One lucky Alabama-based Pizza Hut manager attended Super Bowl LI thanks to company owner Artie Starrs, who worked in her stead Sunday night.
The entire notion to send one of his employees to the big game while he worked their shift began last year when Starrs attended Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara. While attending the game at Levi’s Stadium, Starrs started to feel guilty he was enjoying such a magnificent spectacle while his employees toiled away.
“I decided that next year we need to have one of our employees in the field come sit in these seats and have this experience,” Starrs said in an interview with CBS MoneyWatch (h/t Jonathan Berr of CBS News).
This kickstarted a six-month-long competition that rewarded the best customer service scores and culminated with a drawing.
In the end, Starrs pulled Vickie Weaver’s name out of a glass bowl. A dedicated employee who had been with the company more than 20 years, she and her husband ended up landing two prime tickets to watch Super Bowl LI.
“I don’t think they have ever been to an NFL game,” said Starrs, who described himself as a “huge” football fan. “It’s super-inspiring for her to come. I think this is something that we are going to be doing going forward. It’s a new tradition.”
Now the only question we have is this: How many football lovers are going to flock to Pizza Hut for the chance to earn Super Bowl tickets in the future?