When Lance Alstodt confidently made the $1-million field goal during halftime at Sunday's Pro Bowl, he had a big fan cheering for him in Ann Arbor.
As Alstodt teed up the ball, his younger brother, Spencer, an LSA junior, huddled around his TV with about 40 friends who had gathered for the occasion.
The elder Alstodt had one chance to kick for the grand prize in the "Hershey's $1 Million Pro Bowl Kick!" contest. His shot was characterized by his brother as almost dead center from the start.
After Lance, a former high school soccer standout, finished a little celebratory dance with the football players, he called his brother from a cellular phone on the field.
Spencer said it was strange to simultaneously talk to his brother and see their conversation televised.
"He was so excited," Spencer said. "Just as he handed the phone over to my dad, I watched him put the headsets on in the pressbox and be interviewed live. It was indescribable!"
According to Spencer, his older brother's lucrative opportunity started only a month and a half ago.
"Believe it or not, he had entered the contest by filling out the back of a Kit-Kat wrapper," Spencer said.
Lance and three other contestants, randomly selected from more than 200,000 entries nationwide, competed for a shot at the grand prize in a "kick-off" on Jan. 21 in Miami.
"They had to kick three field goals - 10, 20, and 30-yards," Spencer said. "The next closest person to Lance was able to kick the 10-yard, but that was it."
Lance cleared all three.
Spencer, a member of the University's lacrosse team and a former high school soccer player, said he went home to Rosslyn, New York two weekends ago to help his brother prepare for the big day.
"Actually Lance wasn't too nervous," Spencer said. "Being calm and collected is just part of his his nature."
Spencer said his brother's biggest worry wasn't being the center of attention in a stadium filled with unfamiliar faces.
"The thing that was bothering him the most was that he was going to be seen by everyone he had ever known," Spencer said
Though there are six years between them, Spencer said there was never any lack of competition between the two.
"We're incredibly close, so our competitiveness has a good aspect to it," Spencer said. "We compete to make each other better."
Lance, a Manhattan investment banker for Chase Securities Inc., plans to use the money for his upcoming wedding and to take some time off before returning to his job.
Spencer said his brother is planning to visit Ann Arbor within the upcoming weeks.
"Hopefully we'll get to make the most of his winnings that weekend!" Spencer joked.
JENNIFER BRADLEY-SWIFT/Daily
LSA junior Spencer Alstodt poses in celebration with the newspapers that published his brother's $1-million kick.