Detroit Lions Bring 500 Students to Ford Field for Record Tackle Reading Event

The Detroit Lions brought more than 500 students to Ford Field on Wednesday, March 4. This marked their first on-site Tackle Reading event. It stood as the biggest gathering of the 10th annual tour, where 12 NFL teams work to boost literacy among kids.

Second and third graders from schools across Michigan participated in activities themed around Dr. Seuss. The timing honored what would have been author Theodor Geisel's 122nd birthday. Students jumped into the "Suess Olympics" on the turf. They tossed footballs and ran through drills led by former players Eric Stocz and Ross Weaver.

The team has participated for three years but had visited schools one at a time before this. This year they flipped the script and invited students to their home stadium instead.

"This is the biggest," said Kathryn Starke, creator of the Tackle Reading initiative, according to the Detroit Free Press. "To be able to organize an event for (500) children and bus them to Ford Field, where their local famous team plays just increases the motivation, increases the engagement."

Tight end Brock Wright read "The Cat in the Hat" to students.

"I think it's huge, we're seeing these ages, you know, second and third grade, and it's so important to instill that that in that age to teach them the importance of learning and how much that's going to help them going forward in their lives," Wright said, according to Mid Michigan Now.

Starke, a former elementary teacher from Richmond, Virginia, created the program after writing her own book. It featured professional athletes sharing their reading stories. She teamed up with the Washington Commanders for the first event a decade ago.

Students completed literacy packets with encouragement from Rory, the team mascot. Then they hit the field. Physical activities designed to weave in learning skills kept them moving and thinking.