Super Bowl media night — or Opening Night, as it’s called now — is more of a spectacle than a serious fact-gathering event. It’s when thousands of media members from the U.S. and all over the world converge on one venue to ask the participating players a dizzying mixture of real and joke questions.
Some players have more fun with the event than others. But even for the best sports, the event can get extremely awkward. We saw that on Monday night when Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was at the Footprint Center podium in Phoenix.
During the Eagles’ availability, a reporter opened his remark by telling Hurts that he didn’t think he’d ever lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl berth. And for that, he wanted to offer a face-to-face apology.
Reporter: “I gotta admit, I didn’t think the Eagles would get to the Super Bowl with you as their Quarterback.”
Jalen: “You’re not the only one.”
Reporter: “So I just wanted to tell you man to man.. I’m sorry.”
Jalen: “Cool.” pic.twitter.com/v40Po1efEY
— Eagles Nation (NFC Champs) (@PHLEaglesNation) February 7, 2023
Hurts understandably could not care less what this person thought of him, so he had the single response of, “Cool.”
It doesn’t get much more awkward than that. Like, what was Hurts even supposed to say there? But at least the chuckle served as a solid transition into someone else’s question.
Fans also had thoughts about that entire exchange.