Special Olympics and Pro Football Weekly both turn 50 this year and the celebration has begun with Pro Football Weekly’s “Team for the Ages” campaign! Now is the time to select a roster of the 50 greatest players of the last 50 years, by clicking here. Fans participating in the selection process will be eligible for grand prizes, including an all-inclusive package to the “Big Game” at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in February 2019. Daily and weekly prizes also will be awarded during the voting from now until May 17.
Additionally, a documentary is planned for a fall 2018 release. The production will feature the players selected to the team, as well as a behind–the–scenes look at the selection process. The documentary will air on select television outlets during the 2018 season.
In September, Pro Football Weekly will screen the documentary at a VIP premier, celebrating Special Olympics 50th Anniversary as well, of which will become the beneficiary of choice, in the Chicago area. Select members of the team are expected to attend the screening.
The anniversary celebration has kicked off and is underway, when fans will be able to select a roster of the 50 greatest players of the last 50 years. Fans participating in the selection process will be eligible for grand prizes, including an all-inclusive package to the “Big Game” at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in February 2019. Daily and weekly prizes also will be awarded during the voting, which is open now to May 17. Fans can vote for their team at ProFootballWeekly.com.
Player selections will be announced beginning June 18. PFW will name one player each day through Sept. 3. The coach of PFW’s “Team for the Ages” will be named on Sept. 4. The NFL’s regular season kicks off on Sept. 6.
A special “Team for the Ages,” collector’s edition will be published later this year. Produced in a hybrid book/magazine format, the publication will be available on newsstands and in bookstores in the fall.
Executive Editor and Special Olympics Illinois Foundation Board member, Hub Arkush has been around since PFW’s inception and has led the multimedia enterprise for over 40 years. “Over that time we’ve broken more than a little ground in how the NFL has been covered and reported on,” Arkush said. “A great deal of our focus has been based in the independent evaluation of talent. PFW was the first to select an All-Pro team from both the NFL and AFL in 1968 – several years before interleague play began.”