SUPER BOWL GOSPEL CELEBRATION
The 15th annual Super Bowl Gospel Celebration will take place on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at the Theater at Madison Square Garden (4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10001). Now in its 15th year, the Super Bowl Gospel brings together Super Bowl champions and Pro Bowl players with Grammy Award-winning contemporary Christian, gospel and mainstream artists all on one stage.
This year’s event will feature gospel favorites and Grammy Award-winners Mary Mary and Donnie McClurkin and other top performers and special guests. In addition, the NFL Players Choir featuring current and former players will take the stage. Football greats Ray Lewis, Brian Dawkins, Matt Forte, Donovan McNabb, Darrell Green, John Elway, Tim Brown, Kurt Warner and many others have showcased their vocal talents or participated in the event. More than 100 players and their families attend each year.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SUPER BOWL XLVIII BUILD EVENTS
Habitat for Humanity New York City is celebrating the Super Bowl in its own backyard with a special event in collaboration with the NFL on Friday, Jan. 31. Volunteers, community members and an NFL player will join together for an event that will strengthen awareness about Habitat NYC’s mission to build homes with families in need in New York City, create buzz for the incredible hands-on volunteer experiences available and generate additional community support to help Habitat NYC give a hand up to even more families. NFL FOUNDATION SUPER BOWL CELEBRITY BOWLING CLASSIC
On Saturday, Feb. 1 from 11:00 a.m. — 3:30 p.m., the ninth annual NFL Foundation Super Bowl Celebrity Bowling Classic will be held at Bowlmor Chelsea Piers (Pier 60/23rd St. & West Side Highway, New York, NY 10011). Proceeds from the event will benefit the NFL Foundation.
The Celebrity Bowling Classic, sponsored by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America and funded by Citi and the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, will team four amateur bowlers with celebrities, including current and former NFL players. Former participants include members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Lem Barney, Harry Carson, Carl Eller, Ted Hendricks, Tom Mack, Rickey Jackson, Jim Taylor; Giants and Jets alumni: Erich Barnes, Jarrod Bunch, Greg Buttle, Chris Calloway, Rodney Hampton, Brian Kelley, Sean Landeta, Curtis McGriff, Erik McMillan, Chuck Mercein, Mike Merriweather, Bart Oates, Joe Pisarcik, Mike Sherrard, Everson Walls and Chris Ward. Additional former players in attendance, include: John Baker, Parnell Dickinson, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, Hank Bauer, Chuck Foreman, Nesby Glasgow, Lamonte Hunley, Ricky Hunley, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, Jerry Kramer, Tom Nowatzke, Brig Owens, Ickey Woods and Garo Yepremian.
Prizes will be awarded to members of the top three finishing teams. Each bowler also will receive a commemorative Super Bowl XLVIII bowling ball, bowling pin and shirt. Participants will enjoy a New York/New Jersey neighborhood-style buffet. A silent auction hosted by NFL Auction will offer NFL memorabilia and autographed keepsakes.
NFL WALTER PAYTON MAN OF THE YEAR PRESS CONFERENCE
The three finalists for the 2013 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award will be made available to media at a press conference Friday, Jan. 31 at 9:15 a.m. at the Rose Theater — Jazz at Lincoln Center (Time Warner Center). The winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award will be announced at the NFL Honors Award Show on Saturday, Feb. 1. The winner will receive a $25,000 donation in his name. The award is the only league recognition that acknowledges a player’s off-the-field community service as well as his playing excellence. Finalists were chosen from the 32 team nominees for the award, all of whom receive a $1,000 donation to the charity of their choice. The three finalists will receive an additional $5,000 donation in their name. The selection panel is comprised of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Pro Football Hall of Famer Anthony Muñoz, Sports Illustrated football writer Peter King, football great Frank Gifford, members of the Payton Family and 2012 winner Jason Witten.
SUPER BOWL BOULEVARD ENGINEERED BY GMC
The NFL will transform 13 blocks (34th St. — 47th St.) of Broadway into Super Bowl Boulevard Engineered by GMC — the epicenter for NFL fans in New York City during Super Bowl week, celebrating all things football. Super Bowl Boulevard will be open from 12:00 — 10:00 p.m. daily, Wednesday, Jan. 29 — Saturday, Feb. 1.
Fans can embrace the cold and take a ride through Times Square on the 60-foot high and 180-foot long Toboggan Run Engineered by GMC. Visitors also may stop by the Vince Lombardi Trophy display or capture a photo in front of the 20-foot tall Super Bowl XLVIII Roman Numerals before visiting some NFL greats at the concert stage for free autographs from 12:00 — 5:00 p.m. daily. At 8:30 p.m., the stage will come alive with some of the best musical talent the region has to offer.
Visitors can also enjoy the Super Bowl Virtual Theater, an immersive experience with stunning visuals and a powerful soundtrack that highlights the excitement of the NFL and bring the soul and spirit of both New York and New Jersey to life on the façade of Macy’s Herald Square. The 10-minute film will run every 30 minutes from 5:00 — 9:30 p.m. from Wednesday, Jan. 29 — Saturday, Feb. 1.
The kid-friendly NFL Rush Zone tent, open 12:00 – 10:00 p.m. daily, and NFL PLAY Field, open 12:00-5:00 p.m. daily, offers attractions for children, allowing participants to stay active and healthy in any weather while having fun on the field and experience the animated world of the NFL RUSH ZONE where kids will be able to take a picture with their favorite NFL team rusher, view clips of episodes from season three of the show and learn more about their favorite teams and players.
As a recognition of their hard work on the NFL PLAY 60 Challenge, kids from IS 383-Philippa Schuyler Middle School in Brooklyn and NFL PLAY 60 Super Kid, Thomas Brown, will be among the first kids on Super Bowl Boulevard and will take a run down the Toboggan and help open the NFL PLAY 60 Field on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 11 a.m.
Brown, the NFL PLAY 60 Super Bowl contest grand prize winner who plays NFL FLAG Football and enjoys family walks and bike rides, wrote about his admiration for Troy Polamalu and the way he carries his fandom with him during family moves around the country. Brown’s father, Shannon, is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps who flies FA-18 fighter jets. As part of his grand prize, Thomas will help kickoff Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday, Feb. 2 when he delivers the game ball to the officiating crew during pregame.
Fans also can visit the Field Goal Kick on 46th Street and attempt to kick a football over the crossbars at “The Crossroads of the World.”
All Super Bowl Boulevard attractions are free and open to the public with the exception of the toboggan. Tickets for the Toboggan Run Engineered by GMC go on sale on Wednesday, Jan. 22, for $5 through www.Ticketmaster.com. All proceeds will benefit MillionTreesNYC, a charitable initiative led by NYC Parks and the New York Restoration Project.
Super Bowl Boulevard will also include a 36,000 square-foot NFL Shop at Super Bowl in Macy’s Herald Square. The Shop will be open beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 22. The iconic windows of Macy’s Herald Square also will feature NFL-themed visuals.
Complete information on Super Bowl Boulevard’s schedule of events, attractions, player appearances and more can be found at www.superbowl.com. Follow Super Bowl Boulevard hashtag (#SBBLVD) on Twitter to get the most up-to-date news.
SUPER BOWL XLVIII ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM
The NFL Environmental Program has developed a series of initiatives to minimize the impact of Super Bowl activities on the local and global environment and benefit the host community. Environmental projects are developed in partnership with the NY/NJ Super Bowl XLVIII Host Committee and local, state and national organizations. These initiatives include:
Solid Waste Management/Recycling — Comprehensive solid waste management at major NFL event facilities. This project diverts waste from local landfills through recycling and reusing potential waste materials. Sites include MetLife Stadium, Super Bowl Boulevard, the Super Bowl Media Center and the hotels serving as team headquarters. At MetLife Stadium, food waste will be composted to further reduce the waste stream from Super Bowl Sunday. In addition to solid waste recycling, two E-Waste recycling events were held earlier this month in partnership with Verizon and the Broadway Green Alliance in Fairlawn, NJ and in Times Square.
Prepared Food Recovery — Extra prepared food from Super Bowl XLVIII events will be collected for donation in partnership with rock and Wrap It Up, a national nonprofit food recovery organization. Food recovered through this effort will go to soup kitchens, shelters and other local organizations that provide meals to those in need.
Materials Donation — Decorative materials, building materials, office supplies and other reusable items will be recovered in partnership with local community organizations. Some materials are appropriate for reuse, while others will be used as fund raising auction items or remanufactured into new products.
Sports Equipment and Book Donation Project — The Super Kids-Super Sharing Sports Equipment and Book Donation project was developed in partnership with the New York Jets, New York Giants, the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, Verizon and public and private schools in New York and New Jersey. Local students bring gently used or new books, sports equipment and school supplies to their schools. These items are then collected and donated to preselected local schools and organizations serving children in need. Super Kids collection events were held in New Jersey at Essex County College and in New York at Riverbank State Park.
Climate Change Initiative — Steps being taken to reduce the overall greenhouse gas impact of Super Bowl activities and events include:
»Use of renewable energy offsets to “green” the power usage at major Super Bowl XLVIII event venues including MetLife Stadium, the Super Bowl XLVIII Media Center, Super Bowl Boulevard and the AFC and NFC team hotels. These energy offsets are provided by host committee sponsor PSEG, a New Jersey-based energy company.
»Use of biodiesel blended fuel to power remote generators at Super Bowl Boulevard, the largest public event at Super Bowl XLVIII and at MetLife Stadium, site of Super Bowl XLVIII.
»More than 27,000 trees have been planted across New Jersey and New York to add to the overall “greening” of the Super Bowl host community and to repair some of the damage done by Hurricane Sandy. One of these events, at Rockaway Community Park in Queens, was the largest single tree-planting event in NYC history. NFL sponsor Verizon provided support for this project.
NFLPA SMOCKS & JOCKS
On Saturday, Feb. 1 from 10:30 a.m. — 1:30 p.m., at the Vermilion Restaurant (480 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10017) the NFL Players Association will hold its annual art auction and jazz brunch, supporting the Gene Upshaw Player Assistance Trust and The Harlem School of the Arts. Artwork from active and former players and others connected to professional football will be auctioned as part of the charity event.
TROUPE21′S 14TH ANNUAL PLAYER NETWORKING EVENT
The 14th Annual Player Networking Event (PNE) will place Saturday, Feb.1 from 12:00 – 6:00 p.m. at MIST Harlem (46 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026). Active and former NFL players attend to network with the corporate community and connect to career transition resources. The PNE attracts corporations that help players prepare for life after football via career coaching, mentoring, job shadowing, internships and entrepreneurial training.
The event also features successfully transitioned former NFL players including appearances by Spencer Tillman and Bart Scott from CBS Sports; a live Internet broadcast–Handle Your Business–anchored by current CNN correspondent Lamar Campbell; a personal branding competition where players compete for distinction as Super Brand 2014; the PNE Roundtable where players and corporate executives exchange ideas through open discussion; and the launch of the Players Marketplaceâ„¢–a business-to-business supplier concept designed to encourage player business collaborations. Follow @NFLPNE on Twitter for up-to-date information.
TASTE OF THE NFL
Taste of the NFL is the premier food and wine tasting extravaganza at the Super Bowl, featuring a top chef from each of the 32 NFL team markets, paired with a current or alumni NFL player from each team. Known as “The Party with a Purpose®,” Taste of the NFL raises awareness and financial support for food banks involved in hunger relief throughout America. The event has donated more than $14 million dollars to help kick hunger since its inception in 1992.
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 1 from 7:00 — 10:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. entry for VIP reception) at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, Pier 12 (72 Bowne St., Brooklyn, NY 11231). This year, more than 3,000 patrons are expected to stroll, eat and socialize throughout the 140,000 square-foot venue. Guests will have the opportunity to meet NFL greats, participate in silent and live auctions and end the night with live entertainment.
The event has donated more than $14 million dollars to help kick hunger since its inception in 1992. The event draws celebrities from all areas of the entertainment, sports and food world, including Tom Colicchio, Ted Allen, Alex Guarneschelli and past and present NFL greats Ted Hendricks, Kellen Winslow, Sr., Anthony Munoz, Randall McDaniel, Joe DeLamielleure, Steven Hauschka and Michael Griffin.
Single-entry tickets are available for $700 and VIP tables are $9,000 (10 seats). Tickets can be purchased at www.TasteoftheNFL.com or by calling 952-835-7621.
SUPER COMMUNITY COAT DRIVE
Friday, Feb. 7 will mark the final day for the Super Community Coat Drive, a major legacy project undertaken by the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee to make a positive impact on the NY/NJ region. Launched in early November with nonprofit partners New York Cares and Jersey Cares, over 100,000 warm coats have already been collected for those in need this winter. Businesses and individuals can learn how to participate, by visiting http://www.nynjsuperbowl.com/give-back/coat-drive.
Check out nfl.com for more Super Bowl XLVIII events in the NYC – New Jersey area