Super Bowl Sunday is about more than the game. Millions of Americans view the halftime show and enjoy watching creative commercials throughout the day. The Super Bowl should be a platform for public service messages, too, and that’s what I have in mind for Super Bowl LVIII.
I’ve been listening to the song, To Be A Man, performed by former basketball star and current rapper Dax. Here’s the video version courtesy of YouTube.
You can read the song’s lyrics, and I’ve reprinted the pre-chorus and first verse here.
PRE-CHORUS
As a man, we gotta pave our way
Our only function is to work and slave
There’s no respect for you if you ain’t paid
You’re disregarded as a human, and you can’t complain
And if you ever make it up and actually reach that place
And find a woman that you love and give her your last name
You’ll feel the things that you provide is only why she stays
And when you try to explain, you’ll say
First Verse
Yeah, I know this life can really beat you down, uh
You wanna scream but you won’t make a sound, uh
Got so much weight that you’ve been holdin’
But won’t show any emotion, as a man, that goes unspoken
That we can’t cry when life gets hard
Unconditional love for women, children, and dogs
We know that we just have to play our parts
And don’t nobody give a damn about our broken hearts, yeah
The reason I’m sharing the song and its lyrics is that I think they apply well to football–especially the Mega Mix–which features ten artists.
What’s the connection? Football players, other male athletes, and men generally feel pressure to maintain strength and be tough, often making it difficult to express emotions and feel like they are being heard. I believe those are contributing factors to the high male suicide. In 2021, The CDC reported that males accounted for 38k of the 48k suicide deaths nationally (79%).
That’s why I’m proposing that the NFL produce a public service spot of To Be A Man featuring ten different former/current NFL players showing that men aren’t alone. Here’s my recommended order of performance:
Verse One: Tom Brady.
Verse Two: Rob Gronkowski.
Verse Three: Cam Newton.
Verse Four: Russell Wilson and Ciara (With Ciara lip-syncing the fourth verse for Wilson.)
Verse Five: Peyton Manning.
Verse Six: Damar Hamlin.
Verse Seven: Patrick Mahomes.
Verse Eight: Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley (Woodley would lip sync the right verse for Rodgers.)
Verse Nine: Dak Prescott.
Verse Ten: Nick Chubb.
At the end of this commercial, NFL players–both current and former–would surround this message, “You are strong. Keep fighting. You got this!“
I believe it would be a beautiful message to send, especially if it could be presented at the start of the Super Bowl. Moreover, other versions could be made with MLB players, NBA stars, boxers, and other athletes.
