AN NFL PLAYGROUND: Experience gives fans the chance to enjoy the thrill of football drills
Grown men ran around like boys, moms kicked field goals and kids dashed from game to game as volunteers cheered them on.
Football mayhem ruled the day.
It was the opening of the NFL Experience, the gigantic gridiron playground that has taken over Detroit's Cobo Center for the next four days.
Fans filled the 800,000 square feet of the experience, playing games with names like Beat the Blitz and the Visa End Zone Dance. There are also autograph and memorabilia stations set up.
Earlier in the day 2,000 Detroit schoolchildren were the first to test out the event.
Here are a few of the highlights -- and what you need to know if you go.
Reebok Run to Daylight:
The woman and the man with the fastest 40-yard dash time at the end of each day win Reebok running shoes.
Before the opening heat Wednesday when the NFL Experience opened to the public, Reebok employee Eric Jew of Los Angeles watched the first four contestants get ready to race.
"I've got some guys out here stretching -- they're serious about beating that time," Jew said.
Not in the running for a pair of shoes? Three-year-old Jack Stajos of Lansing might not have been the fastest runner in that opening heat -- but most likely was the cutest.
Snickers' the Drive:
Get ready to race in this one. Players are strapped to a bungee cord and have to run as far as they can down a bouncy chute. The goal is to put your Velcro football farther along a Velcro strip than your competitor's.
Catherine Nimes, 11, and her cousin Andrew Nimes, 10, both of Novi had this advice after they tried it out:
"Don't jump -- stay on your feet. And wear rubber socks," Catherine said.
"Lunge forward when you get as far as you can running," said Andrew.
Gatorade Training Camp:
The important thing on this football-style obstacle course is "to go crazy," said 25-year-old Mike Yahner of Clarkston.
He and buddy Ronnie Lech, 23, of Birmingham raced each other through the course.
"We're playing for beer," Yahner said. "We're keeping a tally on all the games."
Score one for Lech, who made it to the end first.
FedEx Quarterback Challenge:
Try throwing the ball through a moving hoop with simulated defenders trying to block your pass.
It's not as easy as it looks.
"Some people are pretty good, some are ... like me," said a volunteer overseeing the game.
The key, said Ty Coleman, 39, of Ypsilanti, is to throw the ball ahead of the hoop.
"I did pretty good," Coleman said. "You have to wait until it gets to the top -- that's where it's the easiest.
NFL the Big Move:
"I beat my own dad that's stronger than me," an elated Jonathan Riley, 7, of Lansing said after pushing a football bobsled in a race against his dad, James Riley Sr.
The game had one of the shorter lines Wednesday afternoon.
The important thing to remember is to "try to run as fast as you can," Jonathan said.
And make sure you're competing against someone you really want to beat.
Contact CECILIA OLECK at 248-351-3692 or coleck@freepress.com.
Football mayhem ruled the day.
It was the opening of the NFL Experience, the gigantic gridiron playground that has taken over Detroit's Cobo Center for the next four days.
Fans filled the 800,000 square feet of the experience, playing games with names like Beat the Blitz and the Visa End Zone Dance. There are also autograph and memorabilia stations set up.
Earlier in the day 2,000 Detroit schoolchildren were the first to test out the event.
Here are a few of the highlights -- and what you need to know if you go.
Reebok Run to Daylight:
The woman and the man with the fastest 40-yard dash time at the end of each day win Reebok running shoes.
Before the opening heat Wednesday when the NFL Experience opened to the public, Reebok employee Eric Jew of Los Angeles watched the first four contestants get ready to race.
"I've got some guys out here stretching -- they're serious about beating that time," Jew said.
Not in the running for a pair of shoes? Three-year-old Jack Stajos of Lansing might not have been the fastest runner in that opening heat -- but most likely was the cutest.
Snickers' the Drive:
Get ready to race in this one. Players are strapped to a bungee cord and have to run as far as they can down a bouncy chute. The goal is to put your Velcro football farther along a Velcro strip than your competitor's.
Catherine Nimes, 11, and her cousin Andrew Nimes, 10, both of Novi had this advice after they tried it out:
"Don't jump -- stay on your feet. And wear rubber socks," Catherine said.
"Lunge forward when you get as far as you can running," said Andrew.
Gatorade Training Camp:
The important thing on this football-style obstacle course is "to go crazy," said 25-year-old Mike Yahner of Clarkston.
He and buddy Ronnie Lech, 23, of Birmingham raced each other through the course.
"We're playing for beer," Yahner said. "We're keeping a tally on all the games."
Score one for Lech, who made it to the end first.
FedEx Quarterback Challenge:
Try throwing the ball through a moving hoop with simulated defenders trying to block your pass.
It's not as easy as it looks.
"Some people are pretty good, some are ... like me," said a volunteer overseeing the game.
The key, said Ty Coleman, 39, of Ypsilanti, is to throw the ball ahead of the hoop.
"I did pretty good," Coleman said. "You have to wait until it gets to the top -- that's where it's the easiest.
NFL the Big Move:
"I beat my own dad that's stronger than me," an elated Jonathan Riley, 7, of Lansing said after pushing a football bobsled in a race against his dad, James Riley Sr.
The game had one of the shorter lines Wednesday afternoon.
The important thing to remember is to "try to run as fast as you can," Jonathan said.
And make sure you're competing against someone you really want to beat.
Contact CECILIA OLECK at 248-351-3692 or coleck@freepress.com.
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