Before we get into ranking Super Bowl cities, let me say this upfront: I’m not complaining, and know I’ve never really worked a day in my life if the “job” is traveling to Super Bowls and arguing about host cities. Everyone should be so lucky. I get it. Media members complain too much as it is, and the world does not need another guy whining about free food, credential lines, or the angle of the sun at Radio Row.
Every Super Bowl city I’ve covered had some charm. None of them were disasters. This is like pizza—even the “bad” ones aren’t really bad. It’s just levels. Some are fine. Some are good. Some are great. And a few are just about perfect.
So with that context—and a bias against cold weather I’m not pretending to hide—here’s how I’d rank the Super Bowl cities I’ve actually lived in for a week at a time.
#5 – New York City
I’m not pro–cold-weather Super Bowls, but this is New York. When hosting its lone Super Bowl featuring the Seahawks and Broncos, the city didn’t roll out a red carpet. They didn’t pretend to care, and didn’t bend itself into NFL pretzels—which somehow made it perfect.
Cabbies complained about the league clogging the streets. Businesses carried on like it was just another convention. New York didn’t need the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl needed New York.
Radio Row was the tightest, loudest, most cluttered setup I’ve ever worked—and I wouldn’t change a thing. That’s the city. You walk the streets, look up, and just breathe it in. New York always hums. Other host cities try to manufacture energy. New York just exists.
It doesn’t dress up for you, and doesn’t care that you’re there. That indifference is part of the charm.
Before Super Bowl Opening Night LIVE was a thing, media day meant commuting from Manhattan to East Rutherford, New Jersey, straight into rush hour. The NFL solved it by giving media buses a protected lane the entire way. I’ve never seen so many middle fingers in my life as we flew past gridlock.
A very New York welcome.
The food and nightlife was second only to New Orleans. One night featured the best Italian meal of my life—no menus, just pasta and wine that kept coming in what felt like someone’s living room. Another night ended at a secret club I still couldn’t find again if you spotted me a compass. My final night ended with Ray’s Pizza around 4 a.m. When I asked for a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call, the operator politely informed me it was already past that time.
The weather? It was winter. Real winter. You barely noticed—until Monday morning, when a snowstorm delayed everything for hours. The game was a blowout, but the snow stayed away, which is the only weather outcome the NFL truly believes in.
What I remember from Radio Row was Kevin Costner promoting Draft Day. We should’ve known the movie was in trouble because every time we tried to talk about it, Costner wanted to talk football instead. We barely promoted the film, but we did have a great debate about O.J. Simpson vs. Gary Beban for the 1967 Heisman.
The other involved former 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith. His handler explicitly told us not to ask about off-field issues. Naturally, our first question went straight there. The handler lost his mind. Smith waved him off and gave us the most honest interview of the week.
Despite the NFL’s blizzard anxiety, New York deserves semi-rotation. The city is simply too good to leave out.
#4 – Los Angeles
It’s LA—which is both the appeal and the problem. If you weren’t inside or around the Los Angeles Convention Center, you could’ve forgotten the Super Bowl between the Rams and Bengals was even happening. Everything is spread out, traffic is brutal, and you can’t hit all the parties unless you enjoy spending half your life on the 405.
But the sun is out, the food is excellent, and if you plan your day right, you’re eating fish tacos by the ocean in February while wearing shorts. The vibe however was minimal. Radio Row is downtown. Everything else is somewhere else. Unlike New York, LA doesn’t compress the event—it absorbs it.
The Super Bowl doesn’t dominate the city; it disappears into it.
SoFi Stadium is about 15 miles from downtown. Team hotels, sponsor parties, and events are scattered everywhere. Because the Rams were the host, you didn’t get that neutral-site energy where both fan bases take over one central area.
The food? Fish tacos near the beach. Street tacos at 1 a.m. Sushi that shows up faster than your Uber. You may not feel the Super Bowl everywhere, but you feel like you’re on vacation—and that counts.
Weather also played into that. Warm-weather Super Bowls matter. LA, Miami, Phoenix, and Vegas all win by simply not requiring a coat.
What stood out at Radio Row was Hall of Famer Warren Moon saw Pat McAfee in his black tank top and deadpanned, “Aren’t you supposed to have muscles if you wear those?” Former quarterback Jake Plummer was promoting mushrooms, praising the benefits, then started choking mid-sentence. I genuinely thought we were going to need paramedics.
Bottom line, LA is spread out, traffic is miserable, and fan vibes are limited—but the weather is perfect, Radio Row is stacked, and SoFi Stadium might be the best stadium in the NFL right now.
#3 – Miami
It’s Miami. On South Beach, you never know what’s going to happen—and that unpredictability is the draw for all 11 Super Bowls it’s hosted. Unlike LA, there’s a real hub where fans, media, and chaos collide. You can escape Super Bowl week if you want, but most people don’t.
Along with New Orleans, the best vibe of any Super Bowl city is the 305. Music everywhere. Cultures colliding. Energy at all hours. And the weather? Untouchable.
However, Super Bowl central in South Beach isn’t remotely close to Hard Rock Stadium, which keeps Miami from perfection.
A radio row moment from Miami included Franco Harris and Phil Villapiano re-litigating the Immaculate Reception decades later. It got so heated our seven-second delay wasn’t enough to keep profanity off the air. Phil still doesn’t see it Franco’s way.
My most Miami moment? Finding a nightclub hidden behind a taco stand that stayed open until 6 a.m. I went looking for the bathroom and discovered an underground dance floor instead. I don’t think I slept eight hours all week.
Miami brought a lot, but the best moments were taking calls from devastated 49ers fans at 4 a.m. after Super Bowl 54. Then “running” to catch the final media bus back to South Beach. Best $25 tip I ever spent.
#2 – Las Vegas
Everything was right there for Super Bowl LVIII in 2024. You can walk from your hotel on Super Bowl Opening Night to the game on Sunday. As long as you don’t get into a car, you’re undefeated. You couldn’t miss the strip. Elite people-watching. Elite chaos.
There used to be food value in Sin City. Vegas used to give you cheap food because you lost all your money gambling. Now you lose your money gambling and eating. Having said that, Las Vegas restaurants are elite, as good as any in the country. Your kids aren’t going to college without loans, though, after a night out.
The locale for Allegiant Stadium is top-five. Right off the strip. Quick in and out.
Radio row was full of hangovers. Bright lights. The Convention Center at 7 a.m. I wore sunglasses indoors all week like a recovering vampire. No one slept all week. It’s impossible. My drowsiness led to my instincts getting the best of me. I reached out to shake Kurt Warner’s hand in the bathroom at the Super Bowl. We had both just finished our business. Warner’s the nicest guy alive, but the look he gave me said, “Absolutely not.”
Vegas can handle anything—including the Super Bowl—but I was there ten days. About seven too many. That’s why it’s not the best in my estimation.
#1 – New Orleans
New Orleans has everything: party, charm, food, history, proximity. That’s why the NFL has granted the market 11 Super Bowls. The only knock is the stadium—and yes, I was there at Super Bowl 47 when the lights went out.
Everything is close. Bourbon Street is on steroids during Super Bowl week, but Frenchmen Street is the real move. Music spills out of every doorway. Sleep becomes optional.
The food selections are wide and epic. The day starts at Café Du Monde for beignets, then po’boys at Domilise’s. Oysters at Acme. Dinner at Brennan’s or Willie Mae’s. I’ve covered multiple Super Bowls here and still haven’t scratched the surface.
A rare Saturday radio row memory involved a crushing hangover. Cohost with no voice. In the distance, I spot actress Alyssa Milano—basically the only human on Radio Row besides us. I ask her to come on. She stays for an hour as my cohost and saves the show. I remember it as a miracle. She probably remembers it as a hostage situation.
Honorable Mentions
Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville was the worst experience I’ve had in a host city. We stayed on a cruise ship because the city didn’t have enough hotel rooms. That’s really all you need to know. It also wasn’t nearly as warm as advertised, and the food wasn’t memorable. Jacksonville had its shot. The Super Bowl won’t be back.
Phoenix is easily the most underrated host city. Media people love free food and parties. We’re simple creatures. So when the media party buses headed into the desert, we assumed Goodfellas. Instead: a Southwest feast—meat, fire pits, fancy booze, cigars, and perfect weather. Add Scottsdale nightlife and 75-and-sunny all week, and you understand why the NFL keeps coming back.
San Diego is another great market that could host the Super Bowl every year. Just fix the stadium. Pasadena won’t see the Super Bowl back at the Rose Bowl, but it might be the most beautiful venue football has ever seen.
Overall, New York gives you the attitude. Los Angeles gives you the sunshine. Miami gives you the energy and chaos. Las Vegas gives you the spectacle. New Orleans gives you all of it—and lets the night decide when it’s over.
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