Matthew, Syracuse, NYSubj: The Magic Kingdom
Hey Ryan, I’m hoping you can settle a debate for me. Who was the first pro athlete to say “I’m going to Disney World!”?
Superb question, Matthew. That honor belongs to Phil Simms. The former New York Giants quarterback was approached by Disney representatives one week prior to Super Bowl XXI and asked to utter the phrase if his team won the game. He declined, but the reps kept on persisting and on January 25, 1987 he rattled off the now legendary line following the Giants’ convincing 39-20 victory over the Broncos. The iconic phrase has been uttered by nearly every Super Bowl MVP since, with the possible exception of Ray Lewis, who was famously not asked where he was going when Baltimore won the championship in 2001. Perhaps that’s because the phrase “I’m going to prison” isn’t quite as inspiring.
