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Tons of events, corporate sponsors, dedicated fans, traffic, people
descending from all parts of the country and world, and lots of bright
lights. Super Bowl? No, it's a political convention. I'm on my way to
Denver for the DNC convention, and it feels like I'm going to a Super
Bowl weekend.
I've been to Super Bowl a few times and the weeks leading up to it are
always spent figuring out which events to go to, how to snag a hotel
room, securing a rental car in a scarce market, and coordinating with
friends and acquaintances who are going to be in the event city. This
week has been no different and I'm amazed at how similar the lead-up to
the two events has felt.
Former veterans of their craft are everywhere, talking heads will
abound, and the real bigwigs are determined by who can get tickets to
which events and parties. Sounds like Super Bowl to me. But instead
of seeing washed up athletes everywhere, we'll see staffers from
administrations past in every hotel lobby. "Isn't that Sean
Salisbury?" is replaced by "hey look, there's Chuck Todd", and instead
of the Playboy party, we have to settle for the GQ soiree. I'm not
complaining; it should be fun.
My flight leaves New York in an hour, and provided that we land on
time, I'll get to Denver in time to check-in to my hotel, go to a forum
on grass roots voter outreach, a screening of "Where in the World is
Osama Bin Laden?" with a talkback with director Morgan Spurlock, a
Citicorp reception, dinner with some friends, a party thrown by Rahm
Emanuel and Dick Durbin, and then the aforementioned GQ/Maker's Mark
party. Should be a full day and a nice combination of interesting and
fun (and educational). Like a nerdy version of Super Bowl.
Marc Mitchell is an attorney who has managed the financial,
business, and legal affairs of several influential entertainment
companies. Mitchell is the founder and CEO of Celebrifantasy, an online
news portal and celebrity fantasy league, and the Chief Executive
Officer and co-founder of Dominion Media, a film and TV production
company. Until recently, he was also the Chief Operating Officer of
UrbanDaddy, a leading online lifestyle publication. He is currently a member of the New York Finance Committee for Barack Obama.
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