While some Super Bowl media events feature insightful inquiries, others stray into the unusual. One such instance this week involved a reporter asking San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw whether he would consider receiving a tattoo of quarterback Brock Purdy’s face in exchange for a guaranteed Super Bowl victory.
The “tattoo-for-achievement” question isn’t entirely new, but the context can vary wildly. Earlier this season, Fox analyst Mark Sanchez, a former Jets quarterback, jokingly asked Jets head coach Robert Saleh if he’d get a tattoo of quarterback Zach Wilson if he led them to the Super Bowl. Saleh playfully responded, “Put his whole face on my back!” This lighthearted exchange likely stemmed from Sanchez’s experience playing under Jets coach Rex Ryan, who famously had a tattoo of his wife wearing a Sanchez jersey.
But Saleh’s October exchange was a far cry from Greenlaw’s situation. Here we were, just days from Super Bowl LVIII, and a reporter threw out this outlandish hypothetical, apparently asking the same of multiple teammates who likely offered joking affirmations as well. Understandably taken aback by the audacity, Greenlaw raised an eyebrow and rightfully asked, “Would that guarantee a Super Bowl win?”
His blunt “Man, that ****’s weird” perfectly summed up the situation. Of course, he added that he’d get the tattoo for a guaranteed win – because winning the Super Bowl obviously transcends such propositions.
While a bit of levity is expected on media night, ridiculous questions like these cheapen the event and disrespect the players’ preparation for the pinnacle of their careers. Let’s hope future Super Bowl media weeks focus on insightful questions rather than testing players’ tolerance for the bizarre.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.