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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
NFL-49 8/30/04
Brian McCarthy, NFL, 212-450-2069
mccarthyb@nfl.com
BOSTON
TEE PARTY:
NFL FANS SET TO HAVE A BALL IN
BOSTON AS PART OF FREE
NFL KICKOFF FOOTBALL FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 4-6
Interactive Festival
Leads Up to “NFL Opening Kickoff” Showdown Between the
Indianapolis Colts and
New England Patriots on Sept. 9
In the week
leading up to “2004 NFL Opening Kickoff” between the Indianapolis Colts and
Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots on Thursday, September 9, area
football fans will have the opportunity to play like the pros in
Boston, Saturday,
Sept. 4-Monday, Sept. 6 at the free NFL
Kickoff Football Festival. Thousands of fans are expected to
attend the free event slated from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and Monday, and
12 p.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday.
Designed to entertain the entire family,
the NFL Kickoff Football Festival
will include various attractions for football fans of all ages,
including participatory events, clinics, and autograph sessions with select
former players.
Free tickets will be distributed beginning
each morning from September 4-6 at the front gates of
NFL Kickoff Football Festival,
located at the Fan Pier Parking Lot in
South Boston.
Various instructional clinics and events
will take place during the festival, such as the Pepsi Punt, Pass & Kick
competition as well as cheerleading clinics with the New England Patriots
Cheerleaders on Sunday and Monday.
The NFL
Kickoff Football Festival aims to bring the thrill of the game to
fans in a fun and interactive way. Designed to entertain, engage, and
enlighten, the event puts the ball into the hands of the fans. Among the
participatory football attractions are: “Run
to Daylight,” sponsored by Ameriquest Mortgage, where fans can
try to match strides for 40 yards; “Down
and Out,” sponsored by Visa, where fans attempt to run a pass
pattern through a maze of simulated defenders to catch a pass thrown to them
by an automated machine; and “Quick
Release,” sponsored by Campbell’s, where fans can see how the
speed of their passing compares to some of the greatest (and quickest) NFL
passers.
Other interactive areas include the “Field
Goal Kick,” sponsored by Gatorade, where fans try to score the
game-winning points with a last- second field goal before simulated blocked
rush in to foil the attempt; “Let it Fly,”
sponsored by Canon, which allows fans to put themselves in the quarterback’s
position, take aim downfield, and find out how far they can let it fly with
a perfect spiral; and “Extra-Point Kick,”
sponsored by Coors, where fans can take their stance, wait for placement,
and try to convert an extra point through regulation NFL uprights.
Two of the scheduled interactive elements
were modeled after real football skills competitions. “Quarterback
Challenge,” sponsored by PlayStation, allows fans to show off
their passing accuracy on special targets just like in the televised
competition. In “Pepsi Punt, Pass, and
Kick,” participants test their football skills in a replica of
the annual nationwide youth football competition.
The Football Festival will also include a
Kids’
Zone, which will feature
pint-sized versions of the Quarterback Challenge and the extra point kick as
well as a tattoo salon and a drawing area where children can color in the
Kickoff event logo and take it home with them.
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