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Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski on Super Bowl picks, gold cleats and heartthrob Gronk

Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski aren't just Olympians. Calling them BFFs doesn't even cover it. Thanks to their chemistry, candor and humor, they may be broadcasting's fastest-rising stars.After covering the Kentucky Derby, Sochi Olympics and the Academy Awards for NBC, the commentators are at it again this week in Phoenix, where they're dishing on Super Bowl fashion, lifestyle and entertainment.TOD
tara lipinski
Tara Lipinski / Instagram

Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski aren't just Olympians. Calling them BFFs doesn't even cover it. Thanks to their chemistry, candor and humor, they may be broadcasting's fastest-rising stars.

After covering the Kentucky Derby, Sochi Olympics and the Academy Awards for NBC, the commentators are at it again this week in Phoenix, where they're dishing on Super Bowl fashion, lifestyle and entertainment.

TODAY.com chatted with Weir and Lipinski, who issued verdicts on the superior Super Bowl uniform, the importance of gold cleats and all things Rob Gronkowski, a.k.a. Gronk.

Other than covering the game for NBC, what are your main goals for Super Bowl week?

Johnny Weir: We’re just really excited to soak up the environment of the Super Bowl. I mean, we’re no strangers to big events. In one year, we covered the Olympics, the Oscars, the Kentucky Derby, and, now, the Super Bowl. We love how dynamic and different every event is. So, just sort of soaking up that energy that is all over Phoenix at the moment is pretty cool.

Tara Lipinski: I would say [about] the Olympics we’ve been to, we know how grand it is. It feels like home, I would say, whereas this, it’s just as huge of an event, but it’s completely different. It’s a different energy, even when we’re not working. Last night, we went to a dinner, just to be mingling amongst the football folks, was really fun. [NBC sportscaster] Cris Collinsworth and—

JW: [NBC analyst/former Pittsburgh Steelers star] Hines Ward!

TL: Yeah! You just look around and hang out with people you’ve never met before but you admire.

Are you both big football fans?

JW: I have a passing acquaintance with Sunday afternoon, Sunday night and Monday night football. My father loved it, and I grew up watching it. I’m from Pennsylvania, so, my house is divided between Steelers and Eagles [fans]. I live in north Jersey, so, I support the New York Giants. In general, I’ve always liked the Patriots, because of Gisele Bündchen (who’s married to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady), and Rob Gronkowski.

TL: It’s the same thing for me. I know it through my dad. I know I should have paid attention to the plays and what I should be watching, but I do enjoy any type of sport. Living in New York, I feel like people pay attention to it so much, and go out on Sunday, and it’s a big to-do. So, I love football Sundays.

JW: If anything, a live event makes you a fan. You get soaked up in the energy, and you get soaked up in the environment. This [Super Bowl] is a first for me, personally, and I think the second time for Tara. You can’t be American and not have a passing acquaintance with football. So, to be a part of this event is wonderful.

What are some tips for fans attending Super Bowl week?

TL: They should definitely meet Gronkowski.

JW: Rob Gronkowski is a must. He’s a tall slice of heaven.

TL: And so nice. [On Tuesday] we attended Media Day, and I was quite fearful that we would walk in, and the players would look at us like we were nuts. But every single one of them was just a hoot. They played along with it. And Rob really played along with it. He was a blast.

JW: Yes. So, having knowledge and a meeting with Rob Gronkowski is super-important for any Super Bowl fan. … And fashion-wise, it’s all about the statement watch. I have seen so many men and ladies running around with just the most opulent, bangin’ watches.

Let’s talk some more about fashions as they relate to Super Bowl players. Much like his wife, Gisele Bündchen, Tom Brady is pretty fashionable. But can he pull off Uggs?

TL: I have a love-hate relationship with Uggs. I want to wear them out. I have a slipper set that I’m never without, when I’m in the house, but I want to wear Uggs outside. And sometimes I do, but I’m almost a little fearful that someone will look and say—

JW: “Tara Lipinski spotted wearing slippers out!”

TL: So, I’m not sure about Tom. But, you know, comfort is key.

JW: I do have several pairs of Uggs, because they’re really comfortable when you’re in the big arenas and it’s freezing and you’re between shows. My favorite pair is a pair of black-sequined ones. Uggs and Tom Brady: I feel like, “Why?”

TL: But let’s be real: I feel like Tom can pull off anything.

The NFL reportedly threatened to eject the Seattle Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch for violating uniform rules if he wore gold cleats during the NFC title game. Whose side are you on here?

JW: The gold cleats.

TL: The gold cleats.

JW: We both love medals and both love gold as a color.

TL: How can you be mad at a gold cleat?

Especially since we’re talking about gold, and you’re Olympians. I mean, come on.

TL: Right! My favorite color.

Off the field, which current fashion trends most make you want to throw a flag for unnecessary roughness?

JW: Cowboy, and hippie, for me.

TL: I like a good hippie moment! I don’t want to see any more cut-outs [in dresses], and I don’t want to see any more of those gold [temporary] tattoos.

JW: Oh, those gold metallic — mmm-mmm. No.

Who has the better uniforms: Seattle Seahawks or New England Patriots?

TL: I think we both agree: the Patriots. We’re really down with the colors.

JW: I mean they’re [both] a similar color scheme, but the red, white and blue is patriotic.

TL: It’s a patriotic look.

JW: [Also,] Gronkowski.

Other than Gronk, which football players have impressed you?

TL: [Seahawks quarterback] Russell Wilson blew me away. We’d been really pro-Gronk all day, but I have to say, [Wilson] was so cool, so chill, and such an interesting guy. He’s this big football player, but he was so into the fashion element of things that I got a kick out of it.

JW: Russell Wilson actually got out of his little [booth] that he was sitting in to come talk to Tara and I about fashion for NBC. I thought it was so cool. There’s such a protocol for how these guys have to behave and act in life, in the spotlight. He kind of stood up, came over and wanted to talk about sparkles and spikes, and he was really awesome. And we also got to talk to [Seahawks tight end] Luke Wilson.

TL: Oh, we love him, for his flowing locks.


After the Super Bowl, where do you two go from here? The moon? How do you top this?

TL: Oh, we have lots of things brewing.

JW: There are lots of things brewing. I think the next thing we can say for sure is that we will be at the [long pause] top of our game.

Follow TODAY.com writer Chris Serico on Twitter.