LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 13: A detailed view of the NFL logo on the field during the NFL game between Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
How the NFL managed the coronavirus pandemic
04:13 - Source: CNN

Editor’s Note: Issac Bailey is a longtime journalist based in South Carolina and the Batten Professor for Communication Studies at Davidson College. He’s the author of “My Brother Moochie: Regaining Dignity in the Face of Crime, Poverty and Racism in the American South.” His latest book is “Why Didn’t We Riot? A Black Man in Trumpland.” The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.

CNN  — 

Maybe it was the ICU nurse manager Suzie Dorner conducting the coin flip during a pandemic that is still killing thousands of Americans every day – nearly half a million deaths in less than a year – that made it clear how much the Super Bowl is America and America is the Super Bowl. Or maybe it was the presence of Sarah Thomas, the first woman to officiate in the country’s most-watched annual sporting event during a game that was heavily affected by penalties (called mostly against one team) throughout the first half. Or maybe it was the continued, noticeable absence of Colin Kaepernick – except for his image in a historical account of what it took for Black quarterbacks to break through in the NFL.

Issac Bailey

The Super Bowl is ultra-popular in part because it is the culmination of a sport that lays bare all the ways America is both great and flawed. NFL football papers over its flaws arguably better than any other sport, just as the United States papers over its flaws better than every other country. Both sometimes overcome those flaws in inspiring and unexpected – if not fully-satisfying – ways. The NFL honored first-responders and other medical personnel before the game, hailing them as heroes who have risked their lives to fight the scourge that is Covid-19. They deserve the recognition. They earned it.

But it’s disturbing that one reason they have been forced to be superhuman is because so many Americans have treated a collective problem – a once-in-a-century pandemic – as just the latest front in a culture war. Had more of us worn masks more frequently and committed to social distancing, just being good teammates to show concern for fellow Americans, essential workers would not have had to pay such a steep price to keep us safe. We couldn’t even put aside that selfishness for a day. An anti-vaccine protest was held outside of Raymond James Stadium where the game was being played. But it should be lost on no one that inside the stadium were thousands of fans, despite the march of Covid-19 variants complicating vaccination plans designed to get us back to “normal” sometime this year. Outside, the Tampa streets were crowded with individuals – many of whom were mask-less.

It’s great that the NFL highlighted the selflessness of those on the frontlines. This country would have been greater, though, had such selflessness not been necessary.

And it’s great that Thomas crashed through another barrier just a few weeks after Vice President Kamala Harris broke through the highest, hardest glass ceiling when she became the first woman to be elected vice president. That these barriers are still being broken means they still exist, evidence of this country’s progress and stunted growth.

Thomas is a welcome sight, as are two women assistant coaches, Maral “M.J.” Javadifar and Lori “Lo” Locust, who now have Super Bowl rings as members of the champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Maybe the league can be forgiven for its lack of gender diversity given the nature of the sport.

What’s its excuse for being majority Black on the field but overwhelmingly White in the executive suites and on the sidelines? It’s hard to ignore that only three of 32 NFL teams are coached by Black men. That an innovative offensive coordinator like Eric Bieniemy has once again been passed over for an opportunity and might be robbed of one next year for no longer being perfect, given that his high-powered offense was held to 9 points by a Buccaneer defense led by another Black coordinator, Todd Bowles. Black coaching candidates in the NFL must be flawless – or darn near close to it – and still might not be given a chance even as white candidates with thinner resumes get job after job.

The NFL, like the US, has perfected patriotic pageantry. It re-aired a moving Alicia Keys rendition, originally released in September, of Lift Every Voice and Sing, known as the black national anthem, a song South Carolina Democrat, Rep. Jim Clyburn, wants to become the national hymn.

The national anthem was sung as a duet by R&B artist Jazmine Sullivan and country singer Eric Church, each likely resonating with different parts of the audience and probably chosen as an illustration of the league’s embrace of racial diversity. They incorporated the voice of the talented poet Amanda Gorman, who shot to superstardom during the inauguration, performing a verse devoted to three honorary captains of the game, including Dorner, the ICU nurse manager.

The rocket’s red glare never disappoints. It was all emotionally affecting, stirring the nation’s soul, if only for one night, if only for a few minutes. Better to make us forget the former players with dementia. The better to make us ignore the hypocrisy of a league peppered with team owners who openly supported Donald Trump despite his open bigotry and racism while blackballing Kaepernick because he dared to kneel peacefully during the national anthem to protest what he described as “systemic oppression.” It makes it harder for the public to notice the brand of near-socialism the league has practiced – receiving billions in subsidies from the public, implementing spending caps to level the playing field – even as debates about democratic socialism rage on around them in the political arena.

The game’s primary tension was between which quarterback better represents this moment: a young talented upstart whose greatness is unconventional compared to those who came before him or an old veteran whose style is as effective as it is traditional. Sunday night, the old guy and tradition won out. That’s good for America.

Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments.

But had the young guy won, that would have been good, too. The ability to compete passionately and shake hands afterward no matter the final score – rather than join a deadly insurrection – is maybe what’s best about this place. That’s why the question should never be how great we’ve been or how much we’ve overcome. Rather it should be how great this country could be if we adopted the best of the NFL and stamped out the worst no matter who sings the national anthem or how well millionaires play a game to make billionaires even wealthier.