PHOENIX — Burkley Hoover, a 9-year-old from Kansas City, wrote a book last year called "Here Comes Football: A Kids’ Guide To The Game."
Her hard work did not go unnoticed, and it landed her tickets to Super Bowl LVII.
“I was like, ‘I’m going to the Super Bowl.' And they (friends) were like, 'How did that happen?' So then I told the story," she said.
From playing flag football to nailing targets, Burkley Hoover fell in love with football.
Last fall, she started to document the sport.
"And I was like, ‘Why don’t we publish it?'" she said.
She finished her chapter book by researching and interviewing athletes and coaches.
Burkley’s dad, Justin Hoover, helped her out because he too knows a thing or two about football.
Justin Hoover runs Spin It Quarterback Academy in Kansas City where he’s trained many notable athletes.
“Drew Lock, Skylar Thompson, Ryan Willis, Montell Cozart,” he said.
Together, they sold 700 copies of Burkley’s book.
When Burkley partnered with Lead to Read, Patrick Mahomes and his foundation 15 and the Mahomies took notice.
In December, he invited them to his charity event where Mitch Holthus announced her name.
“So, we have a surprise for you Burkley," Holthus said. "We have two tickets to the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona — Super Bowl LVII."
Then, she received a special delivery from Kansas City's QB1.
“Patrick Mahomes came out with two Super Bowl tickets and gave them to me,” she said.
The 9-year-old says it took a while for it to set in.
“What in the world is happening,” she said.
Two months later, Burkley, her parents and her younger sister hopped on a plane to the desert for the big game as a celebration of her accomplishments.
“We love football,” Justin Hoover said. “We are around it so much. To me, it’s a nudge and reminder to her that she’s done something cool and we’re proud of her.”
Burkley says she has her sights set even further and isn’t putting her author pen down just yet.
“I’m thinking about writing a series, and the next one — 'Here Comes Volleyball,'” she said.
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