Vince Lombardi, a Chiefs fan? Well, actor playing him in NFL commercial pulls for KC
A recent tradition for the NFL on Super Bowl Sunday is airing a special commercial.
Think back to the NFL 100 banquet spot in 2019 or last year’s ad that featured a boy running with a football.
This year, the NFL will air a commercial entitled “As One” before Super Bowl LV.
The league described it this way: “it features Vince Lombardi and many of his powerful words which still resonate today. Lombardi’s belief in humankind’s ability to unite and overcome obstacles provides inspiration to the nation after a challenging and unprecedented year.”
Lombardi, the legendary Packers coach for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named, died in 1970. But the NFL commercial will feature Lombardi walking and giving a speech that USA Today said “will replicate the tone and cadence of Lombardi’s voice and use his own words.”
NFL executive vice president and chief marketing officer Tim Ellis told USA Today: “You’re going to see Vince Lombardi. And it’s going to sound just like him, as well.”
This Lombardi, however, will have a rooting interest in Sunday’s game. It is Russ Hutchison of Topeka. He’s a part-time actor and, as he told KSNT.com, a real-estate agent. Oh, by the way, he’s also a Chiefs fan.
“The only reason I put my name in the hat, and that’s the God’s honest truth, was because Lombardi had a gap in his teeth,” Hutchison told KSNT.
The commercial is scheduled to air before “America The Beautiful,” is sung ahead of the coin toss at Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Florida.
“Thank you all and to Vincent Thomas Lombardi....What It Takes To Be Number One was the speech/monologue I memorized and recited during a zoom interview to lock in the role,” Hutchison wrote in a Facebook post. “That speech... not the same words as the commercial....but Damn! Read it if you have a few minutes. Old school rules.
“And in my research of ‘The Coach’ I found that what he really wanted to say later in life is, you don’t have to be perfect. NO ONE IS PERFECT. But as we strive toward perfection, we hope to reach Excellence. Thank you all so very much for your well wishes and support.”
Here is one of the teasers of the commercial from the NFL:
This story was originally published February 6, 2021 at 12:41 PM.
