Hannah Greene | Sports Editor
Still a little hurt over the loss of my sweet cheeseheads, I sit down and cheer on the Chiefs.
Grubbing on Mendi’s Pizza, on Sunday, Feb. 2, in front of a big screen, Super Bowl LIV (54) begins with a heartwarming entry — a young boy carrying a ball from his gridiron all the way to the Dolphins stadium in Miami to pass along the game ball to ref on the actual field.
Super Bowl LIV marked the NFL’s 100th season, making for a lot of memorable commercials and breaking of the glass ceiling.
Samantha Gordon, a 15-year-old stud football player, was featured in the 100-Year Game commercial, why you ask? Remember that little girl that was breaking headlines for playing, and beating every defender, in a youth football league? That’s her now, making a change for future generations. Gordon started an “all girls” football league that she hopes will be brought to the high school level — a dream more and more young girls have everyday.
This Super Bowl was also very special, it was the Chiefs second time winning a Super Bowl and their first appearance in 50 years. This game brought the best defense, the 49ers, versus the best offense, the Chiefs, a match made in heaven. That saying, “defense wins championships,” didn’t apply to this win, with Patrick Mahomes setting up teammates throughout the whole game — and becoming the youngest player in NFL history to win a “League MVP” and a Super Bowl Championship, at the age of 24.
Coach Andy Reid had the most wins (222) by any head coach without a Super Bowl title, until this last Sunday where he ended his Super Bowl drought at the age of 61 — finally capturing that all elusive Lombardi trophy. And shoutout to Shakira and J-Lo for the awesome halftime show, representing the latina community and showcasing the moves and vocals they got.
As most of us may know, the Super Bowl has become one of the most celebrated days of the year, but what most of us may not realize is that sex trafficking is at it highest during this day, according to ESPN and NPR. Florida is ranked third nationally for sex trafficking which caused the Miami-Dade county to make precautions and help to prevent sex trafficking. “It’s a Penalty” is a global campaign using the power of sports to address the issues of human trafficking, where several NFL players have made campaign videos for. Though, during the game there was no recognition towards human sex trafficking, there are many movements and people put on the front lines to help combat this.
The Super Bowl, one day a year that symbolizes our country — and although this is a great day for a lot of people, there are those less fortunate who have to deal with the negative effects of what the sport brings to our country.
Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu
