Before the start of Super Bowl LI, Fox aired a patriotic video that featured narration from Simone Biles and the song “Ragged Old Flag” by the late Johnny Cash. The legendary actor and singer Harry Belafonte also contributed narration to the spot. It was preceded by a speech by pregame host Curt Menefee.
“Our forefathers got it right, 240 years ago,” Biles says in the spot. “Equality. freedom. They belong to us all. And in case we falter in our ways, they wrote it down for us to always remember and cherish.”
Before the final spot aired, Fox Sports also posted the following video about the making of the video. The goal of the video was to highlight what makes the U.S. the country that it is, in spite of the division the country faces politically. As the making-of video reveals, the spot featured Nate Boyer, a veteran of the Army Special Forces, and Marine Corps veteran Kristine Ennis.
Here’s the original, full version of Cash’s “That Ragged Old Flag” performance.
The video features narration from Biles, who won four Gold Medals and one Bronze Medal at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
