SLANT 45 puts a spotlight on the positive impact of our region’s youth
As far as North Texas’ first Super Bowl is concerned, SLANT 45 stands for Service Learning Adventures in North Texas. The 45, of course, represents Super Bowl XLV, coming to Cowboys Stadium in 2011.
By remarkable coincidence, “Slant 45” was also an actual play called in the huddle of the Dallas Cowboys in their Super Bowl glory days of the 1990’s.
“Slant 45” required fullback Daryl Johnston to plow straight into the muddled masses of flailing linemen and open a hole for running back Emmitt Smith. Smith would trail Johnston toward the human thicket, then slant off at a 45 degree angle once he spotted some glimmering of daylight within the tangled web of grunters.
Record books show that Emmitt had a gift for bolting all the way to the end zone’s promised land.
Starting in early 2010, and hopefully running far beyond Super Bowl XLV, the SLANT 45 program will lead thousands of bright and creative children into the end zones of their own promised lands.
How? By using SLANT 45 as their playbook. And by following Slant 45’s lead, just like Emmitt followed Daryl Johnston’s lead. In SLANT 45, every child is given the opportunity to take the proverbial ball and run with it simply by expanding their minds and embracing their communities.
“All Super Bowls have had some type of education initiative, but it usually runs a week or two weeks before the game,” says Gigi Antoni, Big Thought’s President & CEO. “SLANT 45 will run from early 2010 and culminate prior to Super Bowl XLV. I’m pretty sure we’re the first region to ever host a Super Bowl that has made such an extensive commitment to involving and educating young people.”
And just as uncanny as the program’s acronym is the fact that Daryl Johnston himself is chairing the volunteer Action Team working in conjunction with the Super Bowl XLV Host Committee and Big Thought.
Big Thought recently added Amanda Gibbons to its staff specifically to oversee SLANT 45.
Gibbons says, “I’m hoping the kids that participate really walk away with an intrinsic reward — with the knowledge that not only have they done something good for their community, but they’ve also reflected on what they’ve done and truly learned from their experience.”
Among the more notable game plans:
The ambitious goal calls for the participation of at least 20,000 children, ranging primarily from grades 3-5.
Those children will apply a minimum of 45,000 hours in 112 North Texas communities spanning the four-county region hosting Super Bowl XLV – Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties.
Slant45.org will keep the public informed about SLANT 45 and will detail ways you and your child or school can get involved.
SLANT 45 projects will begin as early as February 2010. The length of the project will be determined by the individual project teams—projects may occur over a weekend or span many months. The culminating event will occur in February 2011 when the Super Bowl kicks off.
When the game itself is over, the program will remain an integral part of North Texas in years to come.
“Although the age range for SLANT 45 is targeted at third to fifth graders, and although we’re concentrating on a four-county area, we don’t want to limit involvement,” says Chris Orzechowski, Big Thought’s Director of Marketing. “The impact of something like this has got so much potential that we want to build a system that will take older children, too. And if somebody outside the four-county area should hear about SLANT 45 and want to come online to get inspired, we want to welcome their participation.”
“Sign up now,” says Gibbons. “In January, we will roll out all of the materials for the program — the curriculum, how to get started with a service learning project and how to apply to be a part of this program.”
Projects will range in size and scope. Project examples include creative challenges like beautifying neighborhoods, documenting local history or culture through a photography exhibit or focusing on real-life ways to address concerns like hunger, poverty or environmental issues. The SLANT 45 program encourages kids to think big.
“It’s not about sports,” Gibbons says. “It’s about how they want to impact their community.
Gibbons says, “My dream would be to see this program replicated at every Super Bowl from here on out. Not only that, but to see this program continue to thrive in North Texas after the Super Bowl is over.”
The North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee strongly desires similar results from one of the most ambitious, and uplifting, programs in NFL Super Bowl history.
“Too many times we hear about what’s wrong with our youth,” says Tony Fay, the Host Committee’s Director of Communications. “This SLANT 45 program will put a spotlight on the tremendous things right about our youth. When the national and international media descend on North Texas for our first ever Super Bowl, they are going to see a region inspired by its youngest citizens. That’s a powerful message to send the world.”
You can put that one in the playbook of life.
