CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina has created an unprecedented scheduling conflict for American athletes as the Super Bowl’s kickoff coincides with critical competition preparation hours. With the championship game beginning at 12:30 a.m. local time on Monday, Olympians face the difficult choice between supporting their home teams and maintaining optimal athletic readiness.
Zack DiGregorio, a Massachusetts-native luge athlete and devoted New England Patriots fan, exemplifies this dilemma. Despite his mother’s two-decade career with the Patriots organization, DiGregorio acknowledges the conflict: “If I happen to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I may be tuning in.”
The timing conflict affects numerous competitors, with 15 Massachusetts natives and eight Washington state athletes on the U.S. Olympic team potentially torn between sporting loyalties. While some athletes plan to watch regardless of the hour, others prioritize their Olympic ambitions. Curler Korey Dropkin, another Massachusetts native, stated: “I’m not going to be able to watch because that’s going to be real late here. But as my form of support, I’m going to wear my Pats jersey to bed.”
This marks only the second occurrence of the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl overlapping on the same day, following the 2022 precedent. International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry has highlighted the broader implications: “You’ve got big events all working and overlapping. When are we all going to sit down as one big sporting family and have these conversations around how we prioritize?”
Resourceful supporters are finding creative solutions. Mark Henderson, father of freestyle skier Grace Henderson, negotiated with a Livigno bar to remain open beyond its 2 a.m. closing time to accommodate approximately 20 family members. Krista DiGregorio, Zack’s mother, seeks similar arrangements in Cortina d’Ampezzo, joking about “begging or perhaps sliding a few euros in their direction.”
Despite the football distraction, the Olympic spirit remains paramount. The DiGregorio family has decorated their rental with Patriots memorabilia but considers Zack’s participation in the opening ceremony already a championship-level achievement. As Krista DiGregorio reflected: “To be there and see how happy he is, how happy his teammates are, the people he’s grown up with and gotten close to, it’s been wonderful.”