Positive, most individuals watched the Tremendous Bowl for the sport, the commercials, and the star-studded halftime present (we see, you Kendrick). However in case you weren’t into any of that stuff, there was additionally plenty of nice type off the sector, because the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles arrived to face off for the Vince Lombardi trophy – together with one sharped-dressed Chiefs participant, who confirmed as much as the massive recreation carrying a classic piece with particular household that means.
Kansas Metropolis’s always-trendy extensive receiver DeAndre Hopkins arrived at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome carrying a mink coat that belonged to his father – a well known drug vendor of their South Carolina hometown who was tragically killed in a automotive accident when Hopkins was a child. Hopkins’ mom, Sabrina Greenlee, writes about her relationship with DeAndre’s dad, Steve, and the second he was killed in her inspiring 2024 memoir, “Grant Me Imaginative and prescient.”
Hopkins, who was traded to the Chiefs from the Tennessee Titans in October 2024, says carrying the coat to his first Tremendous Bowl was his method of honoring a promise he made years in the past.
“My dad died in 1992, and he left me a pair issues. And one of many issues he left me was a mink jacket,” Hopkins mentioned at Tremendous Bowl Opening Night time. “And so I all the time mentioned I might put on that mink jacket to my wedding ceremony or to the Tremendous Bowl, whichever one occurred first. And so, clearly, I’m not married, so I’ma put on my daddy’s mink jacket.”
Hopkins didn’t develop up together with his father, however he and his mom are extraordinarily shut, and he credit her with serving to him attain the extent of success he has right this moment. Despite the fact that she hasn’t been in a position to see him operating into the top zone since dropping her sight, Hopkins makes positive his mother has an opportunity to share within the second, bringing her the ball to the touch after he scores – one thing he writes about within the foreword of “Grant Me Imaginative and prescient.”
“Though Mama has by no means had the prospect to see me rating a landing, all via faculty at Clemson and to at the present time within the NFL, I carry her the soccer after I attain the top zone. I ship it to her when she sits within the stands so she will contact it, so she will really feel that I scored. And that collectively, we gained in opposition to all odds,” he wrote.
Hopkins is grateful for all the success he’s achieved despite the challenges his household has confronted. In a February 3 submit on X, he shared phrases of encouragement to different youngsters who could also be dwelling via comparable struggles, writing:
“To all the youngsters on the market dwelling in small cities, in small homes, with single dad and mom. To the youngsters who see violence, who see loss, who don’t get the sources they deserve, however who nonetheless have huge desires. Know that I used to be a child in your precise footwear and this week I’m taking part in within the Tremendous Bowl. Don’t surrender, work onerous, maintain believing. The place you begin doesn’t decide the place you find yourself.”