New York Native Catches the Eye of a Nation During Super Bowl

On Sunday night, a nation watched as Chris Stapleton sang one of the most impressive versions of the 'Star Spangled Banner' in recent history before the Philadelphia Eagles kick-off against the Kansas City Chiefs, but it wasn’t just Chris Stapleton that all eyes were on.

A nation also watched as the camera panned to show Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni who had tears flooding down his face during the National Anthem and for a minute, we all felt the emotions Sirianni was feeling.

In 1991, Sirianni was nine years old when he heard Whitney Houston sing the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ and it left an impression on him. “That’s something that I’ve always thought about — what it might be like to hear the national anthem at a Super Bowl,” Sirianni told Buffalo News.

Only in his second season as a head coach, Sirianni coached his first Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. However, before Sirianni was showing up on television around the world, he was a boy growing up in New York state.

41- year-old Sirianni was born in Jamestown, New York, on June 15, 1981, to Fran and Amy Siriani. Sirianni’s father was the head coach at Southwestern Central High School in West Ellicott where Sirianni attend.

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After graduating from high school in 1999, Sirianni attended the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio where he played wide receiver for four years while earning a degree in education.

Following college graduation, Sirianni played a season with the Canton Legends American Indoor Football League. Sirianni coached college football for four years before getting hired by the Kansas City Chiefs, then the San Diego Chargers, and the Indianapolis Colts. In January 2021, Sirianni was hired as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles after Doug Peterson was fired.

Skeptics thought that Sirianni would crash and burn and that his team wouldn’t even make it to the Super Bowl, but he proved them wrong and although his team lost by just three points, Sirianni has still made his home state proud and won all of our hearts when he let the tears flow during the National Anthem.

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