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SANDY — Even without an NFL team, Utah made its presence known in a big way on the 2024 Super Bowl field Sunday night.
A family-owned business in Sandy made it to the international stage.
Jacob Swenson is Colonial Flag's chief operating officer. "It was started over 40 years ago in my uncle's garage," Swenson said.
The colossal flag that flies over this family business makes it a recognizable landmark in the Salt Lake Valley.
"If it's flag-related, we probably do it," Swenson said. Big flags are their specialty.
"We have some amazingly talented employees here that are able to figure out the math, lay things out on the tables here, and get the measurements right," Swenson said.
The family-owned business was launched onto the international stage thanks to its craft.
"It's a lot of fabric, a lot of sewing," Swenson said. "The one that was in the Super Bowl, that was 75 feet by 150 feet."
All eyes are trained on the nimble fingers and steady footwork of the masterminds behind the remarkable flags. "We've had our flags featured at several Super Bowls and several major sporting events," Swenson said.
The American flag unfurled over the field at this year's Super Bowl was crafted at Colonial Flag last summer.
"We cut the stars by hand," Swenson said. "We measure the stripes by hand."
Their hard work was sent down Interstate 15 to be shown off to millions. "Little Utah, we just manage to show up in some pretty cool places," Swenson said.
The flag at the game is far bigger than what fits at Colonial Flag headquarters. So the employees take it to the Mountain America Expo Center to unfurl it.
"We check the dimensions, make sure our lengths and heights are correct, make sure the stars look good, and then we trim off the excess fabric, bring it back here and put the short stripes, long stripes, and canton all together," Swenson said.
It's more than math for the team, there's heart behind their projects.
"Especially during the anthem where everyone in the whole stadium is kind of all on the same team for a minute there ... it makes you feel proud of the work that we do here," Swenson said.
They admit this bowl was extra fun. "We have a lot of employees here that are diehard (Taylor) Swift fans," Swenson said.
When they look at the big picture, they see each piece stitched together as a symbol of unity.
"We might have a little tear over here or there might be something wrong with the flag over here, but we got our own little stitch," Swenson said.
