The NFL Super Bowl serves as one of the biggest sporting events around the world on a yearly basis. Its change of venue each season provides fans across the United States with the opportunity to watch the league championship from different locations and it allows those who attend the event consistently to experience areas of the country they may have never been part of. With the league expanding its reach on an international scale – thanks to the introduction of the International Series – football loyalists outside of the United States have had the chance to grow as passionate NFL supporters.
Pregame events held in New York City and parts of Northern New Jersey have been a great way for fans to interact with current and former players, take pictures with the Original Vince Lombardi Trophy and check out various television broadcast sets and while these proceedings are certainly fun, tons of work needs to be done to ensure the safety of all those involved. Following a press conference in midtown Manhattan, NFL officials along with New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton and uniformed members of local law enforcement and the FBI assured the public that there are no existing security threats ahead of Sunday’s big game.
“Obviously at a game of this magnitude, it's an American tradition, it's televised throughout the world, so that might spur more people to pay attention to it,” Special Agent Aaron Ford, in charge of the FBI’s Newark office, said following the presser. "So we are obviously well aware and on guard for anyone who wants to detract from the game. Just like the Broncos and the Seahawks, we've been practicing all year. There are 16 home games. No other NFL stadium has 16 home games. We've had a lot of practice. Just like the Seahawks and the Broncos, we are ready for what we have to do on Sunday, which is the most important event that we have going on.”
Ford also noted that the game itself is actually easier to prepare for security-wise as opposed to the pre-game events such as Super Bowl Boulevard, a popular fan-driven event along always-crowded Broadway in New York City.
“These are considered soft targets and there's no screening process," Ford said of Super Bowl Boulevard and other local, close-knit events. “This is America, open and free society that we live in and we want people to be free to walk about. However, when you deal with soft targets, they are more vulnerable to home-grown violent extremists coming to do something you don't expect.”
Despite the potential concerns of fans and locals, commissioner Bratton says there is nothing to report from a danger standpoint and security higher-ups expect that to continue through Super Bowl XLVIII.
“As of this time there are no threats directed against this event that we're aware of.”
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.