Five infamous Super Bowl Media Night questions
In 1994, during the week of Super Bowl XXVIII, a reporter asked Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas what got him psyched up for big games.
“I read the newspaper and look at the stupid questions you all ask,” he replied.
What the Super Bowl is to football, Super Bowl week is to silly (and stupid) questions. Monday at Super Bowl Media Night in Minneapolis (8 p.m. ET, NFL Network and ESPN), with reporters granted their first opportunity to ask the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles questions, here are five of the most infamous in the history of the event.
“Was it dead mother, blind father or blind mother, dead father?”
Asked of Oakland Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett the week Super Bowl XV in 1981.
Correct answer: Blind mother, blind father, living mother, dead father.
A reporter asked for the clarification after Plunkett talked about growing up in a special needs home.
“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”
Asked of Washington Redskins defensive end Dexter Manley during one of his three trips to the Super Bowl in the 1980s, according to published reports.
Correct answer: Something big, perhaps a giant sequoia.
Manley, according to a 1988 Orlando Sentinel article, responded, “What? Speak to me in a language I can understand, man.”
“So why do they call you Boomer?”
Asked to Joe Montana the week of Super Bowl XXIII in 1989.
Correct answer: They don’t. They called Boomer Esiason Boomer, and Esiason was the opposing quarterback when the Cincinnati Bengals played the San Francisco 49ers in that Super Bowl.
“What’s your relationship with the football?”
Asked of Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Joe Salave’a the week of Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.
Correct answer: Only Salave’a knew for sure.
Salavae’a reply: “I’d say it’s strictly platonic.”
“Who has the better hair, you or Steelers safety Tony Polamalu?”
Asked of Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald at Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.
Correct answer: Who the hell is Tony Polamalu?
It was Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers who sported the wondrously thick hair.