Neither cold nor rain, neither barley nor hops could stop the senior class women from taking the field at the annual Powder Puff football tournament at Veteran’s Park.
Each of the 10 teams was assigned a color to wear but had free creative reign over “uniform” design and team name.
Talent ranged from teams that could complete 20-yard passing attempts to teams that did not understand the difference between a post and an option. Two games were played at the same time on parallel fields.
The quarterbacks did their best Tom Brady impressions, including a 30-yard touchdown pass that led the wide receiver perfectly, impressing all of the men who were watching, (possibly even “He Said” writer, Dan Stanczyk).
Traditionally, Powder Puff football teams appoint their male friends as coaches. Some coaches organize their team into a football militia, others show players a few plays and send them onto the field to panic and improvise.
Saturday’s winning team, the Black Plague, came extremely prepared, decked out in black face paint to match their black uniforms, with a coach as intense as Bill Belichick on game day.
They executed a variety of plays that resembled the playbook of a real college team, including an option and a reverse.
The Plague squared off against the light pink team, the less-skilled Dupe Destroyers, who had no rhythm, and dominated during their first victory.
On the other field, a player carried the ball out of bounds only to be clocked by a player of the opposing team.
These girls lowered their shoulders and played like they were wearing jock straps.
The Black Plague continued to dominate the competition, on the way to a Powder Puff Super Bowl victory in front of approximately 75 spectators.
“Emotionally, winning it all was exhilarating; we had a great time playing together,” said Sarah Kelly ’08, a member of the Plague. “Physically, however, is a different story. I think we all have multiple battle wounds to prove our victory.”
Members of the Plague said they were happy to disprove Stanczyk’s “He Said” comments about women and football.
“I think our coaches’ dedication to the Plague played a big part in our win, whereas Dan Stanczyk’s team had the talent on the field, but his lack of faith in a female’s ability to play football really held them back,” said Alyssa Ockerbloom ’08, another member of the winning team.
“I am a proud coach,” said Ryan Hoffman ’08. “I taught my team the basics of football, but only asked of them three things on game day: heart, intensity and to kill. They did all three, they brought the plague, and that is what brought home the championship trophy.”
“I have great respect for Dan Stanczyk. His words are wise,” added Hoffman. “However, as he watched the plague being brought upon all of our opponents, I do think he had a change of heart. I had a post-game discussion with him, and he said that he was impressed by my girls, their intensity and their skills.”
The ‘girls of the gridiron’ took part in one of the most fun events that make college an experience to remember.
With seniors enjoying cold beverages on the even colder day, a commodore was built and running jokes were started.
A bonus of the Powder Puff game was that the women were able to attain more knowledge of the sport.
Toward the end of the games, progress was made and the teams seemed to get better as time went on.
But for some, no matter how much they practiced or how good they looked on the practice field, game day was a different story.
Other players ran and screamed in their face while trying to throw the ball or make a catch.
The spectators now know that these ladies can indeed catch footballs better than STDs, as opposed to what Stanczyk once wrote.
“Overall, Saturday was nuts. It really gave us girls a chance to do something we normally don’t do, to push our friends around, smear war paint on our faces, and get drunk at 10 in the morning,” Ockerbloom said. “I think we all had a lot of fun and appreciate the time and effort SBRA put into this event.”
Sports editor Tom Cleary contributed to this story.
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