Chapter 49
Vee
If a regular or playoff game was a Herculean feat to choreograph, the Super Bowl was titanic. Over the past week, Coopers’ and Eagles’ stadium operations crews, along with those from SoFi Stadium and the NFL, worked together to bring the world Super Bowl LXI.
While SoFi usually seats nearly seventy thousand fans for a Rams or Chargers game, for this game they could expand the seating to just over one hundred thousand.
The usual two to three thousand concession workers were doubled.
When the game was done and the stadium cleaned, over eight million dollars would be spent today on in-stadium food and drink alone.
Throughout the week special events were held all around Los Angeles and neighboring cities. Star-studded concerts, street parties, A-list gatherings, the Super Bowl had something for every fan whether they saw the inside of the stadium or not.
All the activities lead up to the big game.
The broadcast would reach over 128 million viewers.
Catching every angle and every play, there would be over one hundred cameras rolling during the game.
The people in the broadcast booth were experts in their field.
Their split-second decisions determined what appeared on television screens around the world.
Three to four hours before kickoff, the Coopers arrived by bus to a secure and heavily guarded entrance.
Security included FBI, Homeland Security, local and state law enforcement, and National Guard troops.
Canine sweeps were conducted continually.
Every person entering the facility went through airport-level screening.
The coaching staff was working to keep our players focused and on task, reinforcing plays and behavior.
The Philadelphia Eagles were known for being highly physical and aggressive.
Data metrics that tracked league conduct often ranked the Eagles among the league’s worst-behaved teams due to a high volume of individual player violations.
The most notable were unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, and roughing the passer.
The air inside SoFi crackled with electricity.
The small hairs on my arms stood like lightning rods in a storm.
I stood with my clipboard against my breasts as the Philadelphia Eagles ran through a tunnel of smoke and pyrotechnics onto the field, wearing white pants and white jerseys with green numbers.
Fans cheered as they were introduced. Next were the Coopers.
I peered up at the stands taking in the Coopers amber. Our fans were plentiful and loud.
Fog filled the home-team tunnel as Coach Tilson emerged, followed by our players wearing amber jerseys and black pants.
As the players passed by, I saw the special Super Bowl patches and their determined expressions.
While there were a few players on our team who had previously experienced playing in a Super Bowl, for most, this was their first time.
It was my first time down on the field during the big game.
Up in our team suite and the adjoining suites, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Darin, Grant, and Lip were watching with about sixty of our chosen sponsors and donors. After spending the last two weeks with many of the same people, I was content on the sideline near our players.
Lights dimmed and a spotlight shone on the fifty-yard line. A choir of about twenty people stood on the NFL shield and sang. It was a beautiful rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing. Next the spotlight moved to a solo artist as she sang America the Beautiful.
She moved as three hundred volunteers unfurled a stadium-sized American flag.
A well-known music sensation sang our national anthem.
When she hit the final sustained note, SoFi Stadium rumbled as military jets roared overhead.
The planes were close enough that their shadows flew over the massive, semi-transparent canopy roof, leaving goose bumps on my arms and legs.
The fans from both teams cheered.
Once the flag was removed from the field, Troy and Malik met the Eagles’ captains back on the NFL shield in the center of the field.
“Gentlemen, welcome to Super Bowl sixty-one,” the official said. “We have our honorary flipper here today.” The camera showed Bob Lilly, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the oldest living NFL players to have played in a Super Bowl.
Cheers filled the air.
“Before we flip,” the official said, “I want to show you the coin. This is our specially minted commemorative coin. This is heads.”
Up on the jumbotron, the camera zoomed in on the face with the NFL shield.
“And this is tails.” He turned it over showing the Lombardi Trophy with an Eagles’ helmet on one side and a Coopers’ helmet on the other. “By NFL rules, the Eagles are our visiting team today, so you will make the call.” He turned toward the Eagles’ players. “What do you choose, heads or tails?”
“We choose heads.” Their voices came through the official’s microphone.
“The Eagles choose heads.”
The official handed the coin to Bob Lilly. He tossed it into the air, and it landed on the field.
“It is heads.” The official turned back to the Eagles’ players. “What do you want to do, receive or defer?”
“We want to defer.”
The official confirmed aloud. “The Eagles have elected to defer their choice to the second half. Coopers, you will receive the ball.”
Our kick return team went out onto the field.
At exactly six thirty p.m., the Eagles’ place kicker sent the ball toward our end zone.
Our player caught the ball in the end zone for a touchback. The ball would be on the thirty-five-yard line. I hugged the clipboard as Troy and the offense ran onto the field.