Super Bowl, Miami: All south Florida wants to play

MIAMI — This year's Super Bowl is in Miami, but all south Florida wants to play.

The region's three international airports give visitors the flexibility to try a variety of beaches, restaurants and social scenes on the mainland and south into the Florida Keys, said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee.

"It's not a bad place to be entertained while you're waiting for the big game," he says.

More than 70,000 ticket holders are expected to attend the game, while more than 40,000 extra people will likely show up just for the parties and extracurricular activities, Barreto said. Many will extend their trips to include the Pro Bowl, also being played in Miami, on Jan. 31. Here's a sampling of what they'll find across south Florida:

Football festivities

The big game doesn't kick off until 6 p.m. on Feb. 7, but the pre-gaming starts days earlier. A Feb. 3 fishing tournament in Miami, organized by the host committee, honors Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith and former south Florida player William Bleakley, who died last year when their boat overturned off the coast of Florida. Former NFL coach Jimmy Johnson hosts the Billfish Bowl, Feb. 4-6 in Key Largo; the sailfish tournament, www.billfishbowl.com, benefits Gridiron Greats, an organization helping retired football players with their medical costs.

The NFL Players Choir will perform in "The Super Bowl Gospel Celebration" at the Adrienne Arsht Center on Feb. 5; www.superbowlgospelcelebration.com. A free concert with fireworks is scheduled on the beach next to the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel on Feb. 6; scheduled acts are Barenaked Ladies, O.A.R., and Robert Randolph and The Family Band. But you don't have to come to Miami to catch The Who's performance. The band will provide televised halftime entertainment during the big game.

Only VIP tickets remain for the Taste of the NFL fundraiser for hunger-relief groups on Feb. 6 in Fort Lauderdale. Taste of the NFL invites one chef from each city with an NFL team to cook with the help of an alumni player; www.tasteofthenfl.com. A "Super Sunday Brunch" is planned Feb. 7 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood.