Kids make the call for the weirdest, wildest and wackiest plays in professional football in a new promotion announced today by the NFL and Humongous, Inc., publisher of the award-winning Backyard Sports video game series for kids. The NFL Kids Backyard Awards is an on line promotion that coincides with the NFL Pro Bowl and the release of Backyard Football 2006, the fourth iteration of the most popular kids' football video game ever.
"The NFL is excited to partner with Backyard Sports on the NFL Kids Backyard Awards," said NFL licensing manager Tim Langley. "It gives us a meaningful and fun way to connect with kids who love the game of football."
Found only at www.backyardsports.com, the NFL Kids Backyard Awards let kids vote for their favorites in four categories-Best Play, Best End Zone Dance, Biggest Fan, and Funniest Mascot. Kids view hilarious video clips from NFL Films of nominations in each category and then have an opportunity to vote as many times as they want. The awards also include the category Backyard Player of the Year, which lets kids write in their favorite NFL athlete.
"The NFL Kids Backyard Awards let kids express their opinion about a sport that many are just as passionate about as adults," said Lauren Schechtman, co-president of Humongous. "The awards are wacky and funny and, most important, empowering to kids. Telling them that the NFL wants to know who they think is the best player means a lot to a kid who loves football."
Following the voting, kids are automatically entered for a chance to win a trip to the 2006 Pro Bowl in Hawaii and other NFL licensed prizes, most of which are won instantly on the Backyard Sports site. (Due to guidelines of the Child Online Protection Act, children must get parental approval to enter the Pro Bowl sweepstakes.) A running tally of the leader in each category will be continually updated and displayed on backyardsports.com.
Winners of the NFL Backyard Kids awards, including Backyard Player of the Year, will be announced on or around the Super Bowl on February 5, 2006.