Super Bowl With a Smirk I: Bad Bunny, griping media, cioppino, Marlboro Man, more
Super Bowl With a Smirk, a beloved or at least tolerated annual staple of the Miami Herald years we remember to do it, is back! Smirk flies under the banner ‘Make Fun, Not War’ and delights to needle and tweak the NFL and the gravitas of its Big Game. Welcome as we kick off Super Bowl Week with our first of five daily editions.
Super Bowl Week is underway in Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Jose -- the entire Bay Area of California. Some 6,000 credentialed media members already are griping about all the driving that will be involved getting to events spread across 50 miles. It’s the 60th edition of America’s biggest sporting event, or the LX’th to those still residing in Ancient Rome.
Both teams arrived on Sunday at San José Mineta International Airport a week ahead of the Big Game. The Patriots landed at 3:51 p.m. ET and the Seahawks at 5:25. Based on the point spread, it may be the last time all week New England is ahead of Seattle.
Two major Monday events would kick things off:
▪ Commissioner Roger Goodell’s annual “State of the NFL” address and press conference kicks off the week, and he can expect hard-hitting media inquiries such as minorities being left out of the latest head-coach hiring cycle, the Bill Belichick Hall of Fame snub, when the league will expand to an 18-game regular season, the Bad Bunny halftime show controversy, and the media being inconvenienced by the breadth of spread-out events.
▪ Super Bowl Opening Night at San Jose Convention Center will see both teams’ players and coaches availed to the media herd, where reporters will tackle storylines such as: Is Drake Maye the next Tom Brady and is this the dawn of Patriots dynasty 2.0? Does getting here mean Sam Darnold is no longer lousy and is now pretty good? What’s your favorite Bad Bunny song? And can you believe how inconveniently all these events are spread apart?
The media also can be expected to obsess on the rematch factor, even though no current players were involved in the Patriots’ 28-24 Super Bowl win over the Seahawks 11 years ago, when Seattle’s last-minute dumbness handed the win to the Pats.
Also Monday, Radio Row was setting up adjacent to the main media hub at the Moscone Center in San Fran. Radio Row is where hundreds of radio and podcast personalities jockey for interviews with famous guests but settle for the Seahawks long snapper and a local drag queen dressed as Bad Bunny.
Smirk I notes:
▪ Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold’s grandfather, Dick Hammer, was an actor who played the Marlboro Man in cigarette ads and died at age 69 of lung cancer. Beyond the tragic irony of the Marlboro Man going out that way, use of this note is limited to Smirk simply enjoying the name ‘Dick Hammer.’
▪ Seattle coach Mike Macdonald’s Scottish surname meaning “son of Donald” is spelled oddly but not incorrectly. The late great comedian Norm Macdonald also used it. Even spelled Macdonald, the name is still not as weird as “Vrabel.” The Pats’ coach’s last name is of Slavic origin and Slovakian for “beer thief.” [Joke anatomy: Mike Vrabel was arrested in 2011 for allegedly stealing six bottles of beer from an Indiana casino deli.]
▪ Super Bowl Party Tip du Jour: The two participating cities and host city form a nexus of culinary delight -- Seattle, New England and Bay Area all known for fabulous food like lobster rolls, grilled salmon and cioppino! So surprise your guests by serving chicken wings like everybody else.
SMIRK I POLL:
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 12:43 PM.
