Cathy Stephens felt as if she’d scored a winning touchdown after she was selected as one of 10,000 volunteers for Super Bowl LIII.
The Auburn, Ala., native is a big football fan, so what better place to be than in Atlanta during the most-watched gridiron match of them all?
More than 32,000 people applied to be volunteers (5,000 in the first 24 hours).
It was the largest pool of volunteer applicants ever for a Super Bowl.
“It’s going to be a really good experience and fun to have all these people come in,” said Stephens, a 56-year-old marketing consultant and a team captain for the hotel committee. “It’s going to be great to tell people the good things about Atlanta and help them get around the city.”
More than 150,000 out-of-town guests are expected to visit Atlanta during the Feb. 3 face-off between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams.
And everywhere they turn, there will be Team ATL uniformed volunteers.
It’s not just for game day. There will be nearly 10 days of activities surrounding the game.
Volunteers will be stationed at various locations, including hotels, in and around host committee and NFL-related venues and activities and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The only place you won’t see them is inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium on game day.
“We want to let people know what Atlanta is really about,” said Lee Hendrickson, director of Community Engagement and Volunteer Programs for the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee. “It’s not only about the Super Bowl, it’s really about our city.”
Hendrickson said officials were looking for individuals who were enthusiastic and welcoming, but also proactive and problem solvers.
Overall, the type of people who would happily welcome you into their homes.
Volunteers range from 18 to 84. They come from as close as Decatur and as far away as France and the United Kingdom.
They include teachers, business executives, a high school band director, college students, medical professionals and entrepreneurs. Some people volunteers in groups, with friends and family or on their own.
Each had to go through a formal application process, including a background check and one-on-one interview.
Volunteering is nothing new for Stephens, who pitched in at last year’s College Football Playoff National Championship between UGA and Alabama and helped during Atlanta Track Club events.
There’s just something about football, though.
“Football fans are a lot more rabid about their teams,” she said. “You don’t see people painting their faces and wearing funny wigs at golf tournaments. This is a pinnacle for me. It’s going to be very, very exciting.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Here’s a look at Super Bowl LIII volunteers:
204 deployment locations throughout metro Atlanta.
68 percent are female.
41 percent are Gen Xers, 32 percent are baby boomers, and 26 percent are millennials.
90 percent of the volunteers are from metro Atlanta.
450 volunteer captains. Former Atlanta Falcons player and philanthropist Warrick Dunn is the honorary captain.
22 different languages are represented, including American Sign Language.
55 percent are African-American, 33 percent are white and 12 percent identify as other.
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