Politics have cast a long shadow over this Super Bowl. You might have to go back to Super Bowl XXV in 1991, a game set against the backdrop of Operation Desert Storm, to find an NFL championship game played with the nation's current events pushed this close to the surface.
Donald Trump came up plenty during Super Bowl Opening Night, even if not everyone was itching to talk about the new president and his controversial policies. The most high-profile Trump mention of Monday night came in a surprise owner-to-owner interaction live on NFL Network.
Robert Kraft has been open in his support of Trump. The owner was in attendance at the president's campaign donors dinner on the eve of his inauguration and spoke candidly of his relationship with Trump in a recent New York Times profile.
"Loyalty is important to me, and he has been a wonderful friend," Kraft said. "I think one of the great problems in the country today is the working poor, the middle class, that there hasn't been growth in income on an equal basis, and I really think the policies he's going to bring to bear are going to be great for the economic side of America."
Trump probably beats Elton John in the famous contact game, by the way.
Follow along with Dan Hanzus' Super Bowl LI coverage all week long on the End Around blog.
