Make-A-Wish is bringing its own team to New Orleans in the form of 12 kids with life-threatening medical conditions who wished to attend Super Bowl XLVII. The wishes are made possible through the generous support of the NFL and others.
The young football fans and their families are traveling from eight states and will arrive in New Orleans on Thursday, Jan. 31. They will enjoy a weekend of private stadium tours, visiting the NFL Experience Driven by GMC and other activities before the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens face off in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, Feb. 3.
“With the NFL’s generous support, our wish kids and their families will be provided with an impactful weekend of experiences and memories that they can reflect upon long into the future,” said David A. Williams, president and chief executive officer of Make-A-Wish America. “Through these wishes, the NFL is helping us change the lives of kids with life-threatening medical conditions and everyone involved in the wishes, forever.”
This year marks the 31st consecutive year that a wish kid will be present at the Super Bowl. For the wish kids who will be in attendance, attending the Super Bowl represents their one, heartfelt wish; however, the positive impact of a wish-come-true begins long before kickoff. Wish kids often say the anticipation of their wish helps them find strength to continue medical treatments and the memories of the experience itself serve as a constant source of hope and joy. The NFL, by continuously demonstrating support for Make-A-Wish, helps to make these long-lasting, impactful experiences possible.
Make-A-Wish, the NFL, and Super Bowl wishes have a long history. In 1982, the NFL helped Make-A-Wish grant its first Super Bowl wish to a 12-year-old Arizona boy at Super Bowl XVI in Pontiac, Mich. Since then, every Super Bowl has been attended by at least one wish kid; more than 130 Super Bowl wishes have been fulfilled in the last 10 years alone.
