The Penn State Nittany Lions took a break from their preparations for the 84th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic this morning to visit patients and families at Children's Medical Center Dallas.
The visit began with a welcome from Cotton Bowl Classic Chairman Carl Ice followed by Children's Health President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Durovich. During that time the hospital received a special $10,000 check on behalf of Goodyear.
Penn State's head coach James Franklin was the last to take the podium and presented honorary captain and Children's patient Grant Henderson, who will turn 13 this Saturday (game day) with an 84th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Penn State jersey. Franklin also made a donation, matching Goodyear's $10,000 donation to Children's Health in Grant's name.
With just a few days away from Saturday's Cotton Bowl Classic, Franklin was thankful and grateful to Children's Health, The Cotton Bowl Classic and Goodyear for allowing them to come and make a positive impact to the children and the community, because that is what the team is all about.
"Thank you to Children's Health for giving us the opportunity to make a positive impact to the kids and to the community, which is what we are all about." Franklin said. "I'm very proud of our team, and how we represent ourselves and we couldn't be more excited to represent the Big Ten and Penn State in the Cotton Bowl."
Penn State linebacker Cam Book spent the majority of the visit on air with a few of his fellow teammates and Coach Franklin inside the Ryan Seacrest Studios as well as visiting patients in their rooms.
"This visit is memorable and as a team this is what we do… it's bigger than football." Brown said. "Being here and getting the opportunity to visit with these kids and make their day is a plus for us. This experience is memorable and heartfelt and makes an impact."
Penn State punter/kicker Blake Gillikin said being with these kids during the holidays and making an impact in their lives is very special, and visits like this are familiar to the team and it is definitely something they love to do together.
"This is the best stuff we do all year," Gillikin said. "Just to come and make an impact in the community and spend time with the kids, especially around the holidays is special. We love doing it. We do something like this in the summer and whenever we get an opportunity like this, it's just incredible."
Each patient received a Cotton Bowl goodie bag filled with items as put together by American Airlines volunteers. The bag included an 84th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic t-shirt and poster provided by the Cotton Bowl. Goodyear provided teddy bears and a water bottle. Penn State gave t-shirts and posters that can fold into a helmet. Refreshments were provided by Dr Pepper.
The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic celebrates its 84th anniversary on Saturday, Dec. 28. Live coverage on ESPN is set for 11 a.m. CST, with kickoff slated for 11:05 a.m.
