What is the atmosphere like during
the event?
ER: We have a lot of events [leading up to the game]: a golf outing and
a pep rally in Daley Plaza on Friday, where we have a battle of the team's
two college bands. There's nothing like it—to get people in downtown
Chicago energized to see that. And it's not just the African-American
community that supports the event; it cuts across all areas of the city.
We probably have 10 different ethnicities that attend these games, and
it's really good to see. It's a city event. This is a world-class city, and we
want people to know about our event and come to it.
With all the attention on violence in Chicago right now, is the
game even more important this year?
TR: Absolutely. Our mantra before was "Stop the Violence," and we
strive for no-crime days and weekends—just give it a rest, because we
can do better. Violence is not the way to solve your issues.
ER: We've got to find a way to put an end to it. We have to get some
jobs; we have to give these kids some hope.
TR: We employ a great number of youths before, during, and after
this game. We want them to come to work, understand what goes on,
and be presentable, and here's the reason why—because people are
looking at you and you represent us and the city. So clean up, dress up,
and show up. We had one young lady who came in, showed a lot of
promise, and we gave her an office job on the weekend. As a result,
she moved up to our bakery operation. Now she has finished college
and is working at one of the big accounting firms. She says all the
time, "I owe it to you guys; you gave me my start." So we have a
number of success stories like that, but we don't do it for accolades—
we do it because it's the right thing to do.
MA
Tickets are $17–$45 Saturday, September 20, at 3 pm, Soldier Field, 1410
Museum Campus Dr., 773-874-8000 ext. 4024; chicagofootballclassic.biz
Mayor Rahm Emanuel
tosses the coin for the 16th
Annual Football Classic.
"we wanted to provide
entertainment and show
[youths] that colleges are
within their grasp."
—timo thy rand
photography
by
Leroy
hart/hart's
photography
&
Co.
ConTinueD FroM page 86
PEOPLE Spirit of Generosity
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