Motown in winter: How cool is that?

The Four Tops have nothing on this bunch.

In case you haven’t noticed, The Herald is bringing the region’s best coverage of the Seattle Seahawks’ unprecedented run to Super Bowl XL.

We even did a story on a Seahawks hot dog, for crying out loud.

We’ll stop at nothing to bring you everything you want to know, and much more.

In that spirit, The Herald is sending its own Fab Four to Motown to offer you firsthand insights. After all, it’s a historic occasion. It’s easy to keep saying we’ve been waiting 30 years for this kind of excitement, but 30 years is a virtual lifetime.

I talked last week to a fan who was 18 years old when he started attending Seahawks games with his father. He’s 47 now, and he’s heading for Detroit with Dad, who’s now 74.

But three decades worth of goofs, gaffes and bungles come to an end this week. The Seahawks have finally made it to the national stage, the spotlight, the center of it all, and we’ll be there to bring it home.

By the time you read this, The Herald’s fearsome foursome of sportswriter Scott Johnson, sports columnist John Sleeper, photographer Jennifer Buchanan and entertainment writer Victor Balta – that’s me – will be on our way to Detroit.

I’m 90 percent convinced that the moment we land in the Motor City, Ashton Kutcher will jump out of a van at the airport and tell us we’ve been “punk’d.”

“Far be it from me to complain about anything connected to covering the Super Bowl, but DETROIT??” said Sleeper, who still tried to look on the bright side.

“Rick Neuheisel told me Detroit is beautiful this time of year.”

This is the 40th Super Bowl, but only the third one that has been held in the frigid North.

Not to belabor the point, but, you know, next year it’s in Miami, then Phoenix, then Tampa, then Miami again.

But, hey, it’s the Super Bowl. We’ll take it when and where we can get it.

“Detroit in February? Not good,” Buchanan said. “Super Bowl in February? Very good.”

Bone-chilling weather aside, it’s the culmination of an absolute dream run.

“This week should make up for my first six years on the beat covering mediocre football,” Johnson said. “Although there will be lots of work and plenty of newspaper space to fill, I’m actually kind of looking forward to it.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’m sure I’ll remember for a long time.”

Every day, Johnson and Sleeper will cover behind-the-scenes action related to the team, the players and the game.

Buchanan will capture the images of the week and send them to your doorstep, while posting daily photo galleries on our Web site at www.heraldnet.com.

As for me, I still don’t know how the heck I scored this gig.

But I’m supposed to bring you everything else. All the fun stuff. Every element of the over-the-top marketing machine that makes the Super Bowl the Super Bowl.

The hype.

The fans.

The hype.

The celebrity sightings.

The hype.

The Canadians to the south.

The hype.

And then there’s the media that’s always trying to make a big deal out of these kinds of things.

You’ll find it right here every day, and in a blog that I’ll update a couple of times a day at www.heraldnet.com/blogsuperbowl.

And by the time it’s all over, who knows?

Win or lose, this has been a remarkable ride. But if the Seahawks have taught us anything this year, it’s that we should dare to dream.

Wouldn’t it be something to see that Vince Lombardi Trophy being marched through downtown Seattle?

For the next week, we’ll be there to capture every yard, every image, every step.

Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.

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