The Super Bowl, a yearly tradition where families gather around the tv and watch big men slam into each other for a couple of hours, all while eating bar food and drink alcohol. Typically, I avoid this at all costs and wait in my room for the Puppy Bowl to play on Animal Planet, if you haven’t seen it, you got to check it out. This year is going to be different, however, not only for me but for everyone. As most of us know by now, the Super Bowl this year consists of the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers have been in the news recently for new staffing on the team, that had the world losing their wigs and praising their team.
Katie Sowers will soon become a household name. Katie has been working with the 49ers for a couple of years now as an assistant coach for the offense. Although women have working in the NFL for quite some time, we have seen a lack of representation at the Super Bowl. This is about to change though. Katie has been asked by the 49ers head coach, Kyle Shanahan, to assist him at the Super Bowl this year to coach the offense, a first in NFL history! How has this never happened before? You would think with the transition of women’s rights and equality movements, that we would have had a female coach at the Super Bowl, a long time ago, but I stand corrected.
Being the first woman to coach in the Super Bowl was not a big enough title for Katie, however. She is also the first-ever openly gay football coach in the NFL, ever. I know what you’re thinking, “Yes equality, werk!” and if you’re not, honey there is the door because it is 2020 and we left homophobia in 2019. I have to say, being a part of the community myself, I can’t be prouder of Katie for allowing representation into a sport that has commonly been associated with homophobia and stigma. “There are so many people who identify as LGBT in the NFL, as in any business, that does not feel comfortable being public about their sexual orientation.”, Sowers told Outsports in an interview regarding her sexual orientation.
Sports should be for everyone, not just those who are a certain gender, race, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Growing up watching football with my family, there was a lack of diversity within the community, which ultimately lost my interest at a young age. Being told you can’t do something or be a part of something, makes you feel unappreciated and for some ultimately sparks change. Katie Sowers will forever be an inspiration for girls, athletes, and people in the LGBTQ+ community. By having people like Katie, we can feel confident that sports are heading in the right direction after so many years of lacking diversity. So, I don’t know about you, but I will be watching the Super Bowl this year, and it’s all thanks to my new inspiration, coach Katie Sowers.