Super Bowl

One of us!

Each year the Super Bowl includes the arts at some level with music, movement, and creativity at its best and oh, those commercials! I sometimes wonder how many individuals who work on creating the commercials were “ARTS” kids in school? This year many of the commercials communicated much more about where we are as a country and how much work and thought and change needs to happen in order to grow. My favorite commercial by far was the Jeep one with Bruce Springsteen. It wasn’t the promoting of Jeep that struck me but the message was so well communicated. The photography, the emotion, transitions, images, movement, color, and more – all of it grabbed me. If you didn’t see it, embedded below.

I grew up in a football family but I’m not crazy about the game this point in my life. However, I do watch for the ‘entertainment’ value which, as you know, sometimes it means sifting through ‘not so good stuff’ to get to the outstanding content. I was moved by the three individuals who were called Honorary Captains – veteran James Martin, educator Trimaine Davis and nurse manager Suzie Dorner. Suzie tossed the official on-field coin toss ceremony before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs faced off.

I was so proud to watch as one of us, a teacher, represented all of the amazing work that teachers are doing this year during the pandemic. Trimaine Davis said this about his role: “I’m really excited about this opportunity just to showcase that all three of us, myself, James and Suzie, share this common bond of service and stewardship,” Davis said. “The fact that we’re able to highlight the importance of this, that it comes from everyday folk who are in the position to do this work to inspire others, I think is incredible, and I’m so honored to have that opportunity.”

My favorite new poet, Amanda Gorman, recited the poem she wrote specifically to honor the three Honorary Captains. Amanda included these words describing Trimaine and below is the entire poem.

Trimaine is an educator who works nonstop. 

Providing his community with hotspots

Laptops and tech workshops

So his students have all the tools

They need to succeed in life and in school.