Touchdown Club To Host Send-Off Rally

By Micah Hauben, NHS Director of Athletics

The Super Bowl-bound Rockets were named the winners of the 2011 MIAA Football Team Sportsmanship Award this week.

representatives will be recognized during halftime of Saturday's 6:00 p.m. Division I Super Bowl Game at Gillette Stadium.  

On Thursday, Dec. 1, at Gillette Stadium, Head Coach Dave Duffy, along with senior captains Peter Madsen, Mark Riley, Drew Burnett and Mike Vespa, took part in the annual MIAA Super Bowl Breakfast and Planning Meeting. In addition to getting a tour of the facility and having a media session on the game field, a ceremonial coin toss was held that saw the Rockets come away as the home team for Saturday's game.

As the home team, Needham will wear their home-dark uniforms and be situated on the west sideline for the game. Game opponent, BC High School, will wear their away whites and be situated on the east sideline.

Also just announced, the NHS Touchdown Club will host a Send-Off Rally for the players and coaches at 3:00 p.m. at Needham High School on Saturday, Dec. 3.

TD Club President Ron Burnett released the following statement about the rally:

"The TDC will be hosting a Send-Off Rally for the NHS Rockets football team as they leave the high school to play in the MIAA Division 1 Eastern Mass Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. The buses will be leaving the high school at 3:30 p.m. and we would like to gather as many people as possible by 3:15 p.m. to line both sides of the driveway leading up to the top of the hill. Fans will also be joined by the NHS band and cheerleaders.

"Please spread the word to family and friends and let’s show our Needham Rockets how proud we are of them. Please bring balloons, cowbells, noisemakers, signs."

At the event, the TDC will be selling a limited number of hats and long sleeve T-shirts (large and extra-large only) with a special Rockets Super Bowl logo (see the flyer at right for details). The shirts and hats will be available for sale on Saturday, Dec. 3 beginning at 2:30 p.m. outside of the B Gym door at the high school. The cost of each item will be $20.

Details for anyone attending the Super Bowl at Gillette on Saturday have been released by the Boston Globe and additional information has been posted at www.MIAA.net as well.

For the complete game schedule, ticket price information and a Gillette Stadium MIAA Super Bowl Parking Map, see the PDFs at right.

Look for coverage of the game on Needham Patch.