On Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks took over Levi’s Stadium with a 29-13 win over the New England Patriots. The game was a defensive snoozefest until the fourth quarter, so WSN staff let their thoughts drift to Bad Bunny, Sam Darnold’s former teams and food symbolism in the meantime.
“A poor performance from the league’s almost-MVP Drake ‘Drake Maye’ Maye leads the world to consider a difficult question: What happens when you give a man more sauce than he can handle?”
— John Bush, Deputy Magazine Editor
“I’ve never watched the Super Bowl for the actual game before, but as a Massachusetts native, I was essentially genetically required to care about who won this year. So, it’s safe to say I’m disappointed. Hopefully, the Pats will be back next year and can do New England proud. Until then, I’ll be watching Bad Bunny’s historic halftime performance on loop.”
— Skylar Boilard, Arts Editor
“I knew Bad Bunny was popular, but not this famous. This is the biggest solo concert I’ve seen since Taylor!! This is genuinely the GOAT of Grammy after parties.”
— Annika Wilewicz, Deputy Opinion Editor
“Only second to Thanksgiving, Americans eat more food on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other day of the year. But as WSN’s resident food studies major, when I say that this year’s Super Bowl was about food, I’m talking about the fact that Bad Bunny’s halftime show was a master class in cultural and political representation of food. Surrounded by fields of sugar cane being harvested by backup dancers — a nod to the cash crop’s centuries-long history of being farmed by enslaved Puerto Ricans — the artist passes by a coco frío vendor, a piragüero selling fruit-flavored shaved ice and even a Villa’s Tacos stand. Angelenos might recognize the taquero as founder Victor Villa, who has remained an outspoken advocate for Los Angeles’ immigrant community. And remember when Bad Bunny took a shot in the middle of the show? It was handed to him by none other than Brooklyn legend Toñita, who owns Caribbean Social Club — an iconic half-a-century-old bar that reminds Williamsburg of its buried immigrant identity. As Bad Bunny knows, food has always been political, and will continue to exemplify the resilience of immigrants.”
— Lauren Ng, Managing Editor
“If I had a nickel for every time a Minnesota Vikings player left for the Seahawks and then immediately won a Super Bowl, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.”
— Kiran Komanduri, Sports Editor
“At least Sam Darnold gave New York Jets fans something to cheer about.”
— Jonathan Mak, Editor-At-Large
“Seattle’s first 12 points coming from four consecutive field goals throughout the first three quarters was kind of insane, and the Seahawks leading 19-0 during the start of the fourth was interesting to say the least. To be frank, neither team was playing their best — Drake Maye was also losing it! Especially in the fourth!! I guess he’s young, but at the same time, the Patriots are evil and everyone knows it, so I’m not mad about it at all :)) Anyways, live laugh love Bad Bunny.”
— Sherry Chen, Deputy Sports Editor
“Watching the players run around in perfect Bay Area weather made me more homesick than I’ve been all year — especially when I stepped outside after the game, and my weather app said it felt like 2 degrees.”
— Krish Dev, Digital Director
“The Patriots would have won if it was raining, if it was snowing or if Sam Darnold broke his ankle. Just saying.”
— Grayson Stotz, Deputy Managing Editor
“As a Massachusetts native, I can admit that I grew up spoiled by Boston’s record-breaking reign of dominance across its teams — including the New England Patriots, who have won the Super Bowl six times since 2000. Maynard residents, in true Massachusetts fashion, even elected to rename their town ‘Mayenard’ just for Sunday in honor of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. But despite those high expectations festered by a strong local sports culture, Sunday’s game was so disappointing and frankly, pretty boring. Nonetheless, I loved the excuse to rep New England hard this season and feel just a little bit more connected to the place I call home.”
— Aashna Miharia, Deputy Managing Editor
Contact Skylar Boilard, John Bush, Sherry Chen, Krish Dev, Kiran Komanduri, Jonathan Mak, Aashna Miharia, Lauren Ng, Grayson Stotz and Annika Wilewicz at [email protected].