Maybe it was the ICU nurse manager Suzie Dorner conducting the coin flip during a pandemic that is still killing thousands of Americans every day — nearly half a million deaths in less than a year — that made it clear how much the Super Bowl is America and America is the Super Bowl. Or maybe it was the presence of Sarah Thomas, the first woman to officiate in the country’s most-watched annual sporting event during a game that was heavily affected by penalties (called mostly against one team) throughout the first half. Or maybe it was the continued, noticeable absence of Colin Kaepernick — except for his image in a historical account of what it took for Black quarterbacks to break through in the NFL.
Maybe it was the ICU nurse manager Suzie Dorner conducting the coin flip during a pandemic that is still killing thousands of Americans every day — nearly half a million deaths in less than a year — that made it clear how much the Super Bowl is America and America is the Super Bowl. Or maybe it was the presence of Sarah Thomas, the first woman to officiate in the country’s most-watched annual sporting event during a game that was heavily affected by penalties (called mostly against one team) throughout the first half. Or maybe it was the continued, noticeable absence of Colin Kaepernick — except for his image in a historical account of what it took for Black quarterbacks to break through in the NFL.
