Can you think of a better place to get snowed in than the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue party? I felt so safe on the 52nd floor of 7 WTC, surrounded by some of my favorite things: Booze, food, a smattering of supermodels…the usual. Better yet, the snow prevented some of the guests from arriving, and some just up and canceled. The party wasn’t too crowded. It was therefore the snow that literally forced VIPs to smuggle their special VIP badges out to the ‘normies’ so that a critical party mass could at least be had in the VIP area.

And, my god, as a normie myself, I was thankful. In the VIP area, Jeff Gordon and Danica Patrick raced around, chased by cameras. Super models dripping with hot sauce stalked between the wet bars refilling glasses of champagne. And, most fun of all, I ran into two Marines — doctors — who had just come back from Iraq. They came out their VIP passes in a roundabout way (from a sister’s friend), but it still felt like a PR coup for SI. A bit shy and endearingly out of place at the party — and married — they were reluctant to hit on the models. Fortunately, I had the perfect pickup line for them: “Can I ask you to do something for your country and get in a picture here with these Marines just back from Iraq?” (See results on the next page.)

Some other highlights:

- I ran into Andy Roddick in the snow tent out front. He seemed in good spirits when one of his handlers rushed back into the tent giving the all-clear signal: Roger Federer was nowhere in sight. (Check out page 38 of the magazine to see which “rookie” SI swimsuit model thinks Roddick is a hottick.)

- I saw Ann Moore, chairman and CEO of Time, Inc. She was “surprised at how many people showed up,” especially considering that “the Anheuser-Busch people haven’t even landed yet” at JFK due to the weather.

- Will Ferrel, who appears in the issue in a zany photo shoot with Heidi Klum (pgs. 96-104), delivered a special announcement via video before the models were presented: “I told my parents when I was four that I wanted to be a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.” As the only man posing in the issue this year, congrats, Will.

- When the NFL cheerleaders who appear in this issue (pgs. 144-147) were announced on stage, considerable boos greeted Meghan White, cheerleader for the New England Patriots. Hey, fuhgedaboutit?

Click below for the rest of the pics. Enjoy.