I’ll admit – I wasn’t the biggest fan of gym class as a kid in school. Being an awkward grade schooler really made me a little skittish of climbing rope or running the mile in front of girls I had crushes on.
That being said, I never had the chance in P.E. to take a half hour class with my sports idols in the name of setting a new Guinness World Record. I might’ve felt differently if that was the case, as it was for hundreds of Washington, D.C.-area schoolchildren at the NFL Washington Redskins’ FedExField in Landover, Maryland, USA, on 21 September.
With the help of star quarterback and six-time Pro Bowler Donovan McNabb, two-time Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall, and fellow Redskins Rocky McIntosh (pictured, above), Lorenzo Alexander and Kedric Golston, 646 kids set a new Guinness World Records mark for the “largest virtual aerobics/exercise class” with a little help from their famous instructors.
The record attempt was conceived as a way to promote the NFL’s Play 60 campaign, which encourages children to play for at least 60 minutes a day to promote healthy lifestyles.
The local children relished the chance for some time on the field of one of the NFL’s largest stadium by seating capacity and took away the experience of having had some of their biggest heroes exercising right alongside them. Most into it was McNabb (below), who jumped, danced, and stretched along with the students, not showing any ill effects of 12 years playing one of the most physically demanding positions in sports.
I got the feeling that just being there that day was enough for the children in attendance. Overhearing their conversations as they stepped onto the field, I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of their enthusiasm for the big day (comments from the youngsters ranged from “I gotta put my foot in the end zone!” to “I wonder if they’ll let us take some of the grass from the field with us”).
Counted by turnstiles upon entry and kept in 25 neatly uniformed rows by a dozen United States Marine Corps volunteers, the children stretched from one goalline all the way to midfield. Their exercise lesson came via the virtual program HOPSports, an interactive program that allowed the Redskins to create personalized lesson plans with some of their actual players to then broadcast on one of the stadium’s giant end zone monitors.
It was obvious by the time I took the microphone after the lesson that these kids wanted to know if they’d earned a Guinness World Record. The resounding “Yes!” they all gave when I asked if they thought they’d set it told me all I needed to know about their desire for it.
So my official certification of a new record served as the cherry on top of a pretty sweet day for all the children who partook. Whether the joy equalled what Redskins fans feel after any win over their rival Dallas Cowboys, I can’t say, but it was certainly a day 646 kids – and maybe a few famous pros – will never forget.
Source - guinnessworldrecords
