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Whether Deion Sanders stays or leaves Colorado, his importance is immeasurable

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BOULDER, Colo. — I spent two days in Colorado this week. Unlike previous trips to Boulder, this visit had nothing to do with the college’s head football coach, Deion Sanders, Prime’s irrepressible coach. I used to be on campus to seek advice from journalism students, student-athletes, sports administrators, and students within the Critical Sports Studies program.

Consistently, whatever the setting, the subject of Colorado football and the Prime Effect got here up. Despite all the good things which have happened on the university, the last two years have been dominated by Sanders.

I made several trips to Boulder last 12 months as a part of my fascination with the Sanders story. Chapters 1 and a couple of of this story cover Sanders’ first two high-profile seasons at Jackson State University, including his controversial departure to Colorado. Chapter 3 covered Sanders’ first season in Colorado, where he was tasked with rejuvenating a struggling football program that had finished 1-11 the season before his arrival. The team finished 4-8 in its first season, but Prime brought the energy back.

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We are currently halfway through Chapter 4, through which Sanders has put the university community back on target to victory. Colorado finished the season 9-3 and got here near securing a spot within the Big 12 title game. The current excitement on campus is over which Colorado bowl game might be played: the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, the Holiday Bowl in San Diego or, most coveted, the Las Vegas Bowl in Sin City.

There are other issues on campus for the football program: Will two-way star Travis Hunter grow to be the second Buffalo to win the Heisman Trophy? Will Shedeur Sanders be the primary quarterback chosen within the 2025 NFL Draft?

By far the largest query on campus is whether Sanders will remain in Colorado for a 3rd season.

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders greets fans before the Big 12 game against the Kansas Jayhawks on November 23 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
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The urgency of answering yes depends upon which a part of the university you might be studying. For DaWon Baker, associate athletic director for diversity, equity and inclusion, Sanders’ importance goes beyond wins and losses.

Baker got here to Colorado from the University of Nebraska in May 2021. He has seen how Sanders’ presence has modified the culture and created an environment of diversity and inclusion. In some ways, Prime has made it easier to evangelise the gospel of inclusion.

“It gives me an example of what embracing diversity and inclusion can look like,” Baker said during an interview Wednesday.

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Baker said attracting Sanders, a black man from southern Florida “who feels like he can really fully be who he is and embrace his individuality, his background, his culture,” Baker said took some inside work.

“It took a lot of internal work to provide an environment where he felt like he could be himself,” Baker said.

Baker’s job is to assist create that kind of environment throughout the athletics department and maybe beyond.

“Bringing in Deion Sanders and actually allowing him to do what he does not only changes our bottom line, it could change the structure of the university,” he said. “It’s changing who comes and who’s watching, it’s changing who wants to come to the games, who wants to visit Boulder and who potentially wants to go to school here. This change is something we can actually use to change the way we do things. If we’re going to invite people, we have to be willing to create an environment for them where they actually want to come here and stay here.”

For Baker, Sanders’ importance to the university is immeasurable.

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“As a university, people knew what Colorado was, but they didn’t really have a reason to watch it or pay attention to it, whereas now they do, and there’s a lot of interest around it that he obviously played a huge role in,” he said.

Before Sanders arrived, there have been student-athletes just like Prime. “But we didn’t have leaders, coaches and administrators like Deion,” Baker said. “I feel like I might be myself because we gave the keys to someone who has no qualms about being himself. We have arguably the preferred coach in all of school football who preaches people being themselves and is unapologetically being themselves.

So will he stay or will he go?

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders (right) talks with cornerback Travis Hunter (left) during a game against the North Dakota State Bison at Folsom Field on August 29 in Boulder, Colorado.

Rica Tapii/Getty Images

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On Wednesday, in what some might interpret as an indication that Sanders will stay put, the five-star quarterback Julian Lewis signed a contract with Colorado. Lewis is Sanders’ highest-ranking recruit since landing the winger Travis Hunter, the No. 2 prospect within the 2022 class, from Florida State and put him at Jackson State. Sanders also talked to reporters about his plans to enhance special teams, especially Colorado’s flawed kicking game.

While I actually have no word on whether Sanders will remain or leave Colorado, a few of those that speak to him often say Prime sees his ministry as mentoring young men and ladies toward success in life.

According to Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt, who said he spoke with Sanders and asked him point-blank if he planned to depart Colorado for the NFL, Klatt responded that Sanders said, “No,” and explained, “Because I don’t feel like I’m living out my calling.” and purpose if I were there.”

According to Klatt, Sanders said, “Listen, my calling is to influence and mentor young men. I occur to do that through coaching. I feel like I can do that higher at the school level than with a gaggle of pros who may or may not hearken to me due to amount of cash they’re paid.

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Should Sanders stay or should he go? If I had a vote, I might vote for Sanders to remain in Colorado, within the tradition of the legendary African-American football coaches who played such a vital role within the lives of players who historically attended black colleges and universities. Many of those coaches remained in a single place for a long time. In many cases, they stayed because there weren’t many options outside of the Black college universe. Many were simply committed to identifying outstanding residents who happened to play football.

When segregation reigned supreme, tons of of NFL stars at HBCUs had the chance to play for legends similar to Jake Gaither, Eddie Robinson, Earl Banks, John Merritt, Marino Casem and plenty of others. Sanders has options, but he’s cut from that cloth.

Very few current black players within the NFL have had the experience of playing for an African-American coach in college. Today, a handful of players from Power 4 programs like Penn State (James Franklin), Michigan (Sherrone Moore), Syracuse (Fran Brown), Notre Dame (Marcus Freeman) and, in fact, Sanders, have experience playing for an African-American coach. These coaches may also help create a snug atmosphere through which players, and even black students on campus, might be themselves.

If Sanders were to stay in Colorado for an additional decade, he would definitely create such a sustainable environment.

“I don’t think he’s been here long enough to have built the infrastructure for it,” Baker said. “But I think he’s been around long enough to show us what it means to accept what it takes to be good at football.”

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Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders leads his team onto the sphere before their game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on November 29 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

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Of course, there isn’t any certainty even when Sanders stays in Colorado. Familiarity breeds contempt, and winning programs ebb and flow. What happens when the shine fades, when the high bar Prime sets becomes the rule quite than the exception? What happens if too many star players get upset and leave?

These are questions for an additional day.

For an administrator like Baker, Sanders’ strength shows the institution how it may possibly achieve growth by embracing diversity and inclusion.

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“If we really take diversity seriously and really allow people to be themselves, we can see this kind of growth in a lot of different areas,” Baker said. “Not just football.”

William C. Rhoden is a columnist for Andscape magazine and the writer of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete. He directs Rhoden Fellows, a training program for aspiring HBCU journalists.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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Jalen Hurts’s Super Bowl Lix Victory Study in immunity, perseverance

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Star Black playmakers aren’t any longer an exception – they’re the rule. Throughout your complete football season, this series will discover the importance and influence of black QB from bottom -up to NFL.


New Orlean – in the weeks preceding the Sunday Super Bowl between Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, my challenge was to find out which essentially the most convincing plot: Kansas City, winning the three subsequent Super Bowl championships or watching the playmaker Eagles Jalen finally break through.

I sat down at Hurts, a young player who went back from a serious failure to check to often summer and infrequently critical response of Philadelphia fans. In the conversations of quarterback, they routinely take room for nearly every elite calling signal at NFL.

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However, the whole lot he does is win, just like the Sunday explosion of the leaders 40-22. His 46-jard passing pass to Devonta Smith in the third quarter gave Philadelphi 34-0. Putting almost aside from three things Kansas City and provided painful championships, which were solidly his.

Hurts, Super Bowl Lix MVP, ran through 72 jardy and placing and accomplished 17 out of twenty-two passes out of 221 yards and two application. He became the fifth playmaker in the history of NFL with many appliances and a speeding application in Super Bowl, joining Ken Anderson, Brett Favre, Joe Montana and Patrick Mahomes.

But when Hurts tells anyone who’s to listen, he is just not a numerical guy. He wins the guy.

“I don’t play statistics,” he said after they led Philadelphia to the NFC championships. “I don’t play a game for numbers, no statistical approval from anyone else. Victory and success is defined by this particular person; All this is in relation to this person and what I define as a victory. And so my goal No. 1 is always to go out and win. Winning is the standard. “

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Hurts was championship on Sunday in leading Philadelphia to the second Super Bowl championship.

Player Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Hurts, in the primary quarter of Kansas City Chiefs through the Super Bowl Lix at Caesars Superdome February 9 in Nowy Orlean.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Nowy Orlean was a super stage for Hurts to win your first NFL championship.

The recent Orlean, devastated by Hurricane, made up and returned stronger than ever. Like the town, Hurts is a study of immunity and perseverance. This applies to each player who reached this stage, but Hurts experienced more public ups and downs than most elite players.

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As a first-year student on the University of Alabama, Hurts led Crimson Tide to the 12-0 record in the 2016 regular season. Alabama reached the match for the national championship and lost to Clemson and the playmaker of Deshaun Watson. Alabama won the national championship a yr later, but Hurts didn’t lead the team. During the break of the national title game with Georgia leading 13-0, coach Alabama, Nick Saban, hurt in favor of the primary yr Tua Tavailoa, who led Alabama to victory 26-23 in Daming.

After Sunday’s win, Hurts said that every of those events continues to be a source of his motivation.

“I am the same child who came to the game in the national championships and lost, the same kid who was equipped, he had to transfer that I had to go through this unprecedented journey and this child always kept the most important and was always the most important and was always the most important and was always in accordance with his vision and what he saw, “said Hurts.

This super bowl championships belonged to Hurts.

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“He was the second place of Deshaun Watson in the championships when he played incredibly,” said Quincy Avery playing guru. “He is the same guy whose team won these national championships, but he was not playing this match. I think that this dramatically changes what people think about Jalen, hurts as a quarterback. But this will not alleviate his advantage. “

Usually, the very best observations about wounds come from teammates or people like Avery who worked with the playmaker. Avery, who works with many playmakers of the very best quality, met with Hurts when he was 16 years old. He didn’t start working with wounds until he moved from Alabama to Oklahoma. They talked a couple of bench during a break in Alabama, but in the context of what hurts to do higher.

“He talked about how the coach (Saban) did not really talk to him about this or any of these things, but he said he didn’t need it,” Avery said. “He didn’t need this conversation because he knew he needed to do something higher to be on the pitch, so his only task was to attack it.

“I think there are so many people in this situation, if they fight and become a bench, they want to look at every person other than themselves. He turned to the inside, and the only thing he thought about was: “How can I improve in order that it would not occur to me?” “

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Playmaker Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Hurts (on the correct), is solved by the defender Kansas City Chiefs Justin Reid (on the left) in the second quarter through the Super Bowl Lix at Caesars SuperDome on February 9 in Nowy Orlean.

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Hurts didn’t approach being a bench in Philadelphia, although for an elite playmaker at the extent, he was criticized in the town of brotherly love. After the Sunday performance in the Hurts championship, he almost silenced his critics.

Impressive for everybody who knows that it hurts, it seems unaware of criticism.

“He is one of those guys who do not allow adversity to reach him,” said Eagles Mekhi Becton offensive liner. “He is one of those guys who water flows down his back, no matter what is happening. This is very inspiring, makes you want to go even harder because you know that he is not crazy or spoiled the situation. “

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Hurts led Eagles to the Super Bowl Lvia against Kansas City in 2023 and the Eagles lost. Last season, Philadelphia began strongly, after which disappeared at the tip of the yr, and the critics appeared again. This yr there was a drama in the center of the season, when there have been reports of the strain between the injuries and the recipient of AJ Brown.

Hurts didn’t react, but they still turned in the dominant performances when the Eagles were rolling towards Play -ff. His teammates approached him. “I would say the whole year, just as people talked about him, like everything, everyone said that he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t do it. But (he) still does it – said Becton. “When you see the way it comes out and dominates in every game, we only need to do it.”

Hurts doesn’t have a flash playmaker Baltimore Ravens Lamar Jackson or playmaker Buffalo Bills Josh Allen, this yr’s MVP. But Avery said Hurts has one of the crucial unique features he saw in the elite playmaker.

“He is the best player in NFL in doing things that do not require talent,” said Avery. “This is due to hard work, preparing for gathering guys. Everything you can do, which does not require talent, mastered it. He is also a great talent. For me it makes him special. “

Hurts was on Sunday on Sunday. Running if needed, going with the indicating performance and possibly he does what he does best: lead.

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“He is a thermostat,” Avery said. “Changes the temperature in the room. It makes everyone reach their level of perfection. I think that sometimes he can rub people in the wrong way, but the people who are rubbed in the wrong way do not want to be great as if he wanted to be great. “

On Sunday, Bants was great. He climbed to the highest of a steep mountain and may finally receive unlimited recognition, which is only for its reach.

This is just not enough for him.

William C. Rhoden is a columnist for Andcape and the writer of forty million slaves: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Black Athlete. He is managed by Rhoden Fellows, a training program for beginner journalists from HBCUS.

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This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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Antonio Gates, Jared Allen, Eric Allen and Sterling Sharpe form the Pro Football Hall of Fame

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Antonio Gates, Jared Allen, Eric Allen and Sterling Sharpe were voted for Pro Football Hall of Fame in the smallest induction class inside 20 years after changes in the rules out of season, which is to make it difficult to make the introduction.

Sharpe got as a candidate of seniors in a vote announced on Thursday evening at the NFL Honors and will join Shannon’s younger brother as the first siblings introduced to the room. Two -time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning failed this yr’s older brother Peyton in Canton, Ohio.

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Shannon gave the message on to Sterling and will probably be together without end in the hall after the introduction ceremony on August 2.

“I don’t think it really happened,” said Sterling Sharpe. “This is one of those situations in which the closer is approaching the same colorful jacket he has, and standing in the same place that he has become and was able to find out about traveling, to get there, I think I think standing. But now it hasn’t hit home yet. “

While a small class is a change in comparison with previous years, when at the least seven people have been introduced in each of the previous 12 classes, it will not be unprecedented.

In the 2005 class there have been only 4 aspects and there have been 18 other years with three or 4 induced from the firstclass 17 in 1963.

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“You appreciate it almost more,” said Jared Allen. “Nothing comes easily. When I found out that it was only four, it became more unique. The emphasis is on what it means to be Hall of Famer. We apparently fit it. For me it was a sigh with relief. “

The recent rules were established this yr after the pursuit of Hall of Famers to make the hall more exclusive, which led on to the smaller class. Candidates from modern times were voted from 15 to seven in the last stage, as a substitute of five lately.

49 voters could vote for five out of seven, and each reached 80% or ends in the top three entering the room. In the past years, five finalists have received a voice up or down, and all five got here to the last 17 years.

NFL Honors 2025, Super Bowl Lix, Sterling Sharpe, Antonio Gates, NFL Hall of Fame, Black NFL Hall of Fame Player, Thegrio.com
Sterling Sharpe, Center, a former skilled footballer who’s introduced to the NFL Hall of Fame class from 2025, during the NFL Honours Award before the Super Bowl 59 football match, Thursday, February 6, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Candidates from the senior, trainers and colleagues category were then placed in a bunch by which voters selected three. Candidates also needed 80% support with the best finisher robotically, even when it fails.

A spokesman for Hall of Fame, Rich Desrosiers, said that no decision was made or to maintain this method in 2026, but said that one yr could possibly be too early to attract all conclusions.

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Gates was elected in the second yr of qualification. He only played basketball in college, then transformed into one of the most vital ends of the NFL after the chargers appointed.

“The possibility of saying, he says about how (chargers) they believed in me,” Gates said. “I’m glad that everything paid off.”

He became All-PRO in its second season in 2004. He was again Pro in the next two seasons and had a 16-year profession in Chargers. Gates ended with 955 fishing to 11,841 yards and the NFL record for tight ends with 116 filming. It ranks seventh in the TD breakthrough.

The new Orlean prohibits the radiator - but not weapons - in the French Safety Zone during the Super Bowl week

Jared Allen was a four-time All-PRO, who ended his profession with 136 sacks, including the leading in League 22 in 2011 for Minnesota. He also led the league in sacks with 15 1/2 for Kansas City in 2007 and achieved two -digit numbers in seven seasons. His last game was a loss of Super Bowl for Karolina against Denver in the 2015 season.

Eric Allen performed for 14 seasons as the highest defender in the NFL and never had to maneuver in a protected place. Allen’s profession lasted in the game “Fog Bowl” in 1988, when he played in Philadelphia as a debutant in the game “Tuck Rule” in the 2001 season for Oakland in his last match.

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Allen ended with 54 intercourse, including eight returned to the use. He was the first ALL-PRO team in 1989 and had two other seasons as a range of the second team.

He got here from 19 years of qualification.

“Life rarely plays as you like,” said Eric Allen. “There are always some curves and turns. But time always reveals the truth. … It’s been time before people see the complexity of my situation. “

Sharpe had a brief but productive profession for Green Bay Packers in 1988-94. His best season took place in 1992, when he became the sixth player who won the receiving a triple crown, setting the NFL record with 108 fishing on 1461 yards and 13 application.

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He performed his own album with 112 fishing in 1993 and led the NFL with 18 seizures in the last season, 1994, before his neck injury shortened his profession.

Usher has some tips for Kendrick Lamar before Super Bowl:

Sharpe was three-time All-PRO and had 595 fishing on 8 134 yards and 65 tds. During the seven -year profession in the parties and fishing, he took only Jerry Rice.

Sharpe brothers will join the three Father-Syn tandems in the hall: Tim and Wellington Mara; Art Rooney Sr. and Dan Rooney; and ED and Steve Sabol.

Four other candidates from modern times who reached the last stage, but weren’t in the state of Willie Anderson, Torry Holt, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri. These 4 will robotically advance to the last 15 to vote next yr.

The other eight finalists who were cut before are Manning, Jahri Evans, Steve Smith Sr., Terrell Suggs, Fred Taylor, Reggie Wayne, Darren Woodson and Marshal Yanda.

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Seniors who weren’t in a position to Maxa Bughan and Jim Tyrer, and Mike Holmgren weren’t a coach and Ralph Hay as a collaborator.

(Tagstranslate) @AP

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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The furious supporters of Donald Trump call for a boycott Super Bowl after the NFL rules “Black National Anthem” will be sung before the match

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NFL doesn’t abandon the black national anthem before the Super Bowl, and its most conservative fans are in confusion. As a result, several football fanatics expressed plans to boycott the Gridiron duel between Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on February 9.

The league appointed the contractor to sing “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” as part of the ceremony before the match from the time of the initiative of the social justice in 2020. It is anticipated that the response to tradition is connected with the news that President Donald Trump will be present.

Glendale, Arizona - February 12: actress/singer Sheryl Lee Ralph performs raising each voice and sings before starting Lvia Lvia between Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on February 12, 2023 at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Focus photo in sports photos/ghetto)
Glendale, Arizona – February 12: actress/singer Sheryl Lee Ralph performs raising each voice and sings before starting Lvia Lvia between Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on February 12, 2023 at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Focus photo in sports photos/Getty)

Republican politician returned to the office on January 20 and implemented many executive orders restoring America with the withdrawal of programs of diversity, capital and integration, and performing mass efforts to deport.

The NFL was turned on by the Black National Anthem took place after civic anxieties stimulated by the clay of killing George Floyd in 2020 and the later kneeling movement led by the former playmaker San Francisco 49ers Colin Kapernick. It was first made in Super Bowl in 2021.

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Angered person wrote“This year we will not watch the Super Bowl if they intend to play the Black National Hymn.” Another person noticed: “I will not watch Superbowl because of unrealized special treatment, enabling the recovery of another national anthem other than a banner with a star.”

The third critic announced: “Let’s Annuj Culture Super Bowl like Bud Light. NFL and advertisers need indignation. Loyal viewers do not need a call to indignation. “

The repetitive argument of boycott is that America has one national anthem that represents all the things and that the second version consolidates the division. “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” was invented by the NAACP Black National Anthem in 1919 and wiped the soundtrack for civil rights.

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“The Star-Spangled Banner” gained preaching as the national anthem of the Congress in 1931. The constructing of the call to operate to tune Super Bowl was counteracted by several others. Online commentary is: “Hey magician, your racism is (again) shown. You may want to put it on. ”

Second person he asked“Why do the Republicans hate diversity and inclusion?” The third response states: “Well, what do you say to omitted the national anthem of LOL, because it does not apply to everyone !!!!”

On Sunday, the winner of Grammy, Ledisi, will throw the hymn, and the native trombone Crescent City Shorty and Christian music artist Lauren Daigle will join the forces “America The Beautiful” before the great football night begins.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” will be performed by Jon Batiste Moments before Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, who’re fighting for the Vince Lombardi trophy during the television event at Caesars SuperDome. The expected break show is led by the hip-hop star of Kendrick Lamar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2–0ellfr5m

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This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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