An Astronaut Brought a Patriots Super Bowl LIII Banner to Boldly Go Where No Super Bowl Banner Has Gone Before

Source - The Patriots Super Bowl LIII banner made its debut last September, as it was unfurled in front of a sold-out Gillette Stadium crowd. Just months later, a miniature version of that same banner would be unpacked in the most unexpected of places – the International Space Station [ISS].

What happened next was less of an unfurling and more of a gentle floating, as the Super Bowl banner was suspended in the Cupola, an observation port on the ISS, with Earth 254-miles in the background.

That Patriots memento just happened to hitchhike its way to space with someone who was about to make world history.

When astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch left the ISS in October of 2019, they became the first all-female spacewalk, but in that moment, Meir was not thinking about history or legacy. She was simply trying to do her job.

That's a common refrain around Foxborough, but even in space, the idea rings true. ...

Having grown up in Maine and attended college in Rhode Island, New England played a significant role in Meir's path, and over the course of her seven-month mission, Meir did what so many astronauts before her have done – paid tribute to the people and places who helped her achieve her goal. 

When the Patriots organization sent Meir a Super Bowl LIII banner, she made it a point to snap a few pictures to represent her hometown team. Meir said it was one of her "important mission objectives" to share this achievement with as many people as possible. ...

"I grew up in New England … New England and the Northeast in general are so special to me. This was something that just really touched me to be able to share that with all the people that helped make it happen in some special way." 

On behalf of the human race, I would like to thank Jessica Meir, both for her service and courage. But also for representing us in the best way possible. 

I've made it abundantly clear that not only to I believe that UFOs are visiting us, it's become a demonstrable fact, acknowledged by the best and brightest in our own government.

And with that, it's important - make that vital - that these visitors see the best that our species has to offer. To witness with their own eyes (or whatever they use) that, while we are merely Homo Sapiens and not as evolved as they are, there are those among us who are their equals, if not their superiors. That 2018 championship was won by a group of metahumans who were supposedly defeated so many times our greatest scientists lost count. They overcame the Miami Miracle and the interception in Pittsburgh and went on the road to beat Kansas City in overtime and held one of the great offenses of all time to three points. They were owned, coached and quarterbacked by three of the most advanced beings ever to walk our homeworld and could not be defeated.

That is the message you send into space. It's the planetary equivalent of a "Beware of Dog" sign or a "These Premises Are Guarded by Security Cameras" notice. It lets them know we are safe and protected in the event they do not come in peace. The 2018 Patriots defense stopped Andy Reid and Sean McVay, what chance does the rest of the galaxy have against them? 

So again, thank you Jessica Meir. Like Tom Cruise, you are exactly the specimen of our species we need to put into Earth orbit to show to the universe what we are made of. 

Go Patriots. Live long, and prosper.