NFL Hall-Of-Famer's 'Character Camp' Emphasizes Values Over Athletics
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As we are seeing this week, the Super Bowl is about so much more than the game -- there's also a lot giving that comes with it.
On the Monday before the Super Bowl, NFL Hall-of-Famer Anthony Muñoz gave hundreds of Twin Cities children quite the experience.
It may look sound and feel like a sports-centric affair, but the event is about so much more.
Muñoz is the Bengals' only Hall-of-Famer. He's leveraged his retirement into opportunity, reaching out primarily to Hispanic youth.
He calls it 'Play60 Character Camp,' using football to catch their attention.
"We want them talking about football, but if they talk about 'Oh, we learned about what it means to work together. We learned about how important it is to exercise and to eat well, and we learned about how important it is to make the right decisions in life,'" Muñoz said.
Maren Gossard is a middle school student in south Minneapolis.
"The coaches are really nice and it's fun to be with your group and just learn to do teamwork with them," she said.
Jason Schnobrich is a teacher at Windom Dual Immersion School in South Minneapolis.
"It's great the kids are running around, they're loving it," he said. "I love the fact that it's Play60, and it's character camp, so they're moving but they're also developing some personal relationship skills. So I think it's great."
At the end, they give out MVP awards based on integrity instead of athletics. The winner of the Most Valuable Person award from a few years back is Daniel Cage. He now plays at the University of Notre Dame and is likely headed to the NFL.
