Super Bowl MVP & MVP of Our Hearts: Jalen Hurts

It’s been a full week of me living in de-lu-lu land after watching the Philadelphia Eagles beat the brakes off the Kansas City Chiefs to become the Super Bowl LIX Champions. I was thrilled to see Jalen Hurts get his “lick back” after being (in my humble opinion) one of the most highly criticized QB1s of our time!  Not to mention how he handled the press’s persistent questions about the current felon-in-chief and his plans to attend the game. While Kansas City’s Kelce and Mahomes found it an “honor” and “cool,” respectively, that the sitting FOTUS would be in attendance, Hurts subtly let reporters know that it was of zero consequence to him. A quarterback for the people, okay!

In my previous life, I was a huge football girlie. But like so many of us, the league lost me as a fan and follower after its missteps in handling Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest in the form of kneeling during the national anthem to bring awareness to police brutality against and the mistreatment of black people. In the years since then, I’ve disassociated from sports in large part due to believing that entertainment is being used as a distraction – mainly in the black community – to keep us focused on issues that don’t truly matter. But this year’s Eagle’s team was different in a way I can’t fully articulate.

They represented something bigger than sports to me – whether it was Jalen Hurts’ refusal to give in to the naysayers, Saquon Barkley’s untimely release from the Giants after being deemed “washed up”, or AJ Brown’s open vulnerability with his mental health struggles. As a collective, the LIX champions struck a chord with me and countless others on a deeper level, even before knowing much about the players personally. Their drive, determination, rebellion, and refusal to quit landed them in the center of the Ceasar’s Superdome for their celebration as Super Bowl Champions and at the center of so many of our hearts. And while none of it could be done with a single player, one man stood out from the pack as M V P: Jalen Alexander Hurts.

The reigning Super Bowl MVP and sexiest man on the internet stole the show and our hearts with his undeniable charisma, unending words of wisdom, unwavering support of women, and unflawed diamonds – yes, those diamonds. His ability to remain poised under pressure, speak no more words than necessary, and deliver both on and off the field got our attention. But his commitment to black women – both professionally and romantically – made it official. Black women and Jalen Hurts go together, real bad, in the most respectful, in our heads type way, of course, as Mr. Hurts is engaged (and some say married) to sister Bryonna Burrows.

Hurts confirmed his engagement to Burrows and commitment to black women in exclusive interviews with Essence in September 2024 and April 2023, respectively – another intentional move to further his commitment to the culture, as Essence has been in service to Black women since 1970. And with the confirmation of both relationships, Black women everywhere felt sentiments that have long slipped from our grasp from Black NFL players: feelings of value, worth, admiration, appreciation, feelings of being seen. Yes, I, and so many other Black women, have been in the land of delusion for a week: one where Black men of substance and status desire a Black mate. And one can only hope that in the same way Hurts led his team to victory on February 9, he’ll also lead Black men back to loving us, too.