Well ... I went in and faced the masses today. And behold, I live to tell the tale.

First let's recap: SIX HUNDRED teenagers. ONE me, armed only with spandex and a speech telling them not to smoke.

I know, I know. It's a losing battle. Janet, Oh Great Coordinator of the Tobacco Free Sports Ambassador Program, how could one single development athlete even hope to face SIX HUNDRED middle school kids and come out unscathed?

Turns out that Janet, Oh Great Coordinator of the Tobacco Free Sports Ambassador Program, has a secret weapon, sent ahead to one Central Middle School, home to ... oh, I don't know ... SIX HUNDRED grades seven, eight and nine students.

Two words: FREE T-SHIRTS.

It turns out teenagers respond to swag as well as ... well ... me.

You can actually get a fourteen-year-old to recite Michelle's patented Four Questions of Risk Management in exchange for the promise of a free t-shirt.

You can even get a fourteen-year-old to do this ...

... which, I have to be honest, is a bit of a feat, considering this poor kid is pulling on my spandex (over top of jeans and a sweatshirt, mind you) in front of SIX HUNDRED of his peers.

And then he had to get it off ...

Let's just say that Quinn here earned his t-shirt.

So ... free t-shirts: total hit.

But it also turns out that working this picture into my slideshow certainly didn't hurt: