Fans can make sure that Salaam's story becomes a commercial during Super Bowl XLII.
For the second year in a row, the NFL is asking fans to pick the pitch that will become its Super Bowl commercial. Rather than fans presenting ideas like last year, for the first-time ever, NFL players will be going head-to-head off the field with their pitches for the NFL's Super Bowl XLII commercial.
Nine NFL players' stories have been chosen as finalists to become the NFL's Super Bowl XLII commercial, including the Texans' starting left tackle:
- Texans' Ephraim Salaam, who recounts inspiring a man (Chester Pitts) who bagged groceries to play football as a career, only to become teammates with this man who was drafted four years later and five rounds ahead of Salaam.
- Buccaneers' KEVIN CARTER,who describes watching the Panthers mascot dance which makes his teammates laugh despite their losing effort against Carolina.
- Steelers' WILLIE COLON disclosing that on the first day of the Draft his cell phone went dead causing Dallas to skip him because he was unreachable.
- Browns' JOSHUA CRIBBS, who* *recalls unnecessarily hurdling away from a defender and failing to reach the Dawg Pound after a touchdown, simply because he was watching himself on the JumboTron and was deceived by the one-second delay.
- Seahawks' MATT HASSELBECK, who talks about the first time he received fan mail only to discover it was from someone who wanted Hasselbeck to get him an autograph from Brett Favre.
- Patriots' LARRY IZZOrecounting the moment he knew he made it in the NFL: When Jimmie Johnson named him as the second guy to make the Dolphins, following Dan Marino.
- Eagles' RENO MAHE,who confesses that his rookie year he asked Brett Favre for an autograph after Philadelphia beat Green Bay.
- Chiefs' TURK MC BRIDEand TANK TYLER,who talk about the evolution of their friendship, from meeting at the Combine and immediately not liking each other to becoming nearly inseparable friends.
- Vikings' ADRIAN PETERSONsharing a story about a fan who was ready to leave her husband on the spot for him, after meeting him and his brother. However, Peterson politely declines the offer.
**
The pitches are posted on **www.nfl.com/superad** and 48 of them were initially eligible for voting. The selected pitches were grouped by division and fans voted for one of six players from each division during the regular season voting round, between November 29 and December 26. The remaining videos are posted on **www.nfl.com/superad** in the Video Sidelines section.
The "Super Ad: Who Wants It More?" playoff round begins December 27. The contenders were narrowed down from 48 to eight, with each division represented by one story. In addition, one video from the Video Sidelines section is included in the playoff round as the wildcard. Fans will vote for their favorite out of the nine finalists over an eleven-day period.
The winning pitch will be determined by fan vote and a panel of judges, consisting of various members of the extended NFL family in areas such as marketing, advertising and media. The playoff round voting period will run from 12/27/07 – 1/6/08.
Joe Pytka, filmmaker and award-winning director of numerous television commercials, including last year's critically acclaimed NFL spot, will direct the commercial made from the winning pitch.
The winning pitch will inspire the NFL's commercial that will run during Super Bowl XLII on Sunday, Feb. 3 on FOX. The player who submits the winning pitch will be featured in the spot.
Fans who vote may also enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Super Bowl XLII in Arizona.
