte-black Hummer. Just as suddenly as those pulses arrived, they’re replaced by the throb of Latin music emanating from one of the many clubs lining Collins Avenue, quite possibly the most congested artery in America on this waterlogged Friday night two days ahead of Super Bowl LIV.
The rain is nothing short of torrential, but the sidewalks are teeming with life in all sizes, shapes and colors. More visitors arrive by the hour, increasingly festive as Friday gives way to early Saturday morning. Soon enough, the Kansas City Chiefs will be playing the San Francisco 49ers for an NFL championship at nearby Hard Rock Stadium, but right now these bar-goers are thirsty. They consume beverages as fast as they can be poured; outside, the skunky scent of marijuana hangs thick in the air.
Police don’t budge. No one’s really causing much trouble, so they stand by with crossed arms or direct traffic via verbal cues. Walkers, drivers and bikers and folks just hanging about smile, shout, love and mingle, soaked but unbothered.
The vibe is electric and I can’t help but wonder what this scene would look like back home in Kansas City. Could it possibly be replicated there? Another car rolls slowly past, two kids on a Vespa so close behind they appear to be riding its rear bumper. They’re followed by a small box-truck with electric billboards on all sides touting entertainment at a nearby nightclub. DJ Khaled is in town after performing at the Grammy’s and is hosting a party later.
Tech N9ne, the Kansas City rapper and noted supporter of KC’s resident sports teams, was flying into Miami Saturday. He hosted a Chiefs rally at the Power & Light Friday night and will join thousands of other Kansas Citians here for Sunday’s Super Bowl.
On Saturday, I strolled through an open fence right into Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski’s “beach party,” where tickets were going for $500 and up, and literally ran into the former New England Patriots tight end. I’ve never taken a selfie with a celebrity in my life, not that I can recall, anyway, but for whatever reason I whipped out my iPhone and snapped one of the two of us. He was very nice, but I felt like a bit of a jackass afterward. It’s just not a very “sports journalist” thing to do.
This afternoon, before the skies opened Saturday, we walked among a gleaming armada of mega-yachts being readied for extravagant parties. Moored at the edge of a canal alongside the Collins thoroughfare, some were half a football field in length. Revelers were already partying on some of them, dancing in glimmering dresses or slim, tailored suits. One of them had the name “Usher” stenciled in neat block lettering near its upper-most point. Was it perhaps owned by the singer of the same name?
Turns out it’s not, but you’d need a global entertainer’s resources to consider its services. She charters for $179,000 per week — not atypical here. And the price on this most premium of South Florida weekends soars even higher.
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Excess, displayed proudly, visibly and viscerally, is everywhere in Miami Beach. The incorporated town and its abutting communities runs north-south along the coast, one burg shoving into the next, a snaking arrangement of glistening high-rises, exclusive restaurants and ‘50s-era motels nestled eclectically at the water’s edge.
Food, which can be had relatively inexpensively and still taste very good here, has been one of our daily adventures. I decided upon landing at the Fort Lauderdale airport to dine as exotically (though affordably) as possible during our stay. The first night we fell short because it was late, settling for simple deli sandwiches. But the next evening we located excellent Peruvian fare, including an unexpected octopus appetizer, and it didn’t break the bank.
The night after that involved a large slab of spicy Argentinian beef topped with ham and then adorned with cheese. It was, in a word, magnificent. And I’m getting fatter just thinking about it again.
Last night’s main course was suckling piglet. Not pig or pork, mind you, but piglet, slow-cooked for eight hours and then plated alongside pureed black beans and diced red Roma tomatoes. Kansas City’s fine barbecue establishments are still the best in the world, and that’s a fact, but that meal won’t be forgotten any sooner than the scenes that have unfolded here after dark. The melodies, Bentleys, beautiful people, culinary goodies and salt air sure add spice to this fascinating city by the sea.
Occasional flashes of lightning and thunderclaps were frequent all last night, but before dark, a parade of muscular offshore race boats similar to the one owned by Miami Vice detective Sonny Crockett rumbled past our condo. Their procession toward South Beach was symbolic of what’s converging here even still.
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By now you’re probably wondering why I’m writing about food, music and the weather. Mainly because the Chiefs’ media availability ahead of Super Bowl LIV has ended, as have their practices leading up to Sunday’s showdown against the 49ers. So, like you, the coaches and even the players, we’re anxiously awaiting kickoff. Some of the players’ families are arriving for the weekend now, and this quadrant of greater Miami has taken on a party atmosphere uniquely all its own. Football will be played soon enough, but simply having a good time is foremost right now.
I don’t envy a coach’s task of keeping players focused ahead of the biggest game of their lives ... but then again, are these Chiefs really the sort of men you’d envision making headlines for the wrong reasons in Miami? Me neither. Here’s guessing a team coached by Andy Reid, a true giant of the profession seeking his first NFL title on behalf of a hungry Chiefs fan base, won’t let that happen.
In the next 24 hours or so, the rest of the world’s focus will shift from international health crises, impeachment and Brexit to American football and a looming clash between Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs and the rush-heavy 49ers. That’s why they’re here. It’s why we’re here.
And then we’ll be back to bringing you our most robust football coverage ever. Some of our best content of the week can be found in Sunday’s edition of The Kansas City Star: Each copy of the Feb. 2 paper includes 60-plus pages of Chiefs coverage. Two special sections — one detailing famous Kansas Citians’ love for the Chiefs, and another offering an extensive preview of the game itself.
It’s been an incredibly taxing but exhilarating week of pulling it all together, and we really encourage you to check out every inch of it.
And if you ever get the chance to spend some time in Miami Beach during a Super Bowl, do not pass it up. It’s a feast for the senses. Every last one of them.
This story was originally published February 1, 2020 at 1:36 AM.