  Miss America Katie Stam waits for an event as part of NFL football Super Bowl XLIII Friday, Jan. 30, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
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TAMPA, Fla.- Fresh from becoming Miss America, Katie Stam would like to see another winner crowned this weekend.
Only one problem: She doesn't have a ticket to the Super Bowl.
"I'm still hoping," Stam said Friday.
The 22-year-old University of Indianapolis student won her title Saturday night in Las Vegas. She's in town this weekend for "Taste of the NFL," a charitable event that combines chefs, athletes and entertainers.
Stam was the first Miss Indiana to win the pageant. This Hoosier said her favourite sport is football, not hoops.
"I know, it's supposed to be basketball," she said.
She was raised in Seymour, about 100 kilometres south of Indianapolis. Rather than the home-state Colts, she roots for the Chicago Bears. That's the team her boyfriend of three years cheers for.
"I almost knew nothing about sports before we met," she said. "Now, I'll put the games on and watch them by myself. I'm a huge fan. I've got my Brian Urlacher jersey."
Wearing a regal deep purple dress, Stam met Joe Montana at an event Friday inside the media centre. Fellow Hall of Famer Michael Irvin also stopped by to chat.
Being a Bears fan, she said her biggest highlight was meeting former coach Mike Ditka. "Hurricane Ditka, he's something," she said.
On Sunday, she'll pull for the Arizona Cardinals to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"They're the underdogs, they're a great story," she said. "Their first Super Bowl, they've come a long way."
