One of the things I look forward to every year is the commercial with the Super Bowl MVP jubilantly shouting into the camera, 'I'm going to Disney World!". This year, when asked the question about what he was going to do next after winning the big game, Kansas City Chief's quarterback Patrick Mahomes got to say just that. It's always played the morning after Super Bowl, and you can see this year's commercial for Super Bowl 54 below, which included  Make- A - Wish child 10 year old Nathaniel, from Texas. Disney Parks is donating $1 million to Make-A-Wish in honor of Mahomes’ MVP performance, which is amazing.

But how did all this get started? Well, the very first time a person shouted those now iconic words was in 1987 at Super Bowl XXI with Chris Simms of the New York Giants. Michael Eisner, who was  chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company from 1984-2005 was at dinner in 1986 with film director George Lucas and Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, who would later become famous for being the first team to fly around the world non-stop. According to Newsweek, when Eisner asked the high flying duo "Well, now that you've accomplished the pinnacle of your aspirations, what could you possibly do next?". Rutan reportedly replied "I'm going to Disneyland". Eisner's wife thought that would be a great marketing campaign, and so did he,so the company immediately began working with the NFL to co-ordinate details. And of course, it's since evolved into 'Disney World', and it's something that is almost as much of a tradition as the game itself.

BTW - MVP's get invited to Disney for a commercial promotion, and get to stay in a suite if they choose to ride in the parade down Main Street. And yes, they get paid, usually around $70,000 for the visit to the park, and the TV promo. The players are not required to ride in the parade, but most do. (Watch Patrick Mahomes in today's parade at Disney below) And for someone who's been waiting their whole life to shout out 'I'm going to Disney World!' after being named MVP in the Super Bowl, who wouldn't want to?