For Burgess Owens, Speaking at the Republican National Convention is Bigger Than the Super Bowl

Former New York Jets star and Super Bowl champion Burgess Owens is slated to speak before Vice President Mike Pence tonight.

For Burgess Owens, the Republican National Convention and his speech on Wednesday night is bigger than the Super Bowl. Considering that Owens has played in and won a Super Bowl, that is saying something.

Owens, running for Congress in Utah’s fourth congressional district, is slated to speak on Wednesday night before Vice President Mike Pence’s speech. Owens, who played 10 years in the NFL and was a first-round pick of the New York Jets in 1973, won the Super Bowl in 1980 as a safety for the Oakland Raiders.

He was asked a week ago if he would speak at the Republican convention and the man who once lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy thinks that this stage is far more important.

“I’d say that because what is on the line, this is bigger,” Owens told Sports Illustrated’s Jets Country.

“Now when you’re 30 years old, the Super Bowl is the biggest thing because that’s all you care about. Now I care about my country, our kids, our culture. Now for me to be in a position to be a part of this team – whatever that is – it is the biggest thing I can do now right now. I’m very blessed when I was asked to make this run. I’m a part of a much bigger team in Congress that can turn things around. In the perspective of my life, this is much bigger than the Super Bowl, it really is.”

Owens has never run for political office before. After his playing career, he spent time in the business world and most recently has been involved in youth mentorship. His march to conservatism began during the administration of President Ronald Reagan, when he started to align more with the Republican Party on certain values. A lifelong Democrat until that point, Owens is now one of the leading national faces of the Republican push to take control of the House of Representatives.

He is not the first NFL player to stand up and speak at the convention. On Monday night, former NFL running back Herschel Walker spoke and gave an endorsement of President Donald Trump.

When Owens got the call asking to be included in the convention, he did not know he was potentially up for a primetime slot and would be speaking before the vice president. All he knew was that he wanted to start on the speech.

“[The speech] was a lot of words, which they cut down to very few words. This is very exciting for me because what we’re showing is what true diversity looks like. It is diversity of thought – it is diversity that across the spectrum, we love our flag, we love our country – we all have hope,” Owens said. “And that’s what you’ll hear about it hope. I’ll start with my great, great grandfather who came here in the belly of a slave ship. It all comes down to the message that if I can do it, you can do it. I think that is across the board, that’s going to be the theme of this week.”