Super Bowl opening night returns with circus atmosphere

PHOENIX — Nick Sirianni answered questions about Rocky, Santa Claus and even which of his players on the Philadelphia Eagles he’d want to date his 5-year-old daughter when she grows up.

Welcome to Super Bowl opening night where football talk gives way to the wild and wacky.

The circus atmosphere that kicks off the NFL’s biggest week returned Monday for the first time since 2020. The covid-19 pandemic forced teams to meet the media on video conferences the past two seasons.

Sirianni and the Eagles took the stage first at Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns. “Fly, Eagles, Fly” chants greeted players and coaches before they spent an hour answering wide-ranging questions from more than 2,000 media members.

Opening night of #SuperBowl with @AnnieAgar ????

And we’re just getting started . . . ????@tkelce | @PatrickMahomes | @LaneJohnson65 #NFL #Chiefs #Eagles pic.twitter.com/dXwErUvYzk

— Bally Sports (@BallySports) February 7, 2023

For the record, Sirianni loves the Rocky movies. He identifies with Sylvester Stallone’s fictional movie character, who is part of Philadelphia’s fabric as much as the cheesesteak.

“I live and coach in the greatest sports town in America,” Sirianni said. “It means so much to everybody there. That’s what you want. When you’re a little kid playing in a peewee football game, you want everybody to see you. You want your fans to love it. You want them to be there. You want them wearing green on Friday. You want them to be throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. You want to put talent on display in front of the greatest sports town in America. I love the fact that my kids are growing up in a sports town where football means so much because football means so much to me.”

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he has “so much respect” for Chiefs coach Andy Reid during Super Bowl opening night in Phoenix. https://t.co/Fz46iIlftk pic.twitter.com/vUNwLc1Ub6

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 7, 2023

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, an AP NFL MVP finalist, drew the largest crowd. Reporters staked out his spot about an hour before the event started. The first question came from Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, an NFL Network analyst.

“I feel like it’s not a time to reflect,” Hurts said about his journey to stardom. “We came here to finish the job.”

Overall, opening night wasn’t quite as outrageous as past years.

In Arizona in 2008, a female reporter showed up wearing a white wedding dress and veil and proposed to Tom Brady, who was trying to lead the New England Patriots to the first 19-0 season in NFL history.

One radio host walked around shirtless wearing a barrel. Otherwise, it was more about odd questions than odd looks.