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Esta página no está disponible en español. THE NEW YORK TIMESKids Write About Backyard NFL TeamsBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 5, 2001 Any kid who plays football in the backyard dreams of the day when that backyard becomes Lambeau Field or Texas Stadium. Dozens of those youngsters put their dreams on paper in the hopes of meeting and being coached by an NFL player. The Backyard Football Play With A Pro contest, sponsored by the NFL and Infogrames, invited children 7 to 14 years of age to submit essays, photographs or a video explaining why their teams exemplify a true backyard team. Among the prizes is a coaching session for their team by an NFL player. Green Bay tackle Marco Rivera is one of the players who will offer his expertise to the kids. Rivera holds a summer youth camp in Puerto Rico, where his mother's family is from, and plans to meet with James Helton, a 12-year-old whose Cieba Jaguars were one of the contest winners. ``I have a camp in late May in San Juan,'' Rivera said. ``This youngster lives on a Navy base on the island, and it so happens he wanted to come to the camp two years ago, but couldn't make it. I'll make it a point to get buses so he and his team can get to the camp. ``I can relate. Back in my day, I would see these football players on TV and try to mimic those guys, like Joe Montana and LT,'' added Rivera, who at 6-foot-4, 310 resembles Lawrence Taylor much more closely than he does Montana. ``We did not have anything like this when I was a kid. A lot of kids have a chance to watch or meet these football players and it is great.'' Helton plays linebacker and both lines and was an all-star in his league a year ago. A teammate named Jerell wore No. 84 ``because he is such a good wide receiver that everyone on the team calls him Moss,'' Helton wrote in his essay. ``This year, we are getting new jerseys that look like the real Jaguars jerseys, but last year we had jerseys that seemed like they were made out of wool, which isn't good if you live in Puerto Rico.'' Other winners were Kole Podowicz, 9, of the Rams from Olympia, Wash.; Steven Blackhart, 11, of the Millennium Tigers from Reno, Nev.; Jonathon Viner, 12, of the Toronto Hurricanes; Roberto Ugarte, 9, of the Bengals from Hanover, Pa.; and Dwight Weingarten, 12, of the Backyard Boys from Baltimore. Viner and Ugarte submitted charming hand-written essays. Viner described his team as the ``Globetrotters of football style.'' Their games use ``approximate first downs'' and they play ``for fun, not trophies and praise.'' Ugarte wrote his team's field is, indeed, a backyard, with out of bounds marked by trees and bushes. ``Our end zones are trees and bushes.'' ``We are good sports, we don't fight or argue, and we all have fun,'' he added. Rivera knows how meaningful it is to the youngsters when they meet a professional athlete. ``The first pro player I met was Anthony Munoz when I was at USC for a college visit,'' Rivera said. ``The Bengals were in town playing the Raiders and he was in the locker room. I was a little bit in awe. ``Every kid wants to spend time with a player. I can't wait to see James, have a little fun and teach something and give the team a sense of pride in themselves.''
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