Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard says the team wants to win the Super Bowl to honour Harambe, who was killed at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2016.
Back in March 2016, the Cincinnati Zoo hit headlines around the world when a three-year-old boy fell into the moat at the Gorilla World habitat.
Zoo officials had immediately signalled for the three gorillas in the habitat to go inside, and the two females did so - but Harambe, the inquisitive male silverback weighing 200kg, investigated the child.
Harambe reportedly became distressed by the screams and yells of onlookers, and carried the child around the exhibit. He showed ‘strutting’ behaviour, walking with legs and arms extended to appear larger as a form of intimidation.
Afraid for the child’s welfare, zoo officials opted to kill the gorilla, doing so with a single rifle shot when the boy was between Harambe’s legs. Harambe became a national icon - and it appears the Cincinnati Bengals will pay tribute to the fallen silverback at Super Bowl LVI.
Appearing on Pardon My Take , Bengals defensive end Hubbard insisted his team intends to win the Super Bowl to honour Harambe. Hubbard is a Cincinnati native and was still in college at Ohio State when the shooting occurred.
“We’re doing this for him,” Hubbard told Pardon My Take.
In the years following Harambe’s killing, the gorilla became a global meme, invoked for literally everything on the internet for years. Harambe has a number of fans on the internet that would do anything to see him honoured further.
The Bengals dramatically defeated the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium 27-24 thanks to rookie kicker Evan McPherson’s field goal in overtime. It is the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance since 1989.
They will face the Los Angeles Rams, who narrowly beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 to ensure they will become only the second team to ever play at home in the Super Bowl, as the game is set to be staged at SoFi Stadium in LA.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers achieved this feat last year, and hoisted the Vince Lombardi trophy thanks to a crushing 31-9 win over the Chiefs.
