The recent Super Bowl week in San Francisco challenged long-standing stereotypes about the city, as conservative media personalities and sports commentators found themselves pleasantly surprised by the urban landscape and community.

Notable personalities like Pat McAfee from ESPN openly admitted their preconceived notions were wrong. “We’ve been told this place is a shithole,” McAfee said on his show. “This place has been gorgeous. This place has been incredible”.

Conservative media figures who previously painted San Francisco as a dystopian landscape were forced to confront a different reality. Brandon Walker from Barstool Sports noted the city’s remarkable views, highlighting how “every time you come to a stop sign, if you look right or left, you’re going to have the most magnificent view you’ve ever seen”.

The city’s positive reception wasn’t just about scenic beauty. Local experts like Peter Hartlaub from the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out critical context about urban challenges, emphasizing that violent crime is low compared to other major cities. San Francisco saw the fewest homicides since 1954 last year, a statistic that directly contradicts sensationalized narratives.

Even controversial figures like Dave Portnoy, known for provocative commentary, found themselves charmed by local experiences, particularly praising local restaurants like Square Pie Guys. Portnoy unusually gave a Detroit-style pizza a near-perfect score of 7.9, signaling a unexpected appreciation for the city’s culinary scene.

These perspectives challenge the ongoing media narrative that frequently portrays San Francisco through a negative lens. The Super Bowl week revealed a more nuanced, vibrant urban environment that defies simplistic stereotyping.

As Walker succinctly summarized, the city represents something more complex than its reputation: “We got a problem in this country of everybody on one side looking at a city and saying it’s terrible”. The week demonstrated that personal experience often tells a more compelling story than preconceived judgments.