Alexis Glick Blog
Latest news & announcements from Alexis Glick and her team.

This weekend I’m lucky enough to be in the city known to many as the Big Easy to watch the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens challenge each other for the biggest prize in football at Super Bowl 47. GENYOUth was co-founded by the National Football League, and in the almost two years since we signed our historic MOU with the National Football League and the National Dairy Council, I’ve been here twice as part of an incredible team of people responsible for many aspects of this awesome event. Like the NFL Experience which gives kids, and kids at heart like me, the opportunity to do things like catch touchdown worthy passes from NFL greats, run through mini combines and attend football clinics.

If you’re familiar with my background, you know I’m a HUGE sports fan. Two of my three boys play ice hockey, one plays soccer, I played high school basketball, and I’m quite certain that our newest addition, my lovely baby girl Jade, will play something when she gets just a bit bigger. Perhaps one of the things I like best about being here at the Super Bowl is the amazing ability of sports to bring together people from all walks of life. The adrenaline that being in the game, and watching one gives us when something magical, or even something heartbreaking happens, I think makes us all see past our differences. And through an athlete’s greatness, maybe we strive to be greater in our own lives. Bumping up against, and being amidst a boisterous crowd of fans often leads me to come up with ideas that I’d probably never think of sitting in an office at my desk. Do you know that feeling?

Growing up as an athlete, lessons from sports influenced my perspective on business and the role I play as GENYOUth’s CEO. On February 20th we’ll host our second Leadership Roundtable, convening corporate, health and wellness and government leaders, students, and educators to capture some of the same lightening in a bottle that can happen when people cheer and persever at a sporting event. In this case, a diverse group of big thinkers unite around a shared goal to support and nurture children’s health. A lofty purpose that’s bigger than all of us paves the way for action and outstanding outcomes.

So…here I am in the midst of my favorite kind of insanity. Smells, sounds, sights and the tremendous spirit of people routing for these winning teams that worked their butts off to get here. You can follow @AlexisGlick and @GenyouthNow on Twitter throughout the weekend for more photos and updates. I’ll be writing a post-Super Bowl blog post with my favorite moments from the weekend, and I’m also thrilled to share that one of our very own Fuel Up to Play 60 Ambassadors, Bobby Sena, who inspires me, wrote this post on the GENYOUth website with the top ten reasons he’s excited about the big game.

Maybe you’ll watch this weekend and get a similar urge to take on the world when you do. Because you don’t have to have a Super Bowl ring, a Heisman Trophy, or even athletic skills to be great. You just have to go for it!

Alexis

This post was originally published on genyouthfoundation.org

Sports, and football in particular, have a way of dividing the spirited Glick family, but the Super Bowl brought sports fan peace to our household.  I am a Giants fan.  My husband Oren and our three boys; Logan (10), Kyle (8), and Slate (5), aka “the Boss”, all favor the Jets.

But for the love of the game, and New York, we rallied together to cheer for Eli Manning and his band of mighty G-Men.  As most everyone knows, the Giants brought home a Super Bowl victory, and along with it, glory to all team fans.  What a game!  I consider myself lucky have been there.

But did you also know that there was some pretty exciting stuff going on outside the walls of Lucas Oil Stadium that gave us fans the chance to get in the game, and test our skills in a flurry of interactive activities?  For me, it was just as cool to be at the (conference center name for NFLX), and in the thick of the action at the NFL Experience.  GENYOUth Foundation celebrated a year up and running with the team from our flagship program, Fuel Up to Play 60, and many of our partners like Microsoft Kinect.

It’s pretty hard to imagine, but kids outmatched the professional athletes in some of the activities. Here’s a shot of Dwight Freeney, defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts getting taken down by a kid-launched ball. Both Dwight and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith worked up a sweat along with the kids (and even a few GENYOUth team members).

Many of my highlights from Super Bowl XLVI are best expressed in the pictures below.  We’d love to hear your personal stories from the Super Bowl.  Do you pose like Tim Tebow when there’s a touchdown, or carry out traditions that bring your family and friends together, breaking out the well-worn jerseys and cheering in concert?  I believe the energy and enthusiasm of the community makes a big day like the Super Bowl, the events leading up to it, and really any major sporting event, the best it can be.

Sports time is family time for the Glicks, and being the CEO of GENYOUth means I get to combine so many of the things I’m passionate about as a mom and the head of a foundation to fight childhood obesity.  What a way to wrap the year and kick off a new one.

GENYOUth Board of Directors member Howie Long meets with Fuel Up To Play 60 students at NFL X.

Fuel Up To Play 60 students sample chocolate milk at NFL X.

Here I am with my husband Oren on the way to Super Bowl XLVI

The Giants get ready for one of their final plays of the game!