Super Bowl Sign Resurfaces 34 Years Later

TD Garden was alive last night as the finale to the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off featured a rivalry with deep roots. Canada and USA faced off in a back-and-forth battle on the ice.

Each of the three periods ended in a tie. One to one after the first, two to two after the second, and still two to two at the end of the third. For those unfamiliar, hockey is played in three 20-minute periods with two 18-minute intermissions in between. However, 4 Nations made a slight change to a 17-minute intermission for the tournament.

Hosting an NHL Event

I was fortunate to attend along with the 17,850 fans in attendance. My role as In-Arena Host is to pump up the crowd, play games and trivia with fans, deliver welcomes and game-day information and more.

Throughout the pregame, I was in the crowd setting the scene for the matchup ahead and reminding fans how Canada and United States got to the Championship game. While delivering this information, I was up on the Jumbotron.

You can imagine how many people are jumping behind me, making faces, pointing at their jerseys to shoutout their favorite team, possibly chugging beers and doing anything they can to be noticed.

Hey, I get it. I was that kid for many years attending Providence Bruins game with my face painted, pom poms and handmade signs clamoring to be up on the big screen. That being said, I always like to find a location where there are plenty of fans behind me not only to give them their 15 seconds of fame, but to add to the energy of the show.

Super Bowl Sign Turns Heads

There are always plenty of fans holding up signs too. Some with clever sayings, many professing their love of a certain player and others asking for a puck. One sign in particular caught my eye. It simply read 'GO USA', but the small text around it and the story behind it was wild.

It was a brief interaction amidst the chaos of the game. A gentleman holding a sign that read 'Super Bowl XXV 1/27/91' and 'The Whitney Houston Game!' and a recent addition at the bottom '4 Nations Final 2/220/25'.

I was able to find out that the gentleman holding the sign attended that Super Bowl in Tampa...and it's documented. When viewing Whitney Houston's performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner", you can see the same man holding the same sign at the 2:00 mark in the video below.

Now, 34 years later, the moment lives on. Another appearance of the sign (now wrapped in tape). Not sure if it was originally wrapped, but certainly a smart move to keep it from being destroyed or damaged. The United States did not come out victorious, but this is certainly a winning moment in my book.