Something’s wrong with this picture.

Any picture, that is, of the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in Miami this week.

Both teams arrived in Florida on Sunday for Super Bowl LIV, and all the hype and hoopla begins and the New England Patriots won’t be part of it. There was not big sendoff at Gillette Stadium, no rally, no speeches. It’s been all quiet there for the last three weeks and will be until his royal highness, Tom Brady, makes his big free agent decision in mid-March.

Life is completely different after three straight trips to the biggest football game/sporting event of the year. We got Minneapolis, but not Miami. That’s just wrong.

Yes, it’s a strange week for the Patriots and their fans. The players must be out of sorts, or most of them who aren’t making promotional appearances for this or that in the sun during this week. Last year Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was all over the media center Friday of Super Bowl Week in Atlanta for various interviews/promotions after losing the AFC Title Game to New England, but don’t expect to see Tom Brady around South Beach or anywhere in the vicinity, at least we don’t think so.

And this time, Mahomes is the one set to try to get a ring. As the agent in the insurance commercial we’re all sick of by now says, “My, my, how the tables have turned.”

Oh of course Rob Gronkowski is having some type of event, a “Gronk Beach Festival” on Saturday. No surprise there. There will be celebrity events galore as Miami will certainly provide a festive atmosophere – much more so than recent sites Minneapolis and Atlanta, although Atlanta didn’t do a bad job. You heard rumblings late two years ago in the Minneapolis area that the corporates weren’t too happy about the cold weather site.

But the week will really belong to the deserving Chiefs and 49ers. Mahomes will be a full participant this time. As well he should be; one can argue he is the best quarterback in the game right now.

But of course, there are a lot of Patriots angles, the obvious one being former New England backup and apple of Bill Belichick’s eye, Jimmy Garoppolo, getting his due as well. There will be lots of Belichick and Brady questions, and of course whether he thinks Brady will go back to New England, about what their relationship was like. Much about the Garappolo gift trade to San Francisco and why it happened will be revisited, talked and written about ad nauseam.

He’ll be the darling of the crazies who take part in Opening Night at the Super Bowl (formerly known as Media Day) tonight at Marlins Park. Niners defensive back Richard Sherman will also love the attention, and will get plenty of it as well.

Mahomes is the big one for Kansas City; perhaps outspoken tight end Travis Kelce. But while the Chiefs have star power they don’t have crazy star power.

It’s going to be one of those weeks. The teams will be off on Tuesday, available to the media Wednesday and Thursday if the schedule of past years is followed.

Chiefs coch Andy Reid will be asked about trying to win his first Super Bowl after all these years. Kyle Shanahan will be asked about what he’s learned from his father, Mike, who won two, and maybe what the Falcons could have done differently when he was their offensive coordinator during 28-3. Another Patriots tie-in, right? That plus former Pats receiver Wes Welker, now the receivers coach of the 49ers. Wonder if he’ll be asked again about that pass that he could just not quite reach in the loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. Saturday we’ll find out if former Patriot defensive lineman Richard Seymour gets into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And on it will go until the two teams finally tangle at the Hard Rock Stadium, which isn’t exactly the best venue after all the new ones that have been built around the league. But hey, being in Miami should be good enough, right? South Florida was made for events like this.

And the game stays in Florida next year, moving west to Tampa. And it will be a bit later, on Feb. 7.

But let’s face it, this week will be strange for all of us, including for yours truly, who was fortunate enough – and forever grateful – to be assigned the Super Bowl trip three straight years. Lots of local fans had the fun of breaking piggy banks and scraping up the funds and piecing together travel plans to make those trips as well.

We’ve all been spoiled. It was a week that broke up the winter blahs.

But this year, around here it’s just a normal ho-hum week with nothing super about it. And that just adds to the Patriots winter of discontent.

Tom King may be reached at 594-1251, or@Telegraph_TomK.tking@nashuatelegraph.com

Something’s wrong with this picture.

Any picture, that is, of the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in Miami this week.

Both teams arrived in Florida on Sunday for Super Bowl LIV, and all the hype and hoopla begins and the New England Patriots won’t be part of it. There was not big sendoff at Gillette Stadium, no rally, no speeches. It’s been all quiet there for the last three weeks and will be until his royal highness, Tom Brady, makes his big free agent decision in mid-March.

Life is completely different after three straight trips to the biggest football game/sporting event of the year. We got Minneapolis, but not Miami. That’s just wrong.

Yes, it’s a strange week for the Patriots and their fans. The players must be out of sorts, or most of them who aren’t making promotional appearances for this or that in the sun during this week. Last year Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was all over the media center Friday of Super Bowl Week in Atlanta for various interviews/promotions after losing the AFC Title Game to New England, but don’t expect to see Tom Brady around South Beach or anywhere in the vicinity, at least we don’t think so.

And this time, Mahomes is the one set to try to get a ring. As the agent in the insurance commercial we’re all sick of by now says, “My, my, how the tables have turned.”

Oh of course Rob Gronkowski is having some type of event, a “Gronk Beach Festival” on Saturday. No surprise there. There will be celebrity events galore as Miami will certainly provide a festive atmosophere – much more so than recent sites Minneapolis and Atlanta, although Atlanta didn’t do a bad job. You heard rumblings late two years ago in the Minneapolis area that the corporates weren’t too happy about the cold weather site.

But the week will really belong to the deserving Chiefs and 49ers. Mahomes will be a full participant this time. As well he should be; one can argue he is the best quarterback in the game right now.

But of course, there are a lot of Patriots angles, the obvious one being former New England backup and apple of Bill Belichick’s eye, Jimmy Garoppolo, getting his due as well. There will be lots of Belichick and Brady questions, and of course whether he thinks Brady will go back to New England, about what their relationship was like. Much about the Garappolo gift trade to San Francisco and why it happened will be revisited, talked and written about ad nauseam.

He’ll be the darling of the crazies who take part in Opening Night at the Super Bowl (formerly known as Media Day) tonight at Marlins Park. Niners defensive back Richard Sherman will also love the attention, and will get plenty of it as well.

Mahomes is the big one for Kansas City; perhaps outspoken tight end Travis Kelce. But while the Chiefs have star power they don’t have crazy star power.

It’s going to be one of those weeks. The teams will be off on Tuesday, available to the media Wednesday and Thursday if the schedule of past years is followed.

Chiefs coch Andy Reid will be asked about trying to win his first Super Bowl after all these years. Kyle Shanahan will be asked about what he’s learned from his father, Mike, who won two, and maybe what the Falcons could have done differently when he was their offensive coordinator during 28-3. Another Patriots tie-in, right? That plus former Pats receiver Wes Welker, now the receivers coach of the 49ers. Wonder if he’ll be asked again about that pass that he could just not quite reach in the loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. Saturday we’ll find out if former Patriot defensive lineman Richard Seymour gets into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And on it will go until the two teams finally tangle at the Hard Rock Stadium, which isn’t exactly the best venue after all the new ones that have been built around the league. But hey, being in Miami should be good enough, right? South Florida was made for events like this.

And the game stays in Florida next year, moving west to Tampa. And it will be a bit later, on Feb. 7.

But let’s face it, this week will be strange for all of us, including for yours truly, who was fortunate enough – and forever grateful – to be assigned the Super Bowl trip three straight years. Lots of local fans had the fun of breaking piggy banks and scraping up the funds and piecing together travel plans to make those trips as well.

We’ve all been spoiled. It was a week that broke up the winter blahs.

But this year, around here it’s just a normal ho-hum week with nothing super about it. And that just adds to the Patriots winter of discontent.

Tom King may be reached at 594-1251, or@Telegraph_TomK.tking@nashuatelegraph.com

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