COLUMBIA, S.C. — With less than 24 hours until the Super Bowl, a local family is gearing up to root for one of their own who will be on the sidelines for the big game.
Nanette Huneau will be saying 'Fly Eagles Fly' on Sunday, much like she has for the entire NFL season - despite never even living in Philadelphia.
Why? Her second cousin is Tyler Brown, a special teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. She said that watching the Eagles play has become a new family affair.
"When the kicker comes out, we're all excited and hoping and praying that they do a good job because we know Tyler has worked so hard with them," she said.
She and her son own Alodia's in Lexington, which is the namesake of Tyler's great-great-grandmother who immigrated here from Italy in the early 1900s.
"If my immigrant grandparents could even begin to imagine anything, this would be so off the radar," she said. "And I know that they are up in heaven and smiling down at Tyler and wishing him all the best."
Kansas City Chiefs fans are well-represented in the Midlands, too. Lilly Hupke is a freshman at USC from Kansas City. She's converted her roommates to Chiefs fans and will be watching from Five Points.
"We're going to Salty [Nut] at 11, so we get there before it gets super busy and then kinda camp out there all day," she said.
Joey Loman has lived in South Carolina for the last 10 years and, as a native of Kansas City, he'll be tuning in from home, too.
"There's a thing about Kansas City, growing up in Kansas City, growing up with the Chiefs, there's a connection there that you just can't get away from no matter how far away you move," he said.
Kick-off for the 57th Super Bowl will be at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.