NEW ORLEANS – If you thought you saw Gallaudet athletics and American Sign Language in the opening feature to Super Bowl LIX on Fox you weren't wrong. The Gallaudet University women's basketball team made a cameo in the nearly five-minute story centered around the huddle and voiced over by movie star Brad Pitt.
Fox Sports came to Gallaudet's campus on January 30 and spent several hours in the evening with the Bison women's basketball team. The producer and videographers spent a solid hour filming different clips of the Bison signing to each other and of course huddling up.
When Fox Sports reached out to Gallaudet, they knew
the Bison were Home of the Huddle™ and wanted to pay homage to that fact.
"It never gets old seeing Gallaudet athletic teams featured on the national stage. No matter how big or small the opportunities have been, it is a valuable chance to educate others about Gallaudet University and have Bison student-athletes and coaches represent the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community," said Gallaudet Associate Athletic Director for Communications
Sam Atkinson. "We appreciate Fox Sports including the Bison women's basketball team in this opening lead-in to Super Bowl LIX."
The clips Fox Sports used included a shot of senior
Raj Guettler (Frederick, Md.) signing to teammates on the bench and a close-up of senior
Claire Ruiz-Tucker (Middletown, Md.). You can view the clip at the 2:51 mark of the video. Later in the piece, you will see the hands of the Bison team breaking a huddle at the 4:03 mark.
While the clips of the GU women's basketball team were brief it was great to see the Bison represent the Deaf community in this national broadcast that attracts over 100 million viewers.
Also see:
