BOSTON — “BOSTON MAYOR MICHELLE WU IS BIGGER THAN FOOTBALL.”

That isn’t a parody headline or a meme cooked up by critics. It’s the literal slogan splashed across a glossy radio promo making the rounds online this weekend — a poster elevating Mayor Michelle Wu above the Super Bowl itself.

The message was shared by Brianna Millor, a senior member of Wu’s political team, before quietly disappearing behind a private Instagram account — a familiar move in an administration that loves the spotlight until the backlash hits.

According to the poster, Wu’s radio appearance ahead of Patriots kickoff is the real main event. Not the chance for New England to chase a historic seventh Super Bowl. Not the citywide celebration. Not the fans. The mayor.

The tone is hard to miss: self-importance dressed up as civic leadership.

At a time when Boston residents are still dodging uncleared streets, slush-choked sidewalks, and snowbanks that seem to linger for weeks, City Hall’s priority appears to be national political theater. Fixing basic services? Secondary. Picking fights with the federal government? Front and center.

This is the core criticism dogging Wu’s administration: an inner circle that behaves like it’s God’s gift to Boston while struggling with the fundamentals of running the city.

Snow removal has been uneven. Neighborhood complaints pile up after every storm. Small quality-of-life issues fester. Yet the mayor’s team seems far more animated when it comes to attacking “the Feds,” sparring with Washington, and positioning Boston as a symbolic resistance hub — even when residents just want their streets cleared and their buses running on time.

The “bigger than football” branding didn’t land as inspirational. It landed as arrogant.

To many Bostonians, it confirmed a long-running perception that Wu’s inner circle lives in a political bubble — convinced they’re starring in a national drama while the city beneath them deals with the mess.

Even the cleanup afterward told a story. Millor’s Instagram account, which shared the poster, has since been set to private — a quiet retreat after the slogan started circulating more widely and drawing ridicule.

Boston didn’t ask for a mayor who thinks she’s bigger than football.

They asked for one who can manage snow, streets, and city services — before trying to pick a fight with Washington or crown herself the main character of Super Bowl Sunday.

Right now, that gap between self-image and reality is doing a lot of the talking.