Miss Alabama changes her number and cancels interviews as she fears her relationship with quarterback A.J. McCarron will be seen as a 'celebrity status thing'

Miss Alabama has been forced to change her telephone number after receiving 'thousands' of calls following her now-famous appearance in the stands at the BCS Championship game on Monday.
And amid the swelling attention, Katherine Webb has cancelled eight interviews for Thursday, fearful that her new-found fame will spell bad news for her relationship with Alabama quarterback, A.J. McCarron, whom she has been dating for a month.
Miss Webb, 23, shot to fame after ESPN's cameras panned to her in the first quarter of the game on Monday night, sparking fawning comments from sportscasters Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musburger.

Focus: Miss Alabama Katherine Webb has cancelled interviews so that her relationship with Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron is viewed as sincere, rather than as a celebrity stunt

Ever since, her phone has been ringing off the hook, Donald Trump, who co-owns the Miss Universe Organization, told Page Six.
'She was forced to change her phone number,' Trump said. 'She was getting thousands and thousands of calls. Katherine has to stay grounded now that she's become a big star.'

 

Webb also told TMZ that she has cancelled interviews scheduled for today because she is concerned her relationship with McCarron will simply be seen as a 'celebrity status' thing.
'I want it to be about me and him,' she said. 'He's a guy I can see myself having a real future with.'

Who's that girl? Miss Webb, quickly became an internet sensation after appearing on camera on Monday

Fans: ESPN broadcasters Kirk Herbstreit, left, and Brent Musburger, right, voiced their admiration for Webb as the cameras picked her out in the crowd during the game on Monday night

She insisted that McCarron had not asked her to cancel the interviews, after TMZ had earlier reported that he was upset about being overshadowed by his girlfriend.
The website had reported that the quarterback was unhappy that media outlets were ignoring his spectacular win over Notre Dame on Monday, and giving coverage to her instead.
But other sources said the sports star just wanted to keep his private life out of the public eye, and wants his team's accomplishments to be recognised instead.
Webb became an internet hit after her appearance at the Miami stadium.
'I'm telling you, you quarterbacks, you get all the good looking women,' 73-year-old commentator Brent Musburger gushed as the camera stayed on Webb. 'What a beautiful woman.'

Speaking out: Miss Webb appeared on the Today show on Wednesday to stick up for the commentators but she has now cancelled other interviews for Thursday

Model girlfriend: Webb, 23, also competed in Miss USA last year and placed in the top ten, left

'Wow!' former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit added. 'AJ's doing some things right down in Tuscaloosa.'
'If you're a youngster in Alabama, start getting the football out and throw it around the backyard with pop,' added Musburger, who has been married to his wife Arlene for 50 years.
With some media commentators and viewers branding their comments 'creepy', ESPN was forced to apologize on Tuesday.
'We always try to capture interesting storylines, and the relationship between an Auburn grad who is Miss Alabama USA and the current Alabama quarterback certainly met that test. However, we apologize that the commentary in this instance went too far and Brent understands that.'
But the reigning Miss Alabama simply said she was 'flattered' by their remarks.

Support: Webb and McCarron both laughed off the attention, and the QB added: 'I'm the one who's blessed'

Crowned: Katherine Webb during her reign as Miss Alabama at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas

'If he had said something along the lines of we were hot or sexy or any derogatory statements like that, that would have been a bit different,' she told the Today show on Wednesday morning.

'The fact that he said we were beautiful and gorgeous - I don't see why any woman wouldn't be flattered by that.'
But as well as Miss Webb herself, her father, Alan Webb, came to the defense of Musburger.
'On one hand, you can look at it as being kind of like the dirty old man,' he said. 'But I'm used to this and I think if you really look into what that he was trying to say, he was trying to be complimentary, and I think they need to give Brent a break.'