Duo that inspired East West Shrine Bowl logo reunites at AT&T Stadium

The East West Shrine Bowl in Arlington has a recognizable logo showing a football player and a little girl that goes back more than 50 years. 

On Thursday, the two people whose image inspired that logo reunited at the game at AT&T Stadium.

East West Shrine Bowl

The East West Shrine Bowl game is a college football game and so much more.

The Shriners International fraternity sponsors the post-season all-star bowl game, and proceeds from the game support the organization’s charitable causes, including the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

This year, the game is celebrating its 100th anniversary at AT&T Stadium.

Logo Inspiration

The backstory:

Mike Esposito and Nicole Urteaga have a vital role in the bowl game’s history.

In 1974, Esposito was a 22-year-old running back for Boston College. Urteaga was 2 years old at the time and a Shriner’s Hospital patient.

She described being frightened during a game media event and he said he felt compelled to comfort her.

"He came and scooped me up out of the place where I was crying and I was terrified. Being 2 years old in a hospital and then all these media people coming in and huge football players I’ve never met before," Urteaga said.

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The photo taken in the San Francisco Bay area took on a life of its own, becoming synonymous with the game itself.

"When I first seen it, it was a couple years later, and I went, ‘Whoa!’ I called my wife and said, ‘Look at this,’" Esposito said.

The photo ended up everywhere in the Bay area – on billboards, buses, and even the back of milk cartons.

Reuniting Decades Later

What they're saying:

Esposito and Urteaga said they felt as though they were "divinely" part of the 100th anniversary celebration.

"It was just all God’s doing. He put us there. He put us there in that situation. It wasn’t like we said let’s do this and get a great photo. No. He put us there," Esposito said.

Esposito has kept in touch with Urteaga and her family through the years. But on Thursday, they met again in person for only the second time.

The two will take the field together before the game starts at 8 p.m. to recreate their iconic pose.

"If it helps children with that emblem, that’s all that matters," Esposito said.

The Source: The information in this story comes from interviews with Mike Esposito and Nicole Urteaga at AT&T Stadium.

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