Former Eastern quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

As if you already did not know that. 

Jimmy G, as we all so affectionately refer to him, might just be the greatest alumni Eastern has. Sorry to Tony Romo and Burl Ives, but Jimmy G just has it. When it comes to being cool, our guy Jimmy G exemplifies that word better than anybody. He’s good looking, worth over $100 million, incredibly athletic and now will start a game in the Super Bowl. 

If you can think of an Eastern alumni with a better resume than that, we’d love to hear it. 

Jimmy G will be representing all of us at Eastern on Sunday and in some ways, if feels like all of us will be playing. 

Of course none of us are actually Jimmy G and will never achieve the level of wealth, achievement or looks that Jimmy G has, but a piece of Eastern lives on in Jimmy G, which means a piece of us will be at the Super Bowl. 

But really, all jokes aside, the fact that our small school in central Illinois will have a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl is incredibly special and is something that none of us should take for granted. 

Jimmy represents that the sky is the limit for Eastern students. He shows that the size of our school means nothing and that Panthers can go toe-to-toe and compete with the alumni from any school across the country no matter how big or how prestigious. 

On sports’ biggest stage, Jimmy Garoppolo, an Eastern alumni who, just like us, took classes in Coleman Hall, ate at the Union, partied on 7th Street, will be center stage in the spotlight. Not someone from Illinois State, not someone from Ohio State, Michigan or Harvard. It will be an Eastern Illinois Panther.

We at The Daily Eastern News will be cheering for Jimmy G and the San Francisco 49ers, because in a way Eastern will be playing in the Super Bowl too. 

The Editorial Staff can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].