WATCH: ESPN’s Chris Berman Ties ‘Abe Lincoln’s Birthday’ to the Historic Two Black QBs Who Started in the Super Bowl
ESPN’s Chris Berman tied former President Abraham Lincoln‘s birthday to the two Black quarterbacks who started in Super Bowl LVII.
The Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes and the Philadelphia Eagles Jalen Hurts became the first two Black starting quarterbacks to square off against each other in the Super Bowl. Since the NFL’s big Game was played on February 12th, Lincoln’s birthday, Berman connected the two young quarterbacks to the 16th President of the United States — given that he issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
“Also, of course, two African-American quarterbacks starting against each other in the Super Bowl for the first time, fittingly, February 12th is Abe Lincoln’s birthday,” Berman said during ESPN’s postgame show.
ESPN analyst Steve Young got a laugh out of Berman’s comparison.
“It’s taken a while,” Young said.
The historic game took place 214 years since Lincoln was born and almost 160 years since the 16th president signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
“Well, it was worth the wait,” Berman said.
Analyst Booger McFarland sat at the desk with the two and did not comment on the comparison made by the man nicknamed “Boomer.”
Berman, 67, arguably the most famous personality in ESPN history, is rarely featured in the network’s coverage these days. He’s only seen briefly hosting NFL PrimeTime, which is streamed on ESPN+. The only time viewers get to see him on original cable is when he runs through “The Fastest Three Minutes,” during Monday Night Football‘s halftime show.
His segment quickly runs through the previous day’s NFL games, where he adds his famous catchphrases such as “no one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills, or his emphatic “G-MEN” about the New York Football Giants.
Now, Berman decided to use Lincoln’s birthday in reference to the two Black quarterbacks who took center stage in the NFL’s Big Game in only a way “Boomer” could. Perhaps ESPN needs more of Chris Berman on basic cable and not shoving him away into the space of ESPN + with a limited audience to give the audience more quirky comparisons.
Watch above via ESPN.
