Gridiron dreams: Manitoba kids become NFL pros for a day

Hundreds of Manitoba kids "drafted"into the big leagues were put through their paces Saturday by members of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.

The NFL Play 60 campaigntouched down at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg to re-create the life of a gridiron staralbeit at an accelerated pace, with a leaguedraft, skill development, touchdown celebrationsand an interview with the press happening in only a few hours.

More than 600 children registered to take part in the event, which included appearances fromVikings defensive endTashawn Bower, running backC.J. Hamand three-timePro Bowl cornerbackCarl Lee.

The "60" in the campaign namerefers to the desired 60 minutes a day every child should spend engaged in physical activity, according to Health Canada. The leaguewants to encourage healthy lifestyles among the sport's youngest boosters.

"This is one of theNFL's greatest events," said Lee, who spent 11 of his 12 NFL seasonswith the Vikings."It's involving kids. It's involving youth having fun and interacting with former players. There's nothing better than that."

Youth sports are one way that youngsters can obtain an hour of physical activity.

"You've got a lot of kids that are not going to play football, but they're out here having fun andbeing active I think that's criticalfor longtime health."

Ham has found footballinvaluable to his life.

"It taught me discipline, taught me how to be accountable, how to be a teammate," he said. "We're trying to show these kids what it's like to be part of a team and all work together."

Jeremy Desrochersbrought his son Brodyto the event to run around and rub shoulders with Vikings past and present.

Not even Saturday's scorching heat, with temperatures in the 30s, could ruin the fun, Brody said.

"It's super fun.I love it and becauseof my helmet, I'm so hot."