A seventh grader from Iowa could wind up on the field at next year’s Super Bowl. Olivia Eckerman, a student at Waverly-Shell Rock Middle School, is heavily involved in the N-F-L’s “Fuel Up to Play 60” program and she’s one of three finalists for the honor of running onto the field before kickoff with the game ball.
“They had narrowed it down to 30, then eight and now three and now it goes to a public vote.” Olivia’s mother, Sue Eckerman says her daughter has always been active and two years ago Olivia joined the “Fuel Up to Play 60” program at her school.
“It’s a very strong group at the Waverly-Shell Rock Middle School and they form committees and they make plans on how to offer taste tests to the student body, like various types of apples or zuccini brownies, black bean brownies. They have them taste different foods with healthy options in them and that’s really fun,” Sue Eckerman says. “They take field trips to dairy farms and a berry farm. They had a marathon kids club.”
The N-F-L’s Fuel Up to Play 60 program encourages healthy eating and at least 60 minutes of activity per day. Eckerman says going to the Super Bowl would be a dream come true for her daughter.
“She earned points from doing various things and she filled out an essay process and then got chosen to go to the national summit for ‘Fuel Up to Play 60’ two years in a row,” her mom says. “And this year she is the ‘Fuel Up to Play 60’ state ambassador.”
For Eckerman to get to the Super Bowl field, though, she needs to finish first in a round of online voting.
You can vote online through December 5th at the “Super Kid N-F-L Rush” website.
If Eckerman wins, she’ll head to Minneapolis to participate in a number of activities a week before before the Super Bowl kicks off on February 4th.
