Four Nigerian players feature in Super Bowl as Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, others put on electric show
Four players of Nigerian descent featured prominently for their teams at the Super Bowl in the early hours of Monday morning (Sunday night in American time).
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the American National Football League (NFL) that pits the winner of the American Football Conference (AFC) against the champion of the National Football Conference (NFC).
The Super Bowl is adjudged the biggest sporting and television event in the United States. In 2021, it drew 111 million viewers, and the game’s talking point is the halftime show that features musical performances from music stars.
Chidobe Awuzie, Christopher James Uzomah, Hakeem Adeniji were outstanding for Cincinnati Bengals, while 26-year-old Ogbonnia Okoronkwo won the NFL title with Los Angeles Rams after beating Bengals 23-20.
Awuzie, son of Nigerian immigrants in the US, was exceptional at the Super Bowl and delivered five tackles and one interception before picking up a knee injury during the game.
The 26-year-old player court attention on his arrival at the SoFi Stadium in California when he walked in with his teammates rocking African native wear. Chidobe was rated one of the six Bengals’ players to note in the first half after securing five tackles.
Hakeem Adeniji, 24, whose mother was a TV anchor in Lagos before the family moved to the US, plays for the Bengals as an offensive lineman.
Uzomah, 29, plays as a tight end for the Bengals. Despite being listed as questionable for the Super Bowl due to his knee injury, Uzomah was part of the game.
“There’s no tomorrow without right now. Let’s make that dream a reality,” Uzomah told his teammates ahead of the game in a video posted by the NFL official Twitter handle.
Other Nigerian players missing in action for Bengals due to injury are defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and standout rookie Joseph Ossai.
Ogunjobi, 27, was born in New Jersey a year after his parents emigrated from Nigeria. He suffered a season-ending foot injury in January, while Joseph Ossai sustained an injury in his preseason debut in August 2021 that ruled him out for the entire 2021 season.
Joseph Ossai, 21, was born in Lagos before his family moved to the US in 2010.
The biggest talking point that has made the Super Bowl a global phenomenon over the years is the halftime show which lasts for about 13 minutes.
As expected, the Super Bowl halftime show on Monday morning was another star-studded event featuring legendary rapper and producer Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. 50 Cent also made a surprise appearance.
Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar delivered electric performances during the highly anticipated halftime show that has become trending topics on the internet.
