A Big Win at Super Bowl Event

GPFFL's Blue Smurfs (courtesy of Wayne Knaub)

The New York Giants may have won the Super Bowl this year, but in Philly, you might say that ActionAIDS was also a big winner.

The second annual Big Game Event – created by the Greater Philadelphia Flag Football League (GPFFL) as an annual Super Bowl Sunday event – raised almost $6,000 that will help out thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS in the region. The event’s silent auction brought in almost $2,500 alone thanks to such items as an autographed Asante Samuel football and tickets to the Anderson Cooper show.

Attendance was also up this year, says Wayne Knaub, the commissioner of the GPFFL, with more than 120 people packing the Ibrahim Theatre at the University of Pennsylvania to watch the big game. Seventy-four of the guests even bought VIP tickets.

“An event like this is so important to our cause,” says Michael Byrnes, director of development of ActionAIDS. He joined the organization’s Executive Director Kevin Burns at the event to thank attendees and to introduce Madonna’s Super Bowl half-time show.

“Supporting local organizations is very important to us,” Knaub says. “Over the past year and a half, our members have raised or donated over $12,000 to organizations such as ActionAIDS, Delaware Valley Legacy Fund, The Make-A-Wish Foundation, AIDS Fund, MANNA, among others.”

Even though the football season’s over, the league is already starting to think about next year.

“There’s no doubt this event was successful,” says event Co-Chair Kory Aversa. “And I know it’ll be bigger and better next year.”