Super Bowl 45 Will Involve Thousands Of Students

By Bill Zeeble, KERA News

Dallas, TX –

Former President George W. Bush, past pro-football stars, and north Texas leaders launched a youth education program in connection with Super Bowl 45. The world's most -watched sporting event is scheduled to be played in 2011 at Cowboy's stadium in Arlington. KERA's Bill Zeeble reports.

Government and school officials in Collin, Denton, Tarrant and Dallas Counties will work with the NFL on a never-before attempted student program. It'll involve more than 20 thousand 3rd 4th and 5th graders coming up with community service initiatives they'll implement and perform. President George W. Bush praised it for involving students who will improve life... just like adults here, he says, who are dedicated to making things better.

Bush: People just don't sit around & talk. People, when they have an idea, put it to use and make it happen.

Students will come up with plans for everything from murals to community gardens. They'll submit them for approval. Fox sportscaster and Cowboys Super Bowl player Daryl Johnston says the whole planning process will teach kids great lessons.

Johnston: If it gets accepted fantastic. But let's say it gets turned down and they want to get back into the process and get started all over again and learn that a little adversity isn't something you give in to. You come back and the next time with a better idea, and more creative and maybe planned out a little better.

The whole program was put together by a local education organization called Big Thought, run by Gigi Antoni.

Antoni: The thing about the Super Bowl and the NFL and this idea of being a hero and excellence and perseverance and team work and thinking about the fact that kids don't need to be celebrities to be heroes. You can be a hero any day you make a difference in your world.

Daryl Johnston says there are millions of dollars behind this effort. He says the NFL hopes it becomes a model for future Super Bowl hosts.

Email Bill Zeeble