In the lobby of the Merc as you walk by, you’ll see this very cool construction by UNT design students. (In real life, it does not tilt. Only in my photo does it tilt. )This not-really- leaning tower of children’s books will be distributed during the Christmas season.

Lively gave us a figure just a few weeks ago: About $500 million.

Granted, the host committee hasn’t yet released any findings of the official economic impact study that it commissioned. So Lively’s number is probably just him doing what he needs to do at this point:  boost expectations. He’s optimistic that North Texas will come in higher than the record take for Arizona in 2008.

Of course some sports economists cast doubt on any estimates in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

That’s short for “FAMiliarization Week.” (Don’t ask why those first three letters are capitalized.) The Super Bowl XLV Host Committee has organized itineraries for these folks to get to know the area, Cowboys Stadium, and a host of other venues available for events in the run-up to the big game in February 2011.

Obviously putting together a Super Bowl is a major challenge. But the NFL’s experiment of changing the timing of the Pro Bowl will throw some additional hurdles into the process. Couple that with North Texas never having hosted before, and Super Bowl XLV will put Supovitz and his staff to an unusual test.

In 2011, the Pro Bowl will be played the week before the Super Bowl (a break from tradition, as it’s usually the week after) in Hawaii. The NFL has to manage the set up and execution of two major events, thousands of miles apart and with a big time zone difference.

The Super Bowl in South Florida next February will give them a bit of a practice run on pulling off the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl. But it doesn’t seem nearly the challenge of 2011, since that next Pro Bowl will be played in the same stadium as Super Bowl XLIV a week later.

In the spirit of the evening, our table was like its own little United Nations. There were two British government workers, from the office of UK Trade and Investment and the UKTI Defence & Security Organisation. They were in town for a convention. Hadn’t seen much of Dallas other than the inside of the Ritz Carlton. (Though one of them had ventured over to the Sixth Floor Museum and found it moving. She took DART there and she — a Londoner — was frightened by the people riding along with her.)

There were also two women from the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth. They are both Caucasians, but they assured me they’re Japanese on the inside. In making conversation, I quickly fell back on my general knowledge of Japan, much of which is based on having taken History of Korea in college. They became strangely silent when I referenced the decades-long brutal occupation of Korea by the Japanese in the first half of the 20th century. (Note to self: “Don’t mention the war.”) I didn’t even get a chance to dazzle them with my knowledge of the land reforms of the American occupation that allowed democracy to flower in Japan.

Then the keynote speaker took to the stage. His name is Ray Zahab. He’s a Canadian man who ran across the Sahara, averaging 44 miles a day for 111 days, to raise awareness of the dearth of potable water in northern Africa. Later he trekked on foot to the South Pole.

His organization is called impossible2Possible. He left us with the message that we have absolutely no limits. We can achieve anything we set our minds too. And I left thinking, “Nice idea, but exactly accurate, is it? I mean, I’d love to be able to fly, but I don’t see that happening.” Then later I remembered seeing these nuts on 60 Minutes. So maybe Zahab is right.

The fundraising goal for the night was $50,000. Steve Martin joked that Central Dallas Ministries could claim to have raised more money this year than in any year in its history, had it not been for paying his appearance fee. Anyway, the show was peppered with nice bits of comedy between the songs, which were themselves great fun. Martin is a master entertainer, and he makes it look effortless. But anyone who’s read his memoir of his early days can attest to the fact that he’s a perfect example of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule.

One bone to pick with WFAA’s Gary Cogill, who introduced Martin at the start of the show. In running down a portion of his filmography, you mention the execrable Three Amigos, but not what’s probably his best movie, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles?

I also met Barry King, a former creative director with Radio Shack’s in-house ad department, who has spent the last several years selling barbecue sauce made from a recipe he invented 20 years ago. His Fort Worth-based brand is Brothers, and you can find it at Central Market. “If I get my sauce in your mouth, game over,” Barry proclaimed confidently. He’s hoping to get his products into what’s sure to be a host of gift baskets and party favors handed out at events throughout the week leading up to the Feb. 6, 2011, game.

What Barry and Henry and Katherine and what seemed like a sea of PR people on the first couple rows of the big audience heard wasn’t some dry Power Point presentation going over the particulars of the procurement process. This is the North Texas Super Bowl, and it’s clear that our local host committee plans to do everything big. Even its business workshops.

Let’s start with the music. Energetic dance beats greeted those who entered the ballroom in the Amon Carter Exhibit Hall. Once the show began, each new speaker was played to the stage with bombastic fanfare by”Waltz of the Goliaths” (a tune familiar to fans of NFL Films). The star power was at a lower wattage than at the recent Slant 45 event. There was Emmitt Smith, and Channel 5’s Newy Scruggs, and Chris Arnold, and Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief. Troy Aikman made a cameo via a voice-over that he recorded for one of the video presentations.

The big news of the day, which SweetCharity already told you about this morning, is that Texas Instruments has signed on as the official sponsor of the Emerging Business Program. There will be two more workshops to come. One next February, and another in April. Those will get more detailed. This first event seemed designed as a pep rally, and to convey basic information. If they want a shot at Super Bowl cash, minority- and women-owned businesses can register through the Host Committee’s website by March, they need to get certified as a minority- or women-owned business by May, and a business resource guide will be published online in December. Tisha Ford of the NFL was there and said that most contracts won’t start being awarded until next September or October, but that’s it’s never too early to make sure your business is in a position to earn a piece of the pie. She also noted that today’s might have been the biggest Emerging Business workshop in the history of the NFL program.

    And I’m rooting for Henry to find a taker for this crazy eight-sided screwdriver with built-in light that he’s got. I’d sure like one of those in a swag bag more than another ball cap or tiny bottle of liquor.

One correction: While the Emerging Business Program is only for minority- or women-owned businesses, any local business owner or entrepreneur is invited to attend the first workshop. Participants can learn about the procurement process for providing Super Bowl-related services.

With between $300 million and $500 million in local economic impact expected from the big game in 2011, there are lots of pie pieces available.

“Now here comes the Oak Cliff in me,” Neal said. “It’s the bomb. It is a thing of beauty, and I just don’t know what angels and spirits were so kind to me that I get to be part of this first show in this wonderful new building.”

If you want tickets, go here. But be forewarned: at some point, fairies will be fighting with Nerf balls.

Lively acknowledged that the committee’s fund-raising efforts have recently required some “course correction” – changing their tactics, getting “a little more aggressive” – in this difficult economy. He said they’re still ahead of where they’d hoped to be at this point, but could easily fall off the pace within two weeks if they don’t keep pushing. North Texas leaders are hoping to put on the biggest, best Super Bowl ever, and so they’ve set that big $30 million goal. They were aiming to bring in half of that through $1 million sponsorships — so far they have 10.

When I asked him if there’s some aspect of the committee’s grand plans that might be scaled back if it doesn’t look like they’ll raise all that money, Lively said flatly “We’ve got to raise the money we’re committed to raise, to meet the bid expectations.”