Holding On to the Heisman

Although 16-year-old Stephanie DeMarco was much farther than 100 yards away from the closest football field on Saturday, it didn't stop her from holding the Heisman Trophy.

"This trophy means so much to college football players," DeMarco, of Naperville, said. "They don't always get to see it, and we did."

She, along with her younger siblings Jenna and Joseph, were among hundreds of Naperville residents at Jimmy's Grill on Saturday taking pictures, hugging and attempting their best Heisman stances with the trophy. The appearance kicked off the trophy's six-week Chicagoland tour.

Jimmy Bergeron, owner of Jimmy's Grill, said he was contacted two weeks ago with the idea of bringing college football's highest individual honor to downtown Naperville. And right away, he was interested.

"Naperville is a great town," Bergeron said. "It's cool anytime you can share something like this ..."

The DeMarco kids said they didn't know the Heisman Trophy was going to be in Naperville. But when they found out they were eating lunch just a few yards from it, they were giddy with excitement.

Other fans were not as surprised by the event. Facebook invitations, radio advertisements and word of mouth spread buzz about the trophy's appearance in Naperville.

John Zediker got an e-mail from Bergeron and immediately knew he'd be attending the event.

"This is pretty cool. I've seen the trophy hundreds of times on TV," the 38-year-old Naperville resident said. "It's cool to see it in person."

Fans of all ages gathered around the trophy, including Tommy Carlsen, 11, who plays tight end for the St. Raphael 49ers in Naperville. When asked if he would like to hoist the trophy one day as a winner, he nodded eagerly.

A discussion of the best Heisman Trophy winner spurred responses such as Ohio State University running back Archie Griffin, University of Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard and University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

The trophy was brought to Naperville as part of a promotional tour for Nissan, which sponsors the award. John Finkel, Nissan area general manager, said it will be visiting a lot of Big Ten, SEC and PAC-10 campuses.

There are a number of "diehard" college football fans in Chicago, Finkel said, and he wanted to provide them with a "once in a lifetime" experience. Nissan felt Naperville was an appropriate first stop on the 30-destination Chicagoland tour because the community embodies many of the company's principles.

"Nissan talks and focuses on innovation," said Chad Kirchhoff, Nissan regional marketing manager. "Naperville is a young community that embodies those ideas."