Vince Papale to Serve as Keynote Speaker at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl Kickoff Luncheon
St. Petersburg, Fla –December 2, 2011; – Vince Papale, a former NFL wide receiver with the Philadelphia Eagles and the inspiration for the blockbusterDisney movie, “Invincible,” will be the keynote speaker at the 2011 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Kickoff Luncheon on Monday, Dec. 19, at noon (ET) at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort. The fourth edition of the ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, owned bowl game features a BIG EAST Conference team against a representative from Conference USA at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
“Vince Papale is one of a select few whose life story was such an inspiration that it was developed into a feature film,” said Brett Dulaney, Executive Director, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg . “We are privileged to have him as our keynote speaker this year and I am confident that the student-athletes and other guests at the Kickoff Luncheon will be moved and motivated after listening to him.”
The story of Vince Papale became internationally recognized in 2006 when the feature film “Invincible,” starring Mark Wahlberg as Papale, became a chart-topping box office success. Papale’s story is that of an ordinary guy, who against all odds, takes his shot at every fan’s fantasy going from the grandstands to the NFL playing field when he earned a spot on Dick Vermeil’s 1976 Philadelphia Eagles team. Papale, who earned the nickname “Rocky” because of the similar story of the character from the famed boxing movies starring Sylvester Stallone, is now an author and highly-sought after public speaker.
A limited number of tables are still available for the Kickoff Luncheon. For more information on availability, please contact the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg office at 727.290.9865.
Tickets for the 2011 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg are on sale now and start as low as just $35. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.
Fans can enjoy the pregame pageantry in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Bud Light Lounge, the only on-field hospitality village in all of professional or college football. Fans can sit right behind the team bench and hear all of the hard- hitting action. It will be the only Beef ‘O’ Brady’s location where you can literally be in the huddle and still enjoy all the food and beverage any fan would want. For tickets in the Bud Light Lounge, fans may contact Carlos Padilla at 727-290-9865 for more information.
About Beef ‘O’ Brady’s
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a fast-growing national chain of family sports pubs that achieves its success by building relationships with the local schools, youth sports leagues, and other community organizations in each and every Beef ‘O’ Brady’s neighborhood market. The “kid appeal” of this unique concept is reinforced by a very moderately priced kids menu and video games. Ironically, despite what the name implies, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is actually best known for its Buffalo-style chicken wings. Beef ‘O’ Brady’s has more than 260 open restaurants throughout the Southeast and the Midwest. Visit www.beefobradys.com for more information.
ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television(ERT) annually produces more than 1,200 sporting events. Content includes action from NCAA football, basketball and Olympic sports, NHRA and professional and amateur golf, accounting for more than 3,400 live and/or original hours of programming. ERT’s owned and operated events reach over a million fans a year and provides more than 200 additional hours of programming.
In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, WAC) and manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events:
Collegiate Football
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth);BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (Houston); MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.) and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards
Collegiate Basketball
76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); State Farm Champions Classic (Madison Square Garden; debuts 2011); DIRECTV Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant (S.C.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City) and BracketBusters
Collegiate Lacrosse
ESPNU Warrior Classic
Additional Events
Hawaiian Islands Invitational(Soccer) and ESPN National Golf Challenge
For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.
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Media Contacts:
Jeffrey Kamis, Trifecta Team, [email protected] or 813-784-3642
Rachel Margolis, [email protected] or 860-766-2798