‘Souper’ Bowl Sunday with a Super Bowl champ

Prioleau earned a championship ring and mini Lombardi trophy for his part in Super Bowl XLIV. Photo by Travis Williams/The Burgs

Many cooks will tell you the secret to making a great soup is to use a special ingredient – an element that will make your bowl stand out from the rest.

First Baptist Church in Radford plans to embrace this philosophy Sunday during their “Soup Bowl Day” celebration.

The congregation has invited the community to join them immediately following their 11 a.m. service for a pre-Super Bowl celebration at which they will share soup with and honor former Virginia Tech football player and NFL veteran Pierson Prioleau for his role on the 2010 New Orleans Saints Super Bowl championship team.

While having a Super Bowl champion hang out at your party on Super Bowl Sunday is unique, Prioleau is no stranger to the Radford congregation.

Prioleau, whose wife Alicia is a Radford native and a longtime member of First Baptist, said he’s spent all his off-seasons in Radford and has been attending the church since about 1997.
In 1999, the two-time first team All-Big East safety was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

Prioleau spent two seasons with the 49ers and went on to play for four other NFL franchises – the Bills, Jaguars, Redskins and Saints – during his 11 years in the league.

Following his release from the Saints in September, Prioleau returned to his off-season home and said he is prepared to move on to the next chapter of his life.

“It was sort of going to be my last season regardless,” Prioleau said. “I was probably going to move on to the next spectrum of life.”

He explained this next part of life would definitely include coaching. He has already begun making the necessary connections in order to work with Radford High School’s football team this upcoming season.

Though Prioleau has a clear plan for his future, he knows Sunday will focus mainly on his past, specifically the day he said he was at the top of his profession — Super Bowl XLIV.

“You can’t get any higher than that moment,” he said. “Man, I was blessed to make it that far and fortunate enough to make it there and win it.”

Prioleau added it also changed how he feels watching the sport’s biggest event these days.
Before making it to the title game, he admitted he harbored a bit of non-spiteful jealousy each year when game time came around.

When he watched last year’s game, he noticed the feeling wasn’t there.

“Watching the Super Bowl last year was totally different,” he said. “I was kind of disappointed, but I could relate to the guys playing more. It was more of a good feeling.”

Prioleau said he believes future Super Bowl Sundays will be far less about envying those playing and more about cherishing the good memories from his own trip there.

Sunday will be Prioleau’s first opportunity to do so since officially walking away from the game.

Just because he won’t be playing, doesn’t mean there isn’t a goal he hopes to achieve Sunday.

“If this [the church event] can attract just one person to come and visit the church, that would be wonderful,” he said. “That’s the ultimate goal.”

First Baptist Church is at 555 W. Rock Road in Radford and the “Soup Bowl Day” celebration will begin immediately following their 11 a.m. service Sunday.

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