Super Bowl 50: Carolina Panthers Coach Ron Rivera got Latinos Interested in Football

Last Sunday's Super Bowl was filled with breathtaking musical performances by Coldplay, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, and Beyonce. Viewers and sports fans got to see the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in a football game that most may think is very much rooted in American culture. What one may not know, however, is that the Carolina Panthers coach, Ron Rivera, is actually Latino—and has piqued the interest of the Latino community in Charlotte, North Carolina to the sport.

NPR reports that Rivera came very close to becoming the second Latino head coach in Super Bowl history, with the first being Tom Flores, coach of the Los Angeles Raiders who took home the championship back in Super Bowl 18.

Rivera comes from a line of Latin families, with his father being Puerto Rican, and his mother, Mexican. He admits that his interest in football began early, and credits his Mexican-Filipino uncle for being a role model to him as a young boy. He even shared that all his uncles grew up playing sports such as football, baseball, and basketball.

Rivera is now part of an exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte, showcasing how the Latin culture has been influencing the south, and how the American culture has been influencing the Latinos as well.

Levine Museum's Latino New South Coordinator Oliver Merino commented that people of all cultures have been traveling to the United States and incorporating their culture and traditions, and embracing new ones, making for a very diverse cultural landscape.

Despite the Carolina Panther's defeat to the Denver Broncos last Sunday, Rivera remains positive about the whole experience, FOX News Latino reports. He told the team that the game was an opportunity to grow and learn from the experience and later bounce back. In fact, he is committed to bringing the team back to the finals next year. But regardless of the defeat, Rivera is proud of his and his team's accomplishment and is happy to bring pride to the Latin community.

"I see myself as Latino. And I'm very proud of that fact," Rivera told TelesurTV. "And it's funny because people say you're a minority, you've gotten opportunities because you're a minority. I don't believe that for one second. I don't that believe you hire people because of their ethnicity. You hire people because they're the best."