Larry Hawley discusses the sights and sounds that dominated Super Bowl XLV, his first ever.

Dear Diary,

I must admit to being a little star struck by it all.

It started in the morning when the cameras at Cowboys Stadium began to broadcast pictures of the crowds that were gathering outside.

Then it was the broadcast of the Super Bowl red carpet and the dozens of dignitaries that flooded in for this most unique game.

When I hopped on the media shuttle, saw the people waving the yellow towels, the volume of tailgaters and those walking around to just get a peek, it really began to hit me.

This is the Super Bowl, and there's nothing else quite like it. Frankly, there might be no other Super Bowl quite like it again.

First of all, it was finally sunny and finally a little bit warm before the game, giving cold fans a chance to show off before the game.

It was so good me and my co-worker Chris Hagan decided to take a bit of a walk around. That's when things got real interesting, when we arrived at a gate to take us to the Domestic Television Compound.

We noticed quickly a ton of people gathered up against the fence, shouting at the security across the street. When they saw my camera, the quickly began showing their tickets and how they weren't being let into the stadium.

The chant "Jerry Sucks" in honor of the Cowboys' owner came after about a half hour of waiting around with no where to go.

These people, it seems, had seats in places where the fire marshal had not approved and hence were no longer ticket holders to the game. Eventually they all got in but not everyone got seats, adding another gaffe to the list in the North Texas area this weekend.

After getting in, I made my way upstairs to check out the pregame festivities including the national anthem among other things. Christina Aguilera was providing the patriotic serenade when the "O'er the Ramparts" part gave her a bit of trouble. I felt kinda bad, because she has always done a great job with the song in the past and is a talented singer.

(For proof of this, type in Christina Aguilera and Pittsburgh Penguins. She actually sang the national anthem at 11-years old for Game 2 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals against the Blackhawks.)

Then at kickoff, it became obvious where those people at the gates were supposed to sit, since four big black tarps covered seats located where big openings to the concourse are during Cowboys season.

Then I learned that there were some tickets that were actually sold for the stairwells-and thought I couldn't get a set price-it wasn't exactly cheap.

From there on though, all was great. The Black Eyed Peas surpassed my expectations with their halftime show, doing well to blend their variety of music, add in Slash and Usher, and make it 15 minutes to remember.

More and more boring Super Bowls are becoming a thing of the past, because the Steelers and Packers made quite a game of itself down the stretch. Credit Pittsburgh for coming close to making the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.

But in the end, on a day where less order was more common that total control, this came back full circle. Aaron Rodgers added  himself as the next great quarterback in the league with three touchdown passes and the Lombardi Trophy returns to it's namesakes home turf.

Hey, its all a means to an end, on that I happily took in for the first time.

Thanks for a great week,

Larry