About 5,000 people crammed into Billy Bob’s Texas last night, making Pete Coors’ bash one of the biggest parties of Super Bowl XLV week. The chairman of MillerCoors says he’s not taking sides in Sunday’s match-up. “Coors sponsors Pittsburgh, and Miller Lite sponsors the Packers, so I’m both a cheesehead and a Steeler,” he said. “We have great relationships with both teams. I’m not making any enemies.”
The party attracted a throng of NFL players, including hottie Matt Cassel, starting QB for the Kansas City Chiefs; his teammate, running back Jamaal Charles; NFL Rookie of the Year Ndamukong Suh of the Detroit Lions; Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Doug Free; and Texas favorite Colt McCoy, now QB for the Cleveland Browns, who brought his wife, Rachel; and Bengals wide receiver Jordan Shipley, who had his right arm in a sling.
Other crowd favorites: Windell Middlebrooks, famous for his commercials as a Miller delivery guy; and Billy Bob’s owner Billy Minick. (More photos after the jump.)
The Coors Light flowed freely throughout the evening; VIPs were treated to a buffet of chicken fried steak atop mashed potatoes; buffalo chicken over mac and cheese, and a make-your-own fajitas bar.
Uncle Kracker rocked the house with Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” plus his own hits, like “Follow Me.” Blake Shelton didn’t take the stage until after midnight, but he was worth the wait. The Oklahoma native told the crowd that despite the Red River Rivalry, he’s “never going to rag on Texas” because it’s the birthplace of his fiancee. “I’m engaged to Miranda Lambert,” he said. “I’m going to be rich.”
Shelton said he got his start playing North Texas clubs and has a lot of “old friends” in the area, which sometimes concerns him when he and Lambert are here. “I don’t want Miranda running into some old skanks,” he joked, before launching into a cover of George Strait’s “All My Exes Live in Texas.”
Shelton said he has been to Billy Bob’s hundreds of times, but had never seen it so packed and so loud. He also commented on the weather, saying the last thing he wanted to see in Texas was 8 inches of snow. “These are my old stomping grounds, I have lots of good memories here, but as much as I love Dallas, I think the game ought to be played on some beach somewhere,” before singing his “Some Beach” hit.
