With all those brawny guys on the field for the 2021 Super Bowl, it might have been easy to overlook the women who were making history. Since women often make history quietly, and on the sidelines, this is probably fitting, but one should stop and celebrate.
Referee
Sarah Thomas received the most media recognition, the First Woman referee in a Super Bowl. When she was younger, Thomas was a superstar in softball and basketball. She was born and still lives in Mississippi. From personal experience, I can say that it is not surprising she would wind up in the game of football. In Mississippi, football is practically a second religion, regardless of gender.
Thomas is used to being first. As a referee in college football she was:
–the First Woman to officiate a major college football game
–the First Woman to officiate a bowl game
–the First Woman to officiate in a Big Ten stadium
Shannon Eastin holds the distinction of being the First Woman to officiate an NFL game, when she was a replacement during the 2012 referee lockdown, but Sarah Thomas was the First Woman official in the NFL hired in a permanent full-time position.
As referees are wont to do, she remained largely unseen, calm amidst the action, but it was exciting when her blond hair bobbed as she slid into her place.
Coaches
There were also firsts among the Buccaneers coaching staff. Although Katie Sowers was the First Woman coach in a Super Bowl, her team, the San Francisco 49ers, lost last year. That makes Lori Locust, assistant defensive line coach and Maral Javadifar, strength and conditioning coach, the First Women coaches to coach a Super Bowl winning team.
Locust was a professional football player in the women’s semi-professional league and has held coaching positions in semi-professional and professional teams since 2010. She is in her second year with the Buccaneers.
Javadifar was a basketball player in college. She went on to earn a bachelor of science in molecular biology and a doctoral degree in physical therapy. This is also in her second year with the Buccaneers.
They will be able to wear Super Bowl rings, just like the players.
Pre-Fame Flyover
There was a dramatic moment involving a woman before the game began. During the “Star-Spangled Banner,” three planes made a flyover above the field. On television it lasted maybe twenty seconds. It was the first Super Bowl flyover in formation by a trifecta, three different planes: a B-2, a B-1B, and a B-52. And the lead pilot, in the B-2 stealth bomber, was Captain Sarah Kociuba, the First Woman to lead a flyover at the Super Bowl. The crew received special Super Bowl patches for their uniforms.
Non-Athletic First
Amanda Gorman was the First Poet at a Super Bowl game (no First Woman qualifier needed).
Personal Note about the Brawny Guys
It was affirming, for those of us of a certain age, to see the dude with experience and maturity outplay the young whippersnapper.
