Q: America’s Finest City? : A: See Below

San Diego. Eighth-largest city in the country.

Some city slickers bicker over that, insisting it’s No. 7--even ahead of Dallas. How do you argue with a Texan?

San Diego will try. After all, it’s hosting the Super Bowl today, isn’t it? It has everything going for it--weather that rivals Jamaica’s, waters that rival Hawaii’s, a zoo that packs in animals some can’t find even in Africa, and a whole ‘nother country to play around in a few minutes south.

San Diego boasts of a pioneering spirit, few natives to bicker about the immigrants and the kind of Fahrenheit readings that make bickering difficult, if not impossible.

What more could any city have going for it? A deeper intellectual climate, a professional basketball team, night life that proceeds past 11 p.m.? Come on now, nobody’s perfect. Just because it isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it isn’t the finest.

That’s right, the finest .

Somehow, some way, San Diego started calling itself “America’s Finest City” several years back. Many lay the blame for the slogan at the tongue of Sen. Pete Wilson, the former mayor. Darn it, if the thing didn’t stick. Oh, sure, it’s a burden--people laugh about it, cynics sneer at it, but who’s gonna argue? Not when it’s January and the temperature is 73 degrees.

San Diego is now hosting its all-time convention--Super Bowl XXII, the Woodstock of the National Football League. Robert Payne of the San Diego Super Bowl Task Force says Super Bowl XXII is bringing in 80,000 visitors to see for themselves whether this is “America’s Finest City.” The largest delegation prior to this week was a Kiwanis convention that brought in 16,000.

Now what kind of city brags about Kiwanis conventions?

This convention--which has something called a kickoff at 3:17 p.m. today--is being televised in more than 50 countries, including Nicaragua and China. So, maybe folks from Bern to Beirut are going to be asking the same question:

Is San Diego “America’s Finest City”?

Who better to ask than the honor roll in town for the big game?

Most have never been shy enough to withhold their names, much less their opinions . . .

Jimmy Stewart, actor. “Well, it certainly is one of America’s finest cities. Things happen in San Diego that make it a special city. The whole idea of Charles Lindbergh started here. The whole thing. So many things in the aviation world have had their start in San Diego. To have this as the place for the Super Bowl is a great thing for the city itself. The Los Angeles Zoo and others look to San Diego’s zoo as the finest in the world.”

Brent Musberger, host, “NFL Today,” CBS Sports: “No, of course it isn’t America’s Finest City, and it’s a stupid question. I don’t know one that is the finest. I can find good things to say about Cleveland and Detroit. Seattle has a great argument. Miami . . . My favorite is New York, but only because that’s where my checks come from.”

Former Sen. Edmund Muskie, (D-Maine). “I can’t answer yes or no to that. Have you ever been to Portland or Bangor, Me.? They’re the finest cities in America. San Diego is one of my favorite cities. I like the sunshine. I like the fact that by and large it’s dry rather than humid. And I really like the Coronado hotel.”

George Plimpton, editor of the Paris Review; writer who once tried out as a quarterback for the Detroit Lions to research the book “Paper Lion”: “I’m a New Yorker, so I have to make San Diego No. 2. You know, the insecurity of San Diego--and San Diegans--is one of life’s great mysteries. It also puzzles me that sportswriters covering the Super Bowl seem to view this as a second-rate town. People who live here don’t say, ‘Our town is great!’ They say, ‘Too bad our town isn’t great.’ I like everything about the place.”

Will McDonough, columnist, the Boston Globe; commentator, “NFL Today,” CBS Sports; once punched out New England Patriots defensive back Raymond Clayborn after the latter had objected to one of his stories: “San Diego, the finest? No, South Boston is. That’s where I’m from. I like San Diego . . . They’ve done a great job with this thing. The city is receptive, the people are friendly. The NFL wants people to be happy. People are having a hell of a time here. I’ve always liked the beauty of the place, and the fact that it’s small.”

Jack Donlan, represented the NFL Management Council in its negotiations with the players’ union during this season’s strike; has been described as the owners’ “pit bull”: “This is a wonderful city. It’s a great city. I like the weather, I like the outdoors. The water . . . God, it’s a wonderful place. The people are great. The mountains are great. The sun is great. I like everything about it. I do. I really do.”

Lee Roy Jordan, former linebacker with the Dallas Cowboys; played in Super Bowls V, VI and X: “It’s one of the finest I know. In comparison, it’s right up there with Dallas. Dallas is an inland city. We are cosmopolitan--like San Diego--but with drawbacks. Dallas lacks the appeal of the ocean. It has the inland problem and almost no natural beauty. That’s Dallas . . . roughly the same size as San Diego. San Diego does have an awesome beauty.”

Gene Upshaw, director, National Football League Players Assn.; Hall of Fame player with the Oakland Raiders: “San Diego has a cross-section of different cultures, which is something I like. It’s a clean city, it’s a warm city, and everyone’s friendly.”

Carl Eilenberg, mayor, Utica, N.Y.: “It’s a great, great town. As fine as Utica? Hell, no, you’ll never have as much snow as we do.”

Christine Brennan, beat writer, covers the Washington Redskins for the Washington Post: “Any city that can put on a party like this, that has weather like this, that doesn’t have traffic jams, and is as laid-back as this city is, has to be America’s finest. I’m from Toledo, Ohio, and believe me, Toledo’s not in the running. San Diego has done a wonderful job this week. I love Washington more than I love this, but this was a wonderful spot to be for a week. New Orleans has food over you guys, but New Orleans is dirty.”

Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), announced presidential candidate: “It’s close to it. As an old San Diego Charger, I’m pretty prejudiced. Being born in L.A., you’re asking me to give up the California primary. San Diego is one of the world’s great cities. I like the weather, the people, the water and the sports. My roots are in Southern California. I grew up in L.A. and played football in San Diego, so I’ve sampled the best of both worlds.”

Dan Reeves, head coach, Denver Broncos: “If it’s not, it’s got to be in the top two. They’ve done a great job here. The weather’s outrageous. When you come out of the snow that I’ve been in--weather of 10 degrees--this has got to be heaven. And it is.”

Franco Harris, former running back who played with the Pittsburgh Steelers on four Super Bowl championship teams: “Yes. And I can’t understand why I’m not living here.”

Watergate Judge John Sirica: “I don’t know about it being the finest . It’s one of the finest anyway. I like the friendliness of the people here. I talk to everybody, and they’re all so nice. I like places with this kind of ocean view. This Super Bowl doesn’t compare at all to the one in Tampa. There’s more excitement in San Diego. This is great.”

Hall of Fame baseball great Joe DiMaggio: “I’ve traveled around the world, and this is one of the finest in the world . It’s a growing city. I like the outstretched parts of it, and the small downtown.”

Pete Axthelm, sports columnist, Newsweek magazine; commentator, ESPN cable sports network: “It’s certainly attractive, but Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is much better. It’s America’s finest city. It has just as much water as San Diego, equally fine weather, nicer people and a much better race track. Fort Lauderdale has San Diego beat. Sorry.”

Enterprising Pin Dealer Does Brisk Business, Page 3.