So you want to go to the Super Bowl

After Sunday's playoff games, you will know if your team won the conference championship. If they did, the following Sunday, just one week later, your boys will play for all the glory in the biggest sporting event of the year in the USA -- the Super Bowl.

You want to go. You know you do. You're a huge fan. But how can you make it happen? Is it really possible to find a way to get to Super Bowl XXXVII even after the results of the AFC and NFC Championship Games are already in the history books?

The answer is: Yes! I've done it, and so can you.

There can be no dawdling. Time is of the essence. As is always the case following the conference championship games, many fans already will have tickets, transportation and lodging booked. With only a one-week interval between the conference championships and the Super Bowl this year, the problems facing would-be Super Bowl attendees will be even greater than in years past, when the lords of football deemed it appropriate to provide a two-week layoff before the big game. Here's how to do it.

Tickets

The first obstacle to be overcome is getting tickets. Qualcomm Stadium, which will always be "The Murph" to me, holds about 71,000 spectators for football. Of those 71,000 tickets, twenty-five percent are controlled by the NFL office. Each participating team receives about twenty percent. Some tickets go to the host city. Most of the rest were distributed by an already completed random drawing, and fans who received tickets by this method had to have an application filed by June 2002. There's no walk-up window for the Super Bowl.

If you know a season ticket holder, or someone in the league office, you may have an "in," if they really like you and you ask very nicely. Most fans, however, are probably going to have to pay -- and pay handsomely -- to get their hands on tickets. There is no such thing as a cheap Super Bowl ticket, unless you are lucky enough to have someone else pay for yours. Face value alone for one ticket to this years game is $400 or $500.

The most obvious method available to acquire one or more of these cardboard and holographic invitations to the show is to get in touch with one of the friendly neighborhood ticket brokers, or "scalpers," spread across the land. The rates charged for Super Bowl tickets vary greatly from broker to broker, year to year, and even hour to hour. Recent prices for this year's game have hovered around $1,200 per seat, but that can change at any moment. Listen to momma and Smokey Robinson -- the best advice is shop around.

Findng someone claiming to be selling the prized passes is easy. There is no shortage of ads for ticket brokers in local newspapers. The internet is a tremendous resource when hunting down the best price. Of course, no matter where you find a ticket broker always be wary of scams. You can check with the Better Business Bureau or state attorney general's office to see if any complaints have been lodged against the company in question. Also, check to see if the broker is properly licensed (this only applies in states that require licensing).

Even if the broker appears to be on the level try to get assurances that he actually has the tickets he is trying to sell. Often, you will find that brokers will sometimes quote a price on tickets they do not yet possess. This is not necessarily a scam, the broker may well expect to get the tickets eventually, but if the broker never gets the tickets you will have wasted valuable time.

Another option available to the Super Bowl traveler is tour companies and travel agents. There are many offers for complete "Super Bowl Packages" out there. Many of these deals are fine, and a real option. While it is often possible to find cheaper alternatives by shopping for tickets, airfare, and hotel separately, some will surely find the convenience of one-stop shopping appealing.

But, beware. As with ticket sellers, there are many unscrupulous individuals and groups peddling "Super Bowl Packages." Always check the fine print, before signing on the dotted line. Make sure there is a guaranteed ticket included as part of the package. It is illegal to advertise a "Super Bowl Package" without including a ticket, but it is done all the time. No matter the source of the tickets remember; using a credit card as payment affords the buyer a measure of protection.

There is always one final option, heading to San Diego without a ticket at all. Once in town, it will still be possible to avail yourself of the previously mentioned methods of ticket acquisition, but you will also have the opportunity to strike face-to-face deals with people holding tickets, both professional brokers, and fans just like you.

Going to San Diego without tickets in hand is certainly a risk, but it can pay off in a big way. Remember, the Super Bowl is bigger and surrounded by far more hype than the average Sunday afternoon tilt, but in the end it is just a football game.

As game time approaches, the possibility does exist to pick up a ticket or two for face value, or even less. Someone going to the game will have an extra because Uncle Bob is ill back at the hotel, or because Cousin Chris just couldn't get Monday off from work and passed on the trip at the last minute.

Transportation

Don't dismiss the possibility of traveling to the game by a means other than a flight directly to the host city. Once the teams are set, and perhaps before, the price of airfare from the participating cities to San Diego is sure to rise for the days surrounding the game. There is often a general increase in prices from other destinations around the country to the Super Bowl city as well.

There are alternatives. With Los Angeles less than 120 miles from San Diego on the 405 Freeway (also know as the San Diego Freeway), a flight to L.A. and a drive by rental car to San Diego could provide real savings. Long Beach just south of the "City of Angels" is only 90 miles from San Diego. Other possibilities (although the drives would be far more taxing) include Las Vegas, Nevada (258 Miles), Tempe/Scottsdale, Arizona (about 305 miles), and Tucson, Arizona (367 miles).

Hotel/Motel

If your heart is set on a hotel in downtown San Diego, you may find something at crunch time, but it will cost you. Even if price is no object, finding a room will become more and more difficult as game day approaches.

With Qualcomm Stadium about five miles north of downtown San Diego, finding a hotel or motel north of the city could provide real savings, and easy access to the stadium on game day. Also, you can consider looking for lodging a bit inland. Leaving the coast may not be ideal, but this trip is probably more about getting to the game than getting a tan anyway.

Following this simple advice, you too should be able to enjoy the greatest spectacle in American sports in person. It's definitely worth the effort for the true football fan.

It's really not too late. Good luck.