Two Nice Super Bowl Stories

Lots of people like to bash the Super Bowl, and it is common for negative stories to spring up around the game. Like the claim that wife-beating spikes on Super Bowl Sunday–totally made up–and the stories about prostitution being part of the festivities–probably true, although in Minneapolis it is pretty cold for streetwalking.

But this year’s Super Bowl has given rise to some nice stories, two of which I want to highlight. The first relates to Pink, who will sing the National Anthem. She has been diagnosed with the flu, and her voice is questionable. But she tweeted that she considers singing the National Anthem a great honor, and she will soldier on and do her best.

I hadn’t realized that Pink has a military connection. She is right about Whitney Houston, too; her performance of the National Anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl was perhaps the greatest ever.

The second story relates to Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who is regarded by everyone as a good guy. A day or two ago he was interviewed at the Mall of America along with his long-time girlfriend, Erika Cardona. Cardona has written a children’s book about Teddy’s effort to come back from a devastating knee injury.

In the interview, Cardona talked about how she and Bridgewater started dating when they were 10th-grade classmates in Florida:

Bridgewater and Cardona, by the way, had their first date as sophomores in high school in Miami. In an era of technology, Bridgewater went analog with his first move.

“He wrote a note and it was like, ‘Will you go out with me? Check yes or no,” Cardona said. “I checked yes and he wore it around his ID tag for the rest of the day.”

It could be coincidence, but my guess is that as a high school sophomore, Bridgewater was familiar with one of George Strait’s best-loved songs, “Check Yes Or No.” He likely wanted to emulate what, for the characters in the song, turned out to be a successful romance. If you are not familiar with it, here is George Strait singing “Check Yes Or No.”

I’ve always thought highly of Teddy Bridgewater, but this sweet story raises my opinion even higher. Especially if it means he is a country music fan!