NORTHWEST, Ohio — As is the case with so many things, there are multiple northwest Ohio ties to Super Bowl 56.
Of course, the footballs being used in the big game were once again made right down I-75 in Ada at the Wilson Football Factory.
147 employees are tasked with making sure every detail is perfect for the balls that the Bengals and Rams will be using. The work begins immediately after the AFC and NFC title games.
They're all made by hand and each team receives 108 game balls. The hard-working people in Ada take an incredible amount of pride in doing the job.
It's an amazing journey from a small town in the corner of our state to the biggest game in the world.
"It's not just a football," said the Wilson Plant Manager Andy Wentling. "When you walk in here, it's the pride and the passion that these folks have making this football. This football's telling stories."
And the northwest Ohio connections to the Super Bowl don't stop there. Clay High School grad and former Michigan Wolverine Jordan Kovacs is a member of the Bengals coaching staff as a defensive quality control coach.
His personal story fits so well with what the Bengals are doing this year. They are a scrappy bunch who have been underdogs all year.
Kovacs walked on at Michigan and eventually became a team captain and has found his spot on a championship hopeful team.
"I've personally had a lot of fun coaching these guys because they're gritty, they're tough and throughout the course of the season no one has given them much of a shot and they continue to just prove people wrong," said Kovacs. "They don't flinch. There's been a lot of points of adversity. There were a lot of points of adversity last week. These guys just continue to compete."