The Super Bowl, scheduled for 2026 during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, is creating an unexpected dilemma for Team USA athletes.
With the game kicking off in the wee hours of the morning in Italy, some athletes are torn between catching some shut-eye or cheering on their favorite NFL teams.
According to AP, the Super Bowl is set to start at 12:30 AM on Monday in Italy.
The Super Bowl, the NFL’s championship showdown, is America’s biggest sporting spectacle. This year’s matchup features the New England Patriots, gunning for a record seventh title, against the Seattle Seahawks, who are looking to claim their second championship.
The U.S. Olympic squad includes several athletes from Massachusetts and Washington, the home states of these teams, fueling a passionate atmosphere of cheering.
Jack DiGregorio, a U.S. luger and Patriots fan from Massachusetts, said he might wake up in the middle of the night to catch some of the action.
Some athletes said they were prioritizing sleep instead. Massachusetts native and curler Cory Dropkin said it would be too late for him to watch, but that he would sleep in his team jersey. Seattle-born short track speedskater Corinne Stoddard said she would check the score in the morning, adding that she was confident the Seahawks would come out on top.
Ice hockey players are weighing their options, considering checking the final score in the morning or only tuning in for the second half.
This marks the second time the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl have overlapped, following a similar situation in 2022. With the NFL season’s expansion, there’s growing concern about future scheduling conflicts with the Winter Games.
IOC member Kirsty Coventry said that as major events increasingly overlap, it is time for the sports world to have a serious conversation about coordinating schedules.