Virginia Middle-Schooler Wins Grand Prize in Panini Super Bowl Kid Reporter Contest

When 12-year-old Virginian Curtis Case completed his Christmas list late last year, the sixth-grader at Scott Memorial Middle School in Wytheville, Va., made sure to scribble "a box of football cards" somewhere near the top. A few weeks later, that holiday wish came true in the form of an eight-pack blaster box of Panini America's 2013 Rookies & Stars Football that his mom, Sherri, picked up at the Christiansburg, Va., Target store.

Panini America Super Bowl Kid Reporter Curtis Case

When 12-year-old Virginian Curtis Case completed his Christmas list late last year, the sixth-grader at Scott Memorial Middle School in Wytheville, Va., made sure to scribble “a box of football cards” somewhere near the top. A few weeks later, that holiday wish came true in the form of an eight-pack blaster box of Panini America’s 2013 Rookies & Stars Football that his mom, Sherri, picked up at the Christiansburg, Va., Target store.

As it turned out, Curtis ended up with so much more than 80 new additions to a collection he’s been working on for the last four years. As luck would have it, he ultimately ended up with the dream trip of a lifetime to New York City and Super Bowl XLVIII.

Each of Curtis’ eight packs included an entry card for the Panini Super Bowl Kid Reporter contest. He entered the codes, then went back to admiring his new cards. Days passed, Curtis returned to school after the long holiday break and life got back to normal — until Curtis and his dad, Jackson, were notified that their contest entry was selected for the grand-prize: A week-long trip to New York for Curtis to cover Super Bowl XLVIII Media Day and a number of other Super Bowl-related Panini activities — including NFL player appearances, events with the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Panini Pop Warner Skills Clinic featuring NFL players — for The Knight’s Lance, the Official Blog of Panini America.

At the end of that whirlwind week, Curtis and his dad will attend Super Bowl XLVIII between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.

“I was really excited; but my dad’s probably more excited than I am,” Curtis said. “He’s always wanted to go to a Super Bowl. My friends said it was really cool and were really happy for me. One of my friends won a cruise to Hawaii and another one got to fly to Greece, but they both said they’d rather have my trip. The principal says it’s OK to miss school for a week and I think a lot of the teachers are excited. I’ll probably have a lot of work to do when the week is over.”

But a little make-up work is a small price to pay for such a fantasy vacation — especially for a Pittsburgh Steelers fan (thanks to Dad’s power of persuasion) who lists the Broncos as his second-favorite team because, as Curtis said, “I grew up in Knoxville, Tenn., next to the stadium where Peyton Manning played in college.”

“The Panini Super Bowl Kid Reporter is a program we launched across three 2013 Panini NFL products — Rookies & Stars, Absolute and Contenders — at national retailers that provided a compelling platform across the entire NFL season and is part of Panini’s effort to continue to grow and build the next generation of trading card collectors,” said Jason Howarth, Vice President of Marketing at Panini America. “The Grand Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime trip for one young collector and their parent to be part of the NFL Super Bowl experience and the opportunity to bring Panini trading cards to life by engaging directly with NFL players, is something we felt delivered on our brand promise to bring collectors closer to their favorite NFL stars.”

Now, because Curtis turned one box of 2013 Rookies & Stars Football into one of the greatest Christmas gifts ever, he’ll get to engage with the stars of Super Bowl XLVIII.

“I can’t wait,” Curtis said.

Truth be told, neither can we. Stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance next week for Curtis’ coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII Media Day and a host of other activities.

Super Bowl Kid Reporter Promo Card

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16 Replies to “Virginia Middle-Schooler Wins Grand Prize in Panini Super Bowl Kid Reporter Contest”

  1. Awesome Job Panini!!! And Tracy as always!! You are really setting your organization way beyond the competition of T….,Upper D… etc!! Please keep up the awesome job!!

  2. Congrats to my cousin Jackson and Curtis – happy and jealous but so excited to live vicariously through you both next week. Have a great time.

  3. Nice to see the kids involved in a hobby catered to adults with expendable income. I hope Curtis & his Dad have an amazing time together god bless them! I bet the lifelong memory’s will be experienced & enjoyed. I woke up this morning in beautiful Hawaii and read this story and had a huge smile on my face! I value Panini’s brand and the outreach they do is most excellent. It was a pleasure to hear this marvelous story first thing this morning. This story was the highlight of my day. The other highlight of my morning so far was the beautiful rainbow this morning in Kona. I would like to hear a follow up story to see how the trip went if at all possible Panini? I support the Panini brand 110% I LOVE YOU GUYS! I will continue to funnel my hard earned capital into Panini for the rest of my life!

    IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO BE AN AMERICAN! GOD BLESS THIS FINE COUNTRY!

    1. I am mildly jealous of your beautiful Hawaiian weather. I awoke today to a fresh 10″ of snow, a temperature of 5 degrees with a wind chill of -15 or so. But I am thankful for my wood stove which is keeping my house warm and toasty, and for my family which made relatively light work per person of shoveling the driveway.

      Panini of course is a tremendous card company for the variety of contests, outreach events, special promos (Like Fathers Day and Black Friday), and great customer service! It’s great to see another great contest like this and I’m sure that Curtis and his Dad will have a great memory!!!

      Enjoy your day, whatever the weather!!!

  4. Congrats to all the winners, it’s always important to breed the next generation of collectors for the hobby. I bet you have at least one fan for life now lol. Thanks Tracy!

  5. That’s definitely going to be a forever memory. Not only for yourself but a memory with your father. Great job Panini and congrats to Curtis. Hope you enjoy our great state of New Jersey. P.S. dress warm

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