[imagesource: Getty Images]

In a regular year, it’s estimated that in excess of 80 million Americans watch the Super Bowl, with countless others tuning in from around the world.

This year, Tom Brady stole the show en route to his seventh Super Bowl win, but we should also mention Yuri Andrade, who showed a great deal of self-confidence when taking to the field in a neon pink one-piece.

If you’re thinking this reminds you of a certain 2019 Champions League Final streaker, you would be correct, although I doubt Andrade’s social media follower count will surge to the same degree as Kinsey Wolanski’s.

The 31-year-old Andrade was arrested following his streak, and is facing a misdemeanour trespassing charge.

Before we get to why Andrade’s outfit was branded with ‘Vitaly Uncensored’, let’s see some footage:

You can even enjoy a play-by-play via commentator Kevin Harlan:

OK, let’s get to the branding, with this from USA Today:

Andrade’s on-field stunt appeared to be an attempt to draw attention to an X-rated website, whose name was printed on the pink one-piece that he wore as he ran onto the field…

A self-described entrepreneur and influencer, Andrade said he does not work for the website in question but referred to its founder, Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, as a friend. Andrade added that while he was not paid for the stunt, Zdorovetskiy did pay for his tickets to the game.

Zdorovetskiy, a notorious Russian prankster, is a pretty terrible human, so it’s a pity that the streaking has been sullied by his involvement.

I’m a purist, which is why I’ll take a Kiwi cricket streak over the above any day of the week.

As has become customary with streaking, security officials also go to great lengths to put in a serious hit on offenders.

Andrade may have evaded a few would-be tacklers, but in the end, he was no match for sheriff’s deputy Clint Stearns.

The Washington Post reports that Stearns, the man wearing the white shirt, is a former quarterback, and his former high school coach Jason Strunk says he’s not the sort to miss a tackle:

“If I ever put him in to do it, he was going to get the job done, no doubt about it.”

“That he’s making a tackle in Raymond James Stadium all these years later, it’s pretty cool how that came full circle,” Strunk said.

“And how he’s serving the community and protecting the people and the players on the field last night, I think that’s why I got into coaching, to see kids like that succeed and become productive citizens.”

Nothing like seeing your former player tackle a man in a pink leotard on national TV, to sum up 2021 thus far.

[sources:usatoday&washpost]