PHOENIX -- If you were one of the many hoping to see Donna Kelce, Jason and Travis' mother, serve as the honorary coin toss captain for Super Bowl LVII, you're going to be disappointed. The NFL has instead opted to honor the late Pat Tillman, who played at Arizona State and with the Arizona Cardinals, by selecting four Pat Tillman Foundation Tillman Scholars to do the honors.
Given that this is the first time a pair of brothers were set to face off against one another in the Super Bowl, fans hoped to see their mother, sporting her infamous Chiefs-Eagles split jersey, flip the coin to kick things off. In fact, a petition was even formed to try to have her be the honorary captain, and it has received more than 180,000 signatures.
While we may not see Donna Kelce flip the coin to get Super Bowl LVII underway, the NFL's choice is a good one that ties in with the host site of Arizona. Tillman was a standout at Arizona State and with the Cardinals before putting his NFL career on hold to enlist in the Army following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He lost his life in the line of duty on April 22, 2004, in Afghanistan.
"Pat Tillman made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and we are committed to ensuring that his life and legacy are forever honored and celebrated across the entire NFL family," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "Pat loved football, but most importantly, he was grounded in service to others and making a difference in this world. We are so proud of the Tillman Foundation and the Tillman Scholar's program whose mission is to help leaders make real change. These four Tillman Scholars have done just that and we are honored to have them join us on the field to represent the Pat Tillman Foundation as this year's coin toss captains."
The four honorary captains are military spouse and Ed.D. candidate Fabersha Flynt, U.S. Army veteran and filmmaker Robert Ham, U.S. Army reservist and developmental psychologist Hyejung Park, Ph.D., and U.S. Air Force veteran and physician technologist Dave Prakash. Each of them was surprised with their selection by recently retired NFL great J.J. Watt.
