LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Thousands of Las Vegas families got a taste of Super Bowl Week by participating in the 2024 Play Football Family Festival at Desert Oasis High School on Saturday.
The National Football League has hosted the free event since 2017. It's held the day before the Super Bowl with appearances by NFL players, cheerleaders, and mascots with music, food trucks, football drills, and games.
We caught up with Ethan Wang, a young football player attending the event with his dad. They are both Las Vegas natives and root for the Atlanta Falcons.
"What are you looking forward to the most," I asked.
"The one where you tackle the thing," he said smiling.
Wang's dad said this was the only Super Bowl event they would be able to attend this year and they plan to watch The Big Game from home. Many Super Bowl Week events are on the Strip and, in some cases, have priced out local families. That's one reason why the NFL has created events like the football festival.
"That's actually why we do this. I think most locals stay away from the Strip. I think, sometimes, you have to bring the event to the community," said Roman Oben, the NFL's Vice President of Football Development. "This is an introduction to the game of football, in a fan-inclusive way, and it's a way to just continue engaging the community. I think at the core, everything is about community. It's special when you bring an event that can bring the community out, out of their house and out of their comfort zone and do something different."
According to event organizers, they originally set capacity for the event at 1,500. They added that fan demand to attend the event was huge and they ended up pre-registering 2,200 people and additional people were expected to show up on Saturday.
One of those attendees was Deumaine Reeder, the head football coach at Clark High School. He said events like the festival can inspire the next generation of athletes.
"[Super Bowl Week] is a good opportunity for them to see what it's like to finally say you made it. In high school, you'll see district championships but to see the atmosphere of being a champion, of being around champions, and seeing the national championship game, this is more than you can ever ask for," Reeder said. "For some of these people, this might be their only opportunity to run into an NFL player."
As a coach, Reeder said he can see how football connects people and that's part of the reason why he coaches.
"It's a common sport that everyone can love and like. You don't have to be an athlete in order to enjoy the sport. It's a great family atmosphere and it kind of reaches all genres and all types of people. That's what I like about it," Reeder said. "I also like being able to mentor and plant the seeds into a young man or young lady that will touch them for the rest of their life and they are able to take what they've learned, implement that, and apply it in their day-to-day life."
Looking to the future, Oben said the NFL is continuously looking at ways to continue their community outreach and develop programs like the festival.
"I think people don't think this kind of thing exists or they think Super Bowl came and went and they didn't benefit from it," Oben said. "If there's 1,500 people or 2,500 people here, they're going back home and saying man, you missed this event. You should have showed up and I'm glad the NFL is doing this and they care about me and not just the game on Sunday or the stadium or the restaurants that are making money. You want everyone to feel like they've benefited from being here this week."
