Plano, Texas and New York (Dec. 2, 2009) - PepsiCo's Frito-Lay North America division and the National Football League today announced the eight semi-finalists in their search for the NFL's "most fanatical family." Fans now can visit www.NFL.com/callingallfamilies to watch videos of the semi-finalists and vote for the family they want to be named the NFL's "most fanatical family." The winning family will receive a five-day VIP trip to Super Bowl XLIV, which will be played Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, at Dolphin Stadium in South Florida.
The eight semi-finalists were selected from nearly 1,000 entries to Frito-Lay and the NFL's "Calling All Families" contest. Fans from all around the country submitted a photograph of their family on game day and an essay describing why they are the NFL's most fanatical family.
The eight semi-finalists are:
- Sommer Anderson, a Green Bay Packers fan from Reno, Nev. Sommer and her family's loyalty to the Packers traces back to their 89-year-old Grandma Marcella, who was born in Green Bay and attended the high school where the very first Packers team played.
- Sean Boardman, a Dallas Cowboys fan in Westbrook, Conn. Sean and his family professed their love for the Cowboys in a five-stanza poem, with lines such as, "Dallas in the Super Bowl is what we'll be wishin'/Yes, our love for the Cowboys is a Boardman family tradition!"
- Reginald Collins, a Dallas Cowboys fan from Fort Worth, Texas. Reginald grew up watching the team every week after church on TV at his grandmother's house in Little Rock, Ark. Now that Reginald lives in the Dallas area, his entire family has made it an annual tradition to visit Reginald with their grandmother, so Reginald can treat her to a Cowboys game in-person.
- Joanna Filetto, a New England Patriots fan from Gloucester, Mass. Joanna and her family have a Sunday tradition during football season: They light Patriots candles, host all of their friends, and Joanna's father, Cosimo Filetto, wears his lucky Patriots shirt, which he does not wash all season long. As they explain it: "Sundays in our household, we have a lot of food, and we're really loud. Come NFL season, there's even more food and we're even louder!"
- Robert Hurlbert, an Oakland Raiders fan from York, Pa. Robert and his three brothers, all from the East Coast, have been known to make back-to-back weekend red-eye trips to the opposite coast to tailgate with local fans and cheer on their favorite team.
- Rachel Lugo, a Philadelphia Eagles fan from South Setauket, N.Y. Rachel and her family are such devoted fans that 10 years ago, she and her husband scheduled their wedding around Eagles game day, and today, their young children can recite all the Eagles players' names and numbers and prefer watching Eagles games to cartoons.
- Dru McCoyof The Barnes Family of Marion, Ind. The family is such die-hard Indianapolis Colts fans that they plan their get-togethers around game days. They also make a special point of trying to convert their brother-in-law, the lone Packers fan of the bunch.
- Edward Vetalice, a Cleveland Browns fan from Mentor, Ohio. Edward knew his wife was "a keeper" after she took him to a Browns game on their first date. Today, Edward and his family are known for the handmade orange-and-brown Browns-themed Santa Claus costumes they wear every year for game watching.
A panel of judges composed of Frito-Lay and NFL executives selected these eight semi-finalists based on several criteria, including team spirit, enthusiasm for the game and demonstration of family gathering. Each semi-finalist and their family traveled to NFL Films to record a video bringing to life why they think they are the NFL's "most fanatical family."
Fans can watch the videos online and vote for their favorite semi-finalist through Dec. 15 at www.NFL.com/callingallfamilies. The two families that receive the most votes then will go head-to-head Dec. 16, 2009 to Jan. 3, 2010, with fans voting online to determine which family will be named the NFL's "most fanatical family" and win the Grand Prize -- a five-day/four-night trip for the winner and up to five guests to attend Super Bowl XLIV, including round-trip air transportation, hotel accommodations, suite tickets to Super Bowl XLIV, and tickets to the Super Bowl Saturday Night Party and NFL Tailgate Party.
"These eight semi-finalists' creative ways of showing their enthusiasm for their favorite NFL teams and bringing their families together is truly special," says George Stroh, Frito-Lay's Director of Sales Planning & Execution. "Frito-Lay snack chips and dips also bring something special to game watching, and we're looking forward to giving fans around the country the chance to decide which of these semifinalists will win the Calling All Families contest and receive a family memory that will last a lifetime."
"We are pleased to showcase eight of our most passionate fans, their families and their game day traditions in the Calling All Families contest," says Mark Waller, Chief Marketing Officer of the NFL. "We have seen a variety of unique ways that families come together to watch football, and we are excited to add to one family's memories when they join us in South Florida at Super Bowl XLIV."
Voting is open only to legal residents of any of the 50 United States and District of Columbia. Visit www.NFL.com/callingallfamilies for details.
Frito-Lay North America is the $12 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, www.fritolay.com, the Snack Chat blog, www.snacks.com, and on Twitter, @fritolay.
PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade – also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in over 200 countries. With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 people who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.
