Kiwi Atipa Mabonga has scored one of the most famous trophies in sport, again.
Mabonga will get her second personalised Super Bowl ring after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas, defending the NFL title they won last year.
The 25-year-old Mabonga, from Southlandvia Taranaki, went to the United States on an athletics scholarship. Sports management studies led her to a fulltime job at the Chiefs after gaining a social media internship with them. She works for the Chiefs’ digital and social media strategy team as an influencer and culture coordinator.
“I’ve never been that stressed in my life, truly shaking,” the Zimbabwe-born Mabonga told Newstalk ZB’s Jason Pine, after the Chiefs’ nail-biting win.
“To be able to keep crawling up the field was insane. I cried, it was amazing, one of those moments I’ll cherish forever…all the emotions in one.
“Last year was my first Super Bowl, soaking everything in, in awe of the experience and taking in every moment.
“There is nothing like the Super Bowl…I don’t think it is anything I’ll get used to. I’m a girl from Southland…here I am with the championship team back to back.”
Mabonga’s stories include hopping in a lift with Chiefs quarterback legend Patrick Mahomes, and dealing with the team’s most famous fan, Taylor Swift, the singing superstar.
She believed Kansas might be unique in giving staff personalised Super Bowl rings. She gifted last year’s version to her parents.
“My dad said I could keep this one,” she said.
There is another Kiwi link at the Chiefs. Assistant coach Alex Whittingham, who has been at the franchise for seven years, spent two years as a church worker in Hamilton and South Auckland.
Whittingham put a New Zealand flag on his gear during the NFL heritage round, saying he would be “honoured” for the country to claim him.
