New York,
NY (December
29,
2003) --
The dream of every football fan - to go to the Super Bowl -- is about to come true for third-grader Jesse Sherman from Hampton, VA and fifth-grader Rafe Tangorra from Queens, NY, winners of the
Scholastic Books Clubs/NFL “It Should Be Me” writing contest. The two grand prize winners, who receive an all-expense paid trip for themselves and a guardian to Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas on February 1, 2004, were announced today by Scholastic Book Clubs, a division of Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company, and the National Football League (NFL). Jesse wrote that he wanted to see his hard-working father go to the Super Bowl, and Rafe celebrated the memory of his grandfather with the words, “every time I watch the football game I feel close to him remembering all the great times we would share.”
The “It Should Be Me” writing contest, created by Scholastic and the NFL to encourage kids to read and write, asked students in Scholastic Lucky® Book Clubs (grades 2-3) and Arrow® Book Clubs (grades 4-6) to write a letter of 250 words or less to their favorite NFL player explaining why they should be chosen to win the hottest ticket in football. A panel of sports journalists including Rich Eisen of NFL Network's
Total Access, Jim Nantz, CBS Sports
The NFL Today, Bill Plaschke, The Los Angeles Times, and Lisa Salters, ESPN selected the grand prizewinners. The players who received the most letters in the “It Should Be Me” contest were Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers and Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons, although neither of the grand prize winners wrote to these two players.
Rafe Tangorra, an honor student, wrote his heart-warming letter to Tiki Barber of the New York Giants only eight weeks after his grandfather passed away. Rafe wrote about his sadness at not being allowed to visit his grandfather in the hospital during the last six months of his life. “I only was able to talk to him on the phone and we always talked about sports,” he wrote, adding, “I miss my grandfather very much; he was a big part of my life and I think about him everyday.”
Jesse Sherman received the news of his big win on his 9th birthday. A student who initially struggled in school, Jesse is now proud to be on the honor roll. He is also proud of his dad, a plumber, who splurges once a year to see a pro game, but had to cancel his plans this year when Hurricane Isabel hit their hometown. Jesse wrote that his father stayed home to volunteer during the recovery efforts, “help(ing) many of our neighbors with cutting trees, plumbing work, and cooking for the neighborhood on his grill.” Jesse addressed his letter to Jerome “The Bus” Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers who, like Jesse, struggles with asthma.
In addition to the writing contest, Scholastic also partnered with the NFL to publish two NFL Readers, “Road to the NFL” and “Record Breakers” as well as “NFL: Behind the Scenes,” “NFL: Fantasy Football,” “NFL: Superstars,” and “NFL: Team Tracker.” According to Judy Newman, Senior Vice President, Scholastic Book Clubs, “The NFL's support of this contest sends a persuasive message to kids that not only do their parents and teachers encourage reading and writing, but also their favorite sports heroes value these important life-long skills as well.”
“We're delighted that two talented and deserving students will join us in Houston for a once-in-a-lifetime, experience,” says Chris Russo, the NFL's Senior Vice President of New Media and Publishing. “Just as the two best teams in the NFL end the season at the Super Bowl, we're pleased to culminate the first year of our partnership with Scholastic at the world's most anticipated event of the year.”
For 55 years, Scholastic Book Clubs have provided monthly catalogues offering top quality books and reading materials from all publishers to teachers in pre-school through junior high. Today eleven different Scholastic Book Clubs reach one million teachers each month, providing the most sought-after titles at affordable prices for children in classrooms nationwide.
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries, and television networks; and the Company's Internet Site,
www.scholastic.com.