Sirianni at Super Bowl LVII: Yes, the Super Bowl is a Must Win Game

Update 2/7/2023: According to 94 WIP‘s Ross Tucker, the individual who asked the questions below is Dave Dameshek, a longtime sports reporter who is featured on the Extra Points Podcast and the podcast Minus Three with Shek and Schwartz. He reportedly asks this every year as a joke. According to Tucker, Sirianni was prepared for the antics, hence the terse answer and the move on to the next question.

Hard-hitting questions are typically not asked on Super Bowl Opening Night. But there were a few questions asked of Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni during his media availability on Monday night that should be textbook examples of questions reporters should not ask because their answers are too obvious.

When Sirianni sat down at the podium in the Footprint Center in Phoenix, one of the first questions he was asked was which team he’d root for if the Eagles played the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. Sirianni seemed taken by the question so much that he needed to clarify the question the reporter was asking.

“The Eagles,” he flatly answered, after confirming that was the question he was asked.

The reporter was off-screen so it’s unknown who actually asked this question, but he followed it up with, “What secrets did you learn about the Kansas City Chiefs on tape this week?” As if Sirianni is going to answer that question with anything other than platitudes. The Philadelphia Phillies took advantage of Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers in World Series Game 3 last season because he was tipping pitches, but nobody would admit that he was even after the game. Trade secrets are trade secrets for a reason.

To be fair, it can be awkward to start a line of questioning. It sometimes takes reporters and interview subjects a minute to find the groove. Under the bright lights of Super Bowl LVII, the reporter might have forgotten that all he had to do was look down at Sirianni’s jacket to see the answer to the Eagles versus Steelers question. Those excuses were wiped away, though, when the reporter finished his line of questioning with a real “gotcha” question, ranking up there with Katie Couric’s “name a newspaper” question of former Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin:

“So yes it’s a must-win game?”

“Yes,” Sirianni tersely responded.

Going back to the raw audio the NFL made available to media outlets, it was revealed that the reporter opened with “Is this a must win game?” before initiating the line of questioning that was caught on video, so he circled back to make sure he heard correctly.

A note to journalism students: make sure to do your research about the event you’re covering before you show up for the event.

You can check out Sirianni’s entire hour of media availability on the Philadelphia Eagles YouTube Channel. There are better questions after those first three.

Featured Photo: Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni takes questions from the press at Super Bowl LVII Opening Night. (YouTube/Philadelphia Eagles)