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NFL commissioner invites healthcare workers to Super Bowl
Sarasota Memorial Hospital workers who have received the COVID-19 vaccine were told via video call by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell they were going to the Super Bowl in Tampa. In all, 7,500 healthcare workers are being invited.
TAMPA, Fla. - Super Bowl 55 will be historic on many levels but beyond the records set on the field, perhaps the biggest impact will be the images of 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers cheering from the stands.
Among them will be 24 employees from Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
"Just super excited to cheer on the home team. Hopefully, with us being there, we'll bring them more luck. We have more angels out there looking at us," said Lucelly Alarcon, a nurse at the hospital.
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"It is absolutely going to be a once in a lifetime experience," said nurse educator Doris Cahueque.
They've been on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 since the beginning, dealing with highs and lows few could've predicted.
They also never predicted they'd be surprised with tickets to the game last week by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
"We've now come full-cirlce. There's a vaccine, we're going to be representing that vaccine brings to this nation and the world. It is just unbelievable that we're going to be the ones sitting in those stands," said Rebecca Izquierdo, a nurse case manager. "It has become like a fairytale story for us."