Chill Takes Away the Thrill for Warm-Weather Super Fans

Thousands of football fans accustomed to attending the Super Bowl in a warm-weather city are passing up tickets and winter events planned in conjunction with this year’s January extravaganza at Minneapolis, amid the snow and ice.

“It is like trying to sell ice in the wintertime,” said Dave Adelman, co-owner of Murray’s Tickets and Tours in Los Angeles.

But things aren’t all bad. Upper-deck and end-zone seats were selling for $600 to $650 last week, down from last year’s price of $750. The face value of most tickets is $150.

Swim or skate? John Langbein of Ticket Exchange in Phoenix reports that a Fortune 500 company that normally buys Super Bowl tickets gave its clients a choice this year--the Super Bowl or a Super Bowl party in Hawaii.

“Eighty chose the Super Bowl and 120 chose Hawaii,” Langbein said.

Beach in: Taking advantage of those who despise the cold is a Mexican tequila, which is offering Super Bowl weekend packages in Cancun, replete with diamond vision screens set up on the beach.

Trivia time: What is the Conn Smythe Trophy?

For breakfast?The breakfast foods of Olympian Carl Lewis differ greatly from those of his peers, Matt Biondi and Janet Evans. Biondi opts for sausage pizza and pastrami sandwiches, and Evans likes chocolate cream pie and milk. Lewis maintains strict vegetarianism.

Try to tell your mother this: Dr. Ann Grandjean writes in Olympian magazine that the diets of Evans, Biondi and Lewis supply the nutrients and energy each athlete needs to be a winner.

“This group of elite athletes has discovered some crucial facts about diet that many athletes overlook,” Grandjean said. “Despite all the scientific progress that’s been made in the field of nutrition, the only way to know what foods are best for any particular athlete is through trial and stomachache.”

This axel no rose: Two-time Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt on her fall last week that cost her the International Figure Skating championship and her first defeat in a skating competition in five years: “It was my fault. I made some mistakes. I did two really nice triples. . . . Falling on the double axel is really a bummer. It’s never happened to me before.”

Crystal balls and footballs: Cornerback James Hasty of the New York Jets disputed Mark Clayton’s claim of a “guaranteed” Miami victory over the Jets last Sunday.

“He can’t guarantee a victory,” Hasty told Bob Glauber of Newsday. “He ain’t Joe Willie (Namath). He don’t play for the Jets.”

The Jets won, 23-20, in overtime.

Fright Night: Terry Price of the Hartford Courant on the New England Patriots’ final game of 1991, a 29-7 defeat at the hands of Cincinnati: “The ghost of 1990 returned to haunt the New England Patriots. It was pretty scary, too, not to mention ugly and laughable.”

Trivia answer: The Professional Hockey Writers Assn. award to the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The trophy is named after the former coach, general manager, president and owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Quotebook: Gerald Bloch, harness racing owner, after Blue Bonnets race track in Montreal had been raided by police for race fixing: “If the races are all fixed, where are the diamonds and fancy cars? Most of these people are broke.”