Students at St. Clare of Assisi School in the Bronx received a Super Bowl Week visit on Thursday, February 7, from a special guest – former New York Giants player David Tyree.

Tyree is best known for the “Helmet Catch,” one of the most iconic plays in NFL history. Late in the fourth quarter of the 2008 Super Bowl, in which the underdog New York Giants faced the New England Patriots, Tyree leaped to grab a 32-yard pass from quarterback Eli Manning, completing the reception by squeezing the ball and pressing it against his helmet. The Giants took the lead shortly afterward and went on to win, 17-14.

Students decked out mostly in Giants or other teams’ football jerseys filled the school’s auditorium, which was decorated with football balloons and Giants logos for Tyree’s visit arranged by the Archdiocese of New York’s Inner-City Scholarship Fund. The fund provides tuition support to almost 100 St. Clare students.

Tyree, an evangelical Christian, spoke about the importance of making good decisions and how discipline can carry young people toward their goals.

“At the end of the day, God wants people who are not just committed to Him but grow into the place where they are devoted and disciplined, which extends beyond the childish nature of the child. He loves His children, but He wants us to grow up to be excellent and to be disciplined so that we can be like Him, serve Him, and bear witness that He is alive,” the New Jersey native told The Good Newsroom in an interview.

Along with talking to students – none of whom were old enough to remember the Helmet Catch or Tyree as a player – and answering questions, he brought along a jersey signed by current Giants All-Pro defensive player Dexter Lawrence, a helmet signed by Giants defender Brian Burns, and another helmet signed by Eli Manning.

“This is an example of one of the many schools throughout the archdiocese where we provide scholarship support, in this case to almost 100 students. For us, this is just an opportunity that we had to bring something extra, not only to the students we support but to the whole school,” said Paul Costiglio, director of marketing and communications for the Inner-City Scholarship Fund.

St. Clare of Assisi School serves 430 students from pre-K 3 through eighth grade. A letter from St. Clare eighth-grade student Ian S., who is personally sponsored by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chairman of Inner-City Scholarship Fund, led to Tyree’s visit.

“I wanted the students to have an experience like this because, as Bronx residents, they don’t get to encounter that world too much, and anything that can inspire them to pursue their dreams is worth introducing in the school. That was my hope – that they would take away some inspiration,” St. Clare of Assisi School Principal Silvia D’Arco told The Good Newsroom.