The iconic emblem of Arlington’s East West Shrine Bowl, which features a young girl and a football player, dates back more than 50 years. At the game at AT&T Stadium on Thursday, the two individuals whose image served as the inspiration for that emblem got back together.
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In 1974, Mike Esposito was a college football player playing in the Shriners Bowl and Nicole Urteaga was a 2-year-old Shriner’s Hospital patient.
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She remembers being terrified by the giant football players who showed up at the hospital for a media event.
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Esposito helped calm her down by taking her hand and offering to walk with her in the hallway.
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Someone snapped a photo, which ultimately became the bowl game’s logo.
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In 1974, Mike Esposito was a college football player playing in the Shriners Bowl and Nicole Urteaga was a 2-year-old Shriner’s Hospital patient.
-
She remembers being terrified by the giant football players who showed up at the hospital for a media event.
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Esposito helped calm her down by taking her hand and offering to walk with her in the hallway.
-
Someone snapped a photo, which ultimately became the bowl game’s logo.
Texas’ ArlingtonThe iconic emblem of the East West Shrine Bowl in Arlington, which features a young girl and a football player, dates back more than 50 years.
At the game at AT&T Stadium on Thursday, the two individuals whose image served as the inspiration for that emblem got back together.
East West Shrine Bowl
In addition to being a collegiate football game, the East West Shrine Bowl game is much more.
The post-season all-star bowl game is sponsored by the Shriners International fraternity, and the game’s earnings go to the Shriners Hospitals for Children and other charity organizations.
The game is commemorating its 100th anniversary at AT&T Stadium this year.
Logo Inspiration
The backstory
Nicole Urteaga and Mike Esposito are important figures in the history of the bowl game.
Esposito was a 22-year-old Boston College running back in 1974. At the age of two, Urteaga was a patient at Shriner’s Hospital.
He claimed he felt obliged to console her after she told him she was scared during a game media event.
“He arrived and gathered me up from where I was crying and feeling scared. “I was in the hospital at the age of two, and then all these media people and big football players that I had never seen before came in,” Urteaga remarked.
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The San Francisco Bay area photograph took on a life of its own and came to represent the game.
“A few years later, I saw it for the first time, and I was like, Whoa! “Look at this,” Esposito remarked, and I called my wife.
The image was displayed on buses, billboards, and even the rear of milk cartons around the Bay region.
Reuniting Decades Later
What they’re saying:
Esposito and Urteaga reported feeling “divinely” included in the celebration of the 100th anniversary.
“God alone was responsible for everything. He took us there. He placed us in that predicament. We didn’t just say, “Let’s do this and get a great picture.” No. Esposito remarked, “He put us there.”
Over the years, Esposito has remained in contact with Urteaga and her family. However, they only had their second face-to-face meeting on Thursday.
Before the game begins at 8 p.m., the two will step onto the field together to strike their famous pose.
“If it helps children with that emblem, that s all that matters,” added Esposito.
The Source: Interviews with Mike Esposito and Nicole Urteaga at AT&T Stadium provided the information for this article.
