SUNDAY SIDE-EYE: THE WEEK THE NEWS CROSSED THE GOAL LINE… AND THEN LANDED IN THE END ZONE OF ABSURDITY
It’s Super Bowl Sunday — the biggest TV event of the year and basically a national holiday at this point, but the week’s headlines were too busy making culture and politics collide to stay focused on the actual game.
Here’s the play-by-play of the stuff that actually got airtime — despite having nothing to do with football.
“NBC Announcer Caught on Hot Mic Calling Olympic Snowboarding Boring”
An NBC commentator forgot he was on the air and gave an honest review of the Winter Olympic Big Air finals.
OLYMPICS HOT MIC: NBC sports commentator Todd Richards not hiding his excitement…
‘THAT WAS BORING’
He’s a former Olympic snowboarder pic.twitter.com/Ka4cixqtxd
— RT (@RT_com) February 7, 2026
Side-eye: If the most honest moment in sports broadcasting this week came from a mistake, that’s a tell.
Trump Rips Olympic Snowboarder Hunter Hess Over Comments
An Olympic athlete’s thoughts about representing Team USA got dragged into political commentary.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump has a message for the anti-American American Olympic athletes like Hunter Hess:
“If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the team, and it’s too bad he’s on it.”
Trump’s right! pic.twitter.com/6aeiDfIEBt
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 8, 2026
Side-eye: Celebrating national athletic achievement? Too simple. Now it’s a campaign ad.
Newsom Declares ‘Bad Bunny Day’ After Super Bowl
The governor of California declares a holiday named after the halftime show performer — and makes it a not-so-subtle dig at the president.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared February 8 as “Bad Bunny Day” statewide. pic.twitter.com/fgJiOKNW7n
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) February 8, 2026
Side-eye: You know it’s a cultural moment when performance art becomes policy.
Bad Bunny halftime show turns into political flashpoint
Headliner Bad Bunny’s performance is being talked about more as politics than entertainment.
I’m not giving a single second of my time to that clown Bad Bunny during the NFL halftime show.
Who else will be changing the channel? pic.twitter.com/aYupdJ5GPM
— Emily Juniper 🇺🇸🇦🇺 𝕩 (@emilyjuniper_) February 8, 2026
Side-eye: A halftime show that might need a policy brief.
Kid Rock Festival Cancelled Because Acts Pulled Out
A country-fest stops its South Carolina stop after headliners walk — and the coverage was treated like national news.
FESTIVAL FALLOUT: Days after Shinedown pulled out of the “Rock the Country” festival, the Kid Rock-led music event canceled its show in South Carolina.
The band announced their sudden exit from the festival saying, “Shinedown is everyone’s band. We feel that we have been given a… pic.twitter.com/Sv1wbAg9yW
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 8, 2026
Side-eye: If a backyard barbecue loses its band, no one writes headlines about it — but this got airtime like it was a national summit.
Dave Portnoy Explains Why He’s Rarely Seen With His Girlfriend
An internet personality gives a personal life explanation to the public.
Portnoy — one of sports media’s most polarizing figures — explained that keeping the relationship private was a mutual decision between the two of them, in an effort to shield D’Aloia from the “yo-yos” and “idiots” that he willingly employs.
“She’s rarely with me,” Portnoy, 48, told Daily Mail, with D’Aloia joining him for the interview. “People are nuts, so she doesn’t want to be in the middle of it, and I don’t want her in the middle of it. I have absolute morons who work for me, and if I quit, I don’t know what they’re going to do.
“I’m concerned about people who have been with me for like 15 years and have absolutely no life skills,” he added. “And if Barstool goes away, what happens to these people? Because they’re idiots.
“Some of our guys are charity cases,” he emphasized, “no doubt.” – New York Post
Side-eye: Who asked? And why did this make the news cycle?
THE SUNDAY SUMMARY SIDE-EYE
This was the week where:
- Olympic commentary made headlines… because it was unscripted
- Politics dragged snowboarding into the culture war
- A halftime show got its own holiday
- A music festival collapse got more attention than actual policy
- Internet personalities’ dating lives became public service announcements
And meanwhile… actual football is set to kick off this evening with the **Patriots vs. Seahawks showdown — the most watched game of the year.*
Side-eye: It’s possible to be invested in the game. It’s also possible that the week’s talking points were more entertaining than the sport itself. (At least until 6:30 p.m.)
Feature Image: Created in Canva Pro
