MJS Kids Claim 'Super Bowl' Title, Get Hand From NFL Players

Sixth grade students at the have been competing since September for the opportunity to be crowned the 2011-12 GFL (Geography Football League) Super Bowl Champions.

On Feb. 9, two teams made up sixth graders clashed as the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons took on the AFC Champion New York Jets in pursuit of the Rand McNally Trophy. 

The Falcons edged out the Jets to become champions and Oliver Pierce, Nick Taylor, Maddie Carroll, Evi O’Hara-Short, and K’Mara Register celebrated the victory with former National Football League players Rian Wallace and Lonnie Allgood. 

The Geography Football League is in its fourth year at MJS. The GFL is a weekly geography competition that is founded on the principles of teamwork and competition. The goal of the league is to challenge all players (students) to try their very best for themselves and for their teammates.   

Nick Taylor said that, “The season was great--making team t-shirts, holding a team huddle before each game, working as a team to study during lunch and after school, the competition, the excitement of all the kids and, of course, winning the Super Bowl!”

All students were assigned to a team (there were four teams per class) and they competed for points on a series of geography tests, with the winner being determined by the higher average test score for that week. Each student received a playbook for the season, created team t-shirts, organized study groups and phone chains on their way. The season schedule and playoff structure is based on the current NFL set-up. 

Each class period had one winning team that advanced to the “playoffs.” In the playoffs, the winning teams from each of Richard Bradshaw’s class periods competed, as did each of the winning teams from Stephen Finkelstein’s, Donna Conley’s, and Janice Corte’s class periods. Two additional teams — “wild cards” — also qualified for the playoffs which was determined by the best records of non-division winners.

Principal Nicole Sherrin said, “The Geography Football League has had a tremendously positive impact on our students. They are motivated to learn geography in a way that they never were before. The energy is contagious on the GFL days! It has also built a sense of team and camaraderie throughout the sixth grade. This program has inspired our other grades to bring in similar competitions. The enthusiasm of our social studies teachers also adds to the fun, and Mr. Finkelstein is credited with securing prizes for the students from many supportive NFL teams.”

Rian Wallace played linebacker for the 2005 Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers and Lonnie Allgood was a standout wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals.  Both players had their careers cut short by injury and spoke to all sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students about the value of education,  pursuing your dreams, bullying issues, the value of helping others, and living a healthy lifestyle. Lonnie Allgood’s organization Dreams For Kids empowers at-risk youth and those with disabilities through dynamic leadership programs, and life-changing activities that inspires them to fearlessly pursue their dreams and compassionately change the world. Allgood can be contacted by going to http://dreamsforkids.org. 


After the assembly, the Junior School GFL Super Bowl Champs had the opportunity to have lunch with the visiting former NFL players.  Students on the NY Jets received NFL backpacks, pens, stickers, hats, and key chains which were donated by the NY Jets organization.  The Atlanta Falcons received NFL footballs for autographs, will receive a Super Bowl Trophy, and other prizes provided by the Atlanta Falcons.  Additionally, students who scored perfect on every quiz will receive an item donated by one of the twenty three NFL teams that support the GFL program at MJS.