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Read the news of the day in less than 10 minutes — not that we’re counting.
Fletcher Cox told reporters that he’s never watched the Super Bowl, but based on his Twitter timeline, that doesn’t seem to be true.
At the end of his media availability Wednesday, which you can watch in full here, Cox was asked, “From years of watching the Super Bowl as a fan, is there any memory that kind of sticks out to you?”
This was a question being asked to every player yesterday, obviously in hopes of cobbling together a look at what some of the Eagles think about when they remember past Super Bowls. (Full disclosure, my greatest Super Bowl memories are John Elway helicoptering into the end zone, “wide right,” and trying to scrub the tape of Super Bowl XXXIX to see if Donovan McNabb did or did not barf.)
Cox replied matter-of-factly to that Super question that he does not have a favorite Super Bowl memory, because he has never watched the Super Bowl.
“I don’t know. I really don’t watch football. Y’all know that. I don’t watch sports, you know that.”
“Have you watched any of the Super Bowls?”
“I don’t watch sports. I tell y’all all the time.”
“Not even the Super Bowl?” “We don’t really believe you. Not even the Super Bowl?”
“I already said it.”
The quote made national news, that one of the best players on a team going to the Super Bowl has never watched a Super Bowl.
Headline at ProFootballTalk: Fletcher Cox will play in a Super Bowl, claims he has never watched one
Headline at Yahoo Sports: Eagles’ Fletcher Cox says he’s never watched the Super Bowl. Ever.
Headline at 247Sports: Fletcher Cox has never watched the Super Bowl
Headline at NJ.com: Eagles’ Fletcher Cox says he’s never watched the Super Bowl
Headline at Bleacher Report: Fletcher Cox Has Never Watched a Super Bowl ?
#Eagles DE Fletcher Cox said he has no favorite moments from the Super Bowl because he’s never watched one. “I don’t watch sports. Y’all know that.”
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 24, 2018
See, big news. And also a lie.
Michael David Smith at PFT updated his post on Cox claiming to have never watched a Super Bowl with a tweet shared by a reader that Cox sent at the precise moment Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson at the end of Super Bowl XLIX.
I wrote about Fletcher Cox saying he’s never watched the Super Bowl. A reader pointed out this tweet was posted at the exact time Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson at the end of the Super Bowl three years ago. https://t.co/p2QSoKmx0Y
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) January 25, 2018
Cox’s original tweet was just the word wow three times, but clearly given the time of the tweet and the fact that most of the rest of the world was tweeting the same thing, it’s fair to assume he was talking about that play.
That got me wondering what other Super Bowl moments Cox tweeted about but didn’t remember watching. And I’ll admit, had I not sat through a school board meeting that featured a presentation by a bunch of fifth graders last night warning us about how our digital footprint stays with us forever — something that should be fresh in Cox’s mind after a man sued him earlier this season, claiming Cox seduced his wife via social media — I probably wouldn’t have even thought to do this.
Alas, Twitter Advanced Search made it pretty, pretty easy to find some other Super Bowl related tweets by Cox.
No Gorilla ???? lol
— fletcher cox (@fcoxx_91) February 3, 2014
That tweet was in reference to the halftime show by Bruno Mars at Super Bowl XLVIII. Mars, of course, has a popular power ballad called Gorilla on the album that was released the year he did the Super Bowl halftime show. It was not part of his set.
Now, to be fair, that’s not actually about football. But this is:
Can’t understand why NE d line so far off the ball
— fletcher cox (@fcoxx_91) February 5, 2012
That tweet was sent during Super Bowl XLVI, when the Giants beat the Patriots 21-17. So was this one, later in the game:
Wooooooooowwwwwwwww @FreezBlackHeart
— fletcher cox (@fcoxx_91) February 6, 2012
It took about a second to piece together what that was in reference to, because one minute later, I had tweeted this:
Good catch, and actually a bad challenge.
— Dan Levy (@DanLevyThinks) February 6, 2012
Both were comments about this throw and catch by the Giants.
Cox may not have been watching the entire Super Bowl, but he was certainly watching at that point in the game, as nearly one-third of America had tuned in for that game’s ending.
The Super Bowl peaked between 9:30-9:58 p.m. ET when it was watched by 117.7 million viewers.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) February 6, 2012
Cox was being truthful when he told reporters he doesn’t watch sports. His entire Instagram feed is photos of himself playing, racing cars or hunting. But he’s watched the Super Bowl before, or at least the most memorable parts of two of them. The digital footprint doesn’t lie, man.