NEW ORLEANS — Hunter Paulin, a 10-year-old from the Washington, D.C. area, was named the Play 60 Super Kid after winning an essay contest where he described how he stays active and inspires others to get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

Paulin was born with six congenital heart defects and has been through four open-heart surgeries, as well as other procedures and operations since being born.

“It’s been an amazing experience so far,” said Wendy Paulin, Hunter’s mother. “He’s loving every minute of it, and he’s been through a lot. To see him in this position where he showing all these kids that he can do this is a very positive thing.

“We’re amazingly proud. He’s very brave and he faces everything with a very positive attitude. There’s no stopping him. He’s just constantly going. We were smiling all day, and I do believe, a couple times, I had a little bit of tears in my eyes.”

As the Play 60 Super Kid, Paulin spent Wednesday with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

“He’s a great young man,” Luck said. “I’ve gotten a chance to listen to him talk and learn a little about him. Hunter’s a great inspiration to all of us, and because he won the Super Bowl contest, he gets to run the game ball out onto the field this Sunday, just a couple blocks away on national TV.”

Paulin said the week has been “really, really awesome,” and he is looking forward to running out the game ball for Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

“I think it will be really cool,” Paulin said.

– Matt Florjancic, ClevelandBrowns.com Staff Writer