Super Bowl notebook

Jim McMahon was one of several 1985 Bears to visit the Super Bowl media center Thursday. Wearing a black T-shirt, shorts, flip-flops and a baseball cap, McMahon was pitching Pepsi's halftime contest and continued to spout his disdain for his former team.

"The Bears traded me," he said. "I can give a [shoot] about the Bears. I haven't cared about them since '88, when they traded me."

While McMahon may not have good feelings about the Bears, the servicemen he and Kevin Butler visited in Iraq on Jan. 1 had fond memories.

"A lot of them knew me," McMahon said. "I don't know where they got the Bears stuff. There were all kinds of jerseys and helmets. They even had a tape of 'The Super Bowl Shuffle.'

"Their morale is good. You wouldn't realize it by reading the papers over here, but they're just kicking ass."

Tank Johnson's homage to his hometown is on display in the form of a tattoo on his right calf. There's a "G" in a diagram of the state of Indiana and a dot where Gary is located.

"I got it done when I was about 14," he said. "My whole family lives there, so I spend time there."

Johnson moved to Tempe, Ariz., before high school.

EA Sports played the Super Bowl using Madden NFL '07, and the Colts won 38-27.

Thomas Jones (24 carries, 101 yards, one touchdown) and Peyton Manning (28-for-36, 383 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) were players of the game.

Rex Grossman, by the way, didn't kill the Bears in the simulation. He was 22-for-38 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Bears' media-relations staff has had its hands full the last two weeks dealing with reporters from all over the world, but senior director of corporate communications Scott Hagel said things have gone smoothly, partly because the NFL media-relations department helps the two weeks before the Super Bowl.

But that doesn't mean there haven't been a couple of strange requests. One person asked for a ticket to the game and offered to pay up to $400 -- a lot of money but $200 below face value.

"We got a call from a celebrity, or one of their people, who said the person will be down in the area," Hagel said. "He wanted me to send them a bunch of Bears stuff to wear. I would think they would know where to buy it."

Hagel said the fan part of him hasn't been able to enjoy the Super Bowl atmosphere.

"We try to make sure everything goes well on Sunday, so on Sunday evening, we can enjoy everything," he said.

The Bears once urged Brian Urlacher not to participate in professional-wrestling events because of the risks involved -- and that was during the offseason. Wait till they hear how Devin Hester, Nate Vasher and friends spent some free time this week while preparing for the Super Bowl.

''Devin Hester and some of the other guys, we went jet skiing the other day,'' Vasher said. ''We've been able to have a little down time, but we know this is a business trip.''

At one point during media interviews, Charles Tillman put his head down and seemed ready to take a nap.

"I'm tired of questions about football," Tillman said. "Ask me something about my private life. I'm a Pisces, and I like long walks with my wife."