HOUSTON — The College Football Playoff national championship weekend kicked off in full gear Friday.
"You can really feel the energy and buzz around town," said Chris Massey, vice president of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority.
With that buzz comes a whole lot of action, not just for the two teams and their fans but also for those who call Houston home.
"It's really important for us, whether it's the college football playoff national championship or any large-scale sporting event that we have, that we tie it back to the community and we do that by making it accessible," said Massey.
Organizers wanted to make sure everyone in Houston had a chance to participate in the festivities so they bused more than 1,200 kids from various neighborhoods across Houston to Friday's events downtown. This was made possible thanks to grants and county partnerships.
"We want to make sure that kids, regardless of how much opportunity that's been presented to them in the past, that they're afforded those same opportunities as you and I, to be able to attend these events and we know that transportation and costs can be barriers to entry and we wanted to remove as many of those as possible," Massey explained.
A full weekend of memories was expected to be made.
"We want to be able to be able to talk to somebody, whether it's a week, a month, a year after the college football championship that's left town, and they can remember a fond moment they had there," said Massey.
For any families looking to take advantage of transportation to this weekend's festivities, organizers said to check with your community youth organizations like the YMCA and Boys & Girls Club. Also, county precinct offices may still have transportation options available.