When Seattle and New England battle in the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, a South View High School graduate will actually be supervising the footballs, according to the Fayetteville Observer.
Tony Medlin, a native of Hope Mills, will serve as an equipment manager at the Super Bowl. The NFL dictates that equipment managers and ball attendants independent of the competing teams be in charge of game balls.
Medlin has worked for the Chicago Bears since 1987 and became the head equipment manager at the iconic NFL franchise in 1997. Medlin was named the Whitey Zimmerman Award winner as the league's top equipment manager following the 2000 season.
According to the newspaper, NFL spokesman Michael Signora said in a statement earier this week:
"Like many aspects of our policies and procedures, there are modifications for the Super Bowl.
"At the Super Bowl, the equipment manager of another team is in charge of the game balls and arranging for the ball attendant crews, which are hired before the Super Bowl teams are determined. The officials will maintain strict control of the game balls for the Super Bowl.
"Many aspects of the regular-season process are in place. The Super Bowl teams receive balls to work with during practice as per our policies. The balls are then returned to the league late next week."
