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Imagine this: you’re throwing a little shindig for Super Bowl LII. Every guest has a seat. The fire is raging. The beer is flowing like the salmon of Capistrano. Karen, what are these? Oh, mac and cheese bites? Best day of my life. Thanks Karen. The Patriots and Eagles are going blow-for-blow, amounting to what could be one of the most memorable Super Bowls in recent memory. It’s halftime and you’ve already won two Super Bowl squares. You catch eyes with your crush from across the room. She winks. You wink. And both of you get up to make your way to your bedroom.
Then Trisch, who you didn’t even invite, pulls up this commercial.
The air is sucked out of the room.
The New York Times has released this commercial–titled “Investigating Concussions in the N.F.L. — The Truth Has a Voice”–days before the big game to bolster conversation around the game’s most precarious issue. The commercial uses actual headlines from its archive to present a chilling portrait of the prevalence of brain disease in NFL players. With each headline that pops up on the screen, the crowd noise in the back gets louder.
Here are a list of the headlines, as transcribed by The Big Lead:
Seau to Enter Draft
N.F.L. Attendance At Record Level
Seau Of Chargers Gets $16.3 Million
Super Bowl XXIX; Wherever The Ball Is, Watch Out For Seau
Seau, Back From Injury, Is Set For His 18th Season
Junior Seau, Famed N.F.L. Linebacker, Dies At 43; Suicide Is Suspected
Family of Seau Decides to Give Brain for Study
Seau Suffered From Brain Disease
N.F.L. Doctor Says Disease Is Overstated
N.F.L. Official Affirms Link Between Playing Football and C.T.E.
N.F.L. Doctor Who Discounted Dangers of Head Trauma Retires
111 N.F.L Brains. All But One Had C.T.E.
N.F.L. Changes Concussion Protocol
The spot finishes with the text “The truth has power. The truth will not be ignored. The truth has a voice.”
Sooooo…anyone going to finish that Onion dip?
[h/t The Big Lead]