Are You Ready?
Soccer season is ending on Sunday night. It’s always a sad day for me – the final game of the season. The game always seems a little more fun for both teams. People tend to take it easier, try to do things with the ball that only the professionals can do. “Hey, it’s the last game of the year. Why not?” Nobody wants to get hurt. At the end of last season I was presented a Netherlands (Holland?) National Team jersey – orange, my color – by a teammate/co-captain as a thank you for all the work I do for the team. Days after the final game I send an e-mail to everyone documenting events of the season and wishing them a happy holiday season and hoping to see them back out on the field in the spring. I put all my equipment up on the shelf and my focus changes.
Football.
Oooooh baby.
But, I-66, you’re always focused on football.
That’s true. But during the first few weeks of the NFL season I often have Sunday night soccer games and miss football time. Now? No more interruptions. But it’s not just NFL football that grabs my attention. I give you two words:
Turkey. Bowl.
For years the lot of us has played the Turkey Bowl – tackle football only, sometime around Thanksgiving. The weather’s been historically decent, we get regular seasonal chills and have rarely had to deal with the elements – save the one game where it snowed/wintry mixed all game (THAT was cool). Football games usually take place at I-66/The Captain High School. We slink onto the football field normally but have been made to utilize the practice field and the baseball field at separate times in the past. We’ve taken the pigskin on the road, playing on two occasions in Charlottesville: once on the field behind Lambuth in front of the old stands, and once at another field I can’t remember. Memories of past Turkey Bowls always are rehashed as the day gets closer on the calendar and the emails between participants flow. There’s the time that I told Deep Cover that if he threw in my area that I’d intercept him and he did, so I did. There’s the other time I called aloud that I’d intercept him… so I did (he’s not a great quarterback, but c’mon – fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice…). There are countless deep balls, showboating, taunting, and some tackling in between. To prove we’re not discriminatory, women have played in the past – we are all inclusive.
So now it’s that time of year again.
Turkey Bowl fever.
I know I’ve got it.
Football.
Oooooh baby.
But, I-66, you’re always focused on football.
That’s true. But during the first few weeks of the NFL season I often have Sunday night soccer games and miss football time. Now? No more interruptions. But it’s not just NFL football that grabs my attention. I give you two words:
For years the lot of us has played the Turkey Bowl – tackle football only, sometime around Thanksgiving. The weather’s been historically decent, we get regular seasonal chills and have rarely had to deal with the elements – save the one game where it snowed/wintry mixed all game (THAT was cool). Football games usually take place at I-66/The Captain High School. We slink onto the football field normally but have been made to utilize the practice field and the baseball field at separate times in the past. We’ve taken the pigskin on the road, playing on two occasions in Charlottesville: once on the field behind Lambuth in front of the old stands, and once at another field I can’t remember. Memories of past Turkey Bowls always are rehashed as the day gets closer on the calendar and the emails between participants flow. There’s the time that I told Deep Cover that if he threw in my area that I’d intercept him and he did, so I did. There’s the other time I called aloud that I’d intercept him… so I did (he’s not a great quarterback, but c’mon – fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice…). There are countless deep balls, showboating, taunting, and some tackling in between. To prove we’re not discriminatory, women have played in the past – we are all inclusive.
So now it’s that time of year again.
Turkey Bowl fever.
I know I’ve got it.
posted by I-66 at 2:43 PM
2 Comments:
There is no known cure for Turkey Bowl fever.
I myself have been crippled by it, and can no longer play at the level I am accustomed to.
Sounds like fun! Just no bruises...
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