On Sunday, the SoFi Stadium field and its pre-game ceremonies ahead of the NFL’s Super Bowl LVI will feature… a speech by a part-owner of another football league. That would be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a co-owner of the new XFL alongside (former wife and current manager) Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital. As per Access Hollywood, Johnson will narrate a “Super Gold Sunday” promo for NBC covering their Super Bowl and post-game Olympic coverage, which will air in the 5 p.m. ET hour of their pre-game Super Bowl coverage. And, ahead of the Super Bowl game itself, he’ll appear on the field and give a pre-game speech:
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will star in NBC Sports’ opening tease for “Super Gold Sunday” – an unprecedented day in sports media given that both Super Bowl LVI and the 2022 Winter Olympics will air on Sunday Feb. 13. Sunday’s coverage will feature the awarding of the Lombardi Trophy in Los Angeles and multiple gold medal events in Beijing on NBC and Peacock.
Dwayne narrates the open for the 5 p.m. ET hour of the Super Bowl LVI Pregame Show on NBC and Peacock and The Rock will also have a special role on Sunday, delivering an electrifying pre-kickoff speech from the field.
“Today, we celebrate something that’s never happened in 4.5 billion years on planet earth: Super Gold Sunday. The Super Bowl and the Olympic Games. The biggest game of the year and the greatest spectacle in sports. They have never happened on the same day until now,” The Rock shares in his speech which airs on Super Bowl Sunday. “It’s about the Lombardi and the gold, silver, and bronze. It’s about touchdowns and twizzles, monstrous hits and the monobob. It’s about the idea that this game and these Games can achieve one of the most precious feats of all – bringing us all together for a celebration of who we are.”
This particular Super Bowl in Los Angeles is featuring a lot of Hollywood connections, so bringing in The Rock maybe isn’t all that surprising. And Johnson has contributed to various NFL things (including the ManningCast) in the past few years despite his XFL role. And this version of the XFL seems much more adapted to its status as a spring league that isn’t really challenging or competing head-to-head with the NFL, so there’s maybe less of a conflict here than there might have been in the past (especially with the 2001 version). But it’s still certainly notable to see an owner of another football league featured on a NFL field ahead of the Super Bowl.
[CBS Sports, Access Hollywood; top photo of Johnson from Dan MacMedan/USA Today]
