Super Bowl visitors find San Francisco better than its apocalyptic image

Right-wing influencers and conservative media have painted San Francisco as a wasteland of homeless encampments and open-air drug use, but visitors this week often said the city felt surprisingly pleasant. Pat McAfee, broadcasting from the city, admitted, “What we thought we were walking into here was, uh, a dump.

It’s not at all. It was a beautiful walk this morning.” First-time visitors described stark contrasts. Brayden Landis, a 21-year-old student, said the city shocked his senses — from the eucalyptus-scented expanse of Golden Gate Park to alleys where pedestrians must avoid needles and feces.

“To me, the city was known for homelessness, fog and hippies,” he said. “But the stereotypes melted away. You see the city for what it really is, good and bad, pretty quickly.” Local residents and officials pointed to a stepped-up clean-up and a larger police presence downtown for the brighter impression, measures that accompany any major event.