Cub Scout Thomas Brown delivers Super Bowl game ball

Even with about 100 million people watching, Cub Scout Thomas Brown didn’t fumble.

The 9-year-old from Pack 14 of Virginia Beach, Va., ran onto the field and handed the game ball to head referee Terry McAulay moments before kickoff of yesterday’s Super Bowl XLVIII. As he ran off, he saluted both sides of MetLife Stadium and seemed to pause for a second to soak it all in before making it to the sidelines.

The moment lasted about 19 seconds, but the memories will last a lifetime.

The game-ball delivery wasn’t the only air time for Thomas on Super Bowl Sunday.

A 90-second spot shown on Fox around 2:30 p.m. EST featured Thomas telling in his own words how he became the NFL Play 60 Super Kid. He mentioned that he’s a Cub Scout and was shown sitting at his kitchen table reading the November 2013 issue of Boys’ Life magazine. That video, called “Super Week for NFL Play 60’s Super Kid,” and others featuring Thomas can be seen at this link.

“I read about the Play 60 Super Bowl contest in my favorite magazine,” Thomas said.

At that point during the pre-pregame show, an estimated 23.1 million viewers (a 12-year high) were watching. That converts to millions of dollars of free publicity for Cub Scouting and for Boys’ Life.

A great moment in the spotlight for Thomas, but I have a feeling this impressive Cub Scout is just getting started.


Photo from NFL Play 60 Facebook page


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.