Super Bowl With a Smirk: Play of the game? Rihanna’s amazing reverse run to Sunday’s halftime show

The most spectacular play of this year’s Super Bowl — one that any by the Chiefs or Eagles in Sunday’s game will be hard-pressed to top — is the complete reverse run by Rihanna, the international superstar singer and halftime performer.

Wouldn’t you know Your Friend The Media has unearthed and is regurgitating a 2019 interview Rihanna gave to Vogue magazine in which she revealed she had turned down the NFL’s request to perform in the then-upcomng halftime show.

“I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that?” she said then. “Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within [the NFL] that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.”

Instead Rihanna stood in support of Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who pretty much lost his career because he knelt during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in America. More recently the NFL has been sued by Brian Flores for what he alleged were racist hiring practices.

So why did Rihanna change courses and agree to star in Sunday’s halftime show?

Maybe because she is a part of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, and he executive produces the show for the NFL?

Maybe because she saw Snoop Dogg enjoyed a 143 percent bump in sales after his appearance last year?

Maybe because she wants to hype her upcoming world stadium tour?

Money talks. And the richer you are, the more it fluently speaks your language.

▪ Super Bowl to break all-time gambling records: The American Gaming Association predicts 50.4 million U.S. adults will bet a an estimated $16 billion on this Super Bowl — both records. The guesstimates include bets placed with legal sportsbooks, illegal bookmakers and also among friends or in office pools.

Thirty-two states now have legal online sports betting including four states added since last year’s Super Bowl. Eagles are consensus 1 1/2-point favorites over Chiefs as of Tuesday, with 74 percent of money wagered on Philly to cover the spread.

Caesars Sportsbook’s 22-page Super Bowl betting menu includes 2,000 different “prop” bets, including whether a Chinese spy balloon would fall on country singer Chris Stapleton during the “home of the brave” crescendo of the national anthem. (OK Smirk made that up. The spy balloon can fall on him at any point in the song.)

▪ Favorite snippets from opening Night interviews:

1. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts said the first ever SB duel between two Black starting quarterbacks should inspire 4- and 5-year-old kids across the world that “you can do it, too.” Hmm. Smirk knows 4- and 5-year-olds and believes that, in lieu of career planning, they would rather watch another episode after episode of “Bluey” on Disney+.

2. Patrick Mahomes answered a coyly leading question by admitting he has been so focused on the Super Bowl he has zero Valentine’s Day plans for his wife.

“Don’t tell her I said that!” he said as the media chuckled much more loudly than was called for. Mum’s the word!

3. Donna Kelce, steadfastly neutral mom of Chief Travis and Eagle Jason, showed up with a tray of homemade cookies, in order to be totally inconspicuous and eschew the spotlight..

▪ Smirk Super-poll result: Reid’s mustache-drawing in a rout : Andy Reid draws mustaches on sleeping players and Patrick Mahomes takes a “jazz bath” in competing State Farm ads, and we asked which commercial you like better. Our one-hour Twitter flash poll drew 220 votes, and coach crushed quarterback by 85.9 percent to 14.1.

▪ FIU in the Super Bowl — times three: No former FIU football players in this game, but the Miami university is repped by three ... athletic trainers! Tiffany Morton is the first full-time female AT in Chiefs history; Julie Frymyer is a Chiefs assistant trainer credited with helping rescue Patrick Mahomes from a high ankle sprain and enable him to play in the postseason; and Shaniece Jackson is the first Black female AT in Eagles history.

▪ Is Brady unretiring yet again!?: Tom Brady announcing his Fox Sports broadcasting career would begin in 20224 — not ‘23 — fueled speculation he will un-retire for a second time and play next season, according to a rumor Smirk started just now.

▪ Urgent advertising update: Sunday night’s parade of SB commercials will include ads from WorkDay, Dexcom, Tubi, Publicis Groupe, Oikos and Squarespace, along with ads from companies people have actually heard of. Wait. I have heard of that last one, from their animated series, SpongeBob SquareSpace.

▪ Super Bowl Party du Jour: Tired of serving wings and pizza? Bor-ing! Surprise and possibly delight your guests this Sunday by offering platters of the Japanese delicacy tuna eyeballs, jellied moose nose from Canada; and Huitlacoche, or corn cob fungus.