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When you wish upon a star...

Disney chose Dilfer over Lewis because of 'feel-good story'

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Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer has a much nicer player on his back today at Disney World in Orlando. AP

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - Trent Dilfer was booed out of Florida last year after six lackluster seasons as Tampa Bay's quarterback.

On Monday, Dilfer heard nothing but cheers as he rode in a parade through Walt Disney World, his reward for leading Baltimore in a 34-7 victory over New York in Super Bowl XXXV.

"It's a great feeling," said Dilfer, who completed 12 of 25 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. "This is better than you could ever imagine."

However, Dilfer's appearance at the Magic Kingdom was in risk of being overshadowed by the man who wasn't there: Ray Lewis, the game's most valuable player.

Traditionally, Disney has the Super Bowl MVP star in its postgame commercial, where the athlete says he's going to a Disney theme park, then brings him to the park for a parade the next day.

But for only the fourth time in the advertisement's 15-year history, the MVP was not featured.

Lewis, who had seven tackles and two pass deflections, has been widely criticized for his role in a double murder after last year's Super Bowl in Atlanta. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge in exchange for testimony against his co-defendants and was fined $250,000 by the league, which he is appealing.

Click on image for a larger view. CNNSI.com

Lewis was not mentioned during the parade and Disney introduced Dilfer as "the hero of Super Bowl XXXV."

Disney officials said the fear of bad publicity didn't keep them from inviting Lewis.

"We're looking for a great, emotional story, and Trent Dilfer provided that," Disney spokesman Craig Dezern said. "He had the feel-good story of the Super Bowl. You have a guy who leaves one team and goes as a backup quarterback on another team to winning the Super Bowl. It's a Cinderella story."

Coincidentally, Dilfer's media availability on Monday was held next to Cinderella's castle.

Redemption at Last Click the image to launch the clip For Trent Dilfer and Ray Lewis, winning a Super Bowl changes everything. Launch Multimedia Central Click here to go to Multimedia Central for all the latest video and audio.

"It's typically an offensive player that gets to experience this, for whatever reason," Dilfer said. "I'm sure Ray's not bitter about it. Maybe he just threw me a bone and let me do this."

Dilfer said he didn't look at his performance in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium as a spiteful comeback to his Buccaneer detractors.

"It makes it nice because you're able to share it with people that you care deeply for, in front of people that have had a great impact on your life," Dilfer said. "Any time you're able to do it in that type of setting, it makes it a little bit nicer."

 

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