Players have been honoring their alma maters all season as a part of the Super Bowl High School Honor Roll program. Super Bowl XL champion and Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis wanted to do the same, but Mackenzie High School in Detroit closed in 2012.
So instead of declining to participate, Bettis did the next best thing: he honored Mackenzie Elementary-Middle School.
During Bettis' visit, he addressed students on what football meant to him, the life lessons he learned, what it meant to play in a Super Bowl and how proud he is to be a Mackenzie alumnus. To cap off the visit, Bettis presented a Wilson Golden Football to the school.
"I sat in these same seats, just like you. I went to Mackenzie," Bettis said. "So it's not impossible for you to all dream big. It's not. But you've got to work hard, because that's where the true measure of success will come."
Mackenzie Elementary-Middle School is one of 13 schools in Detroit being honored in the NFL program. Detroit will receive 24 golden footballs. The state receiving the most golden footballs is California. Top five states include: California (432); Texas (326); Florida (218); Ohio (155); and Pennsylvania (148).
