THE Game Before the Game
Jason Cherry
Thursday March 29, 2007
This Saturday, a football game unlike any other will be played. By its very nature, it is a game that promises to literally bring fans of both teams to their knees. It is possible that blood will be shed on this day.
This Saturday, two groups of warriors, one from Austin, the other from Dallas will line up opposite each other with only one thing on each individual player’s mind…gridiron glory.
Oh, and by the way, the Wranglers play the Desperados later that evening at 7:30.
Alright, so maybe the “it just doesn’t get any bigger than this” cliché goes a little too far. And sure, the “blood will be shed on this day” thing may be a little off base, if not out of line. Those “two groups of warriors” that were just mentioned? Well, the word “weekend” would fit in there nicely…you know where.
No, this is not about the I-35 Cattle Drive, the interstate rivalry game between the Austin Wranglers and Dallas Desperados
. This is the game before the game.
Welcome to the Dust Bowl, a flag football game between fans of the Wranglers and Desperados
. This is not your typical parking lot pick up game. It’s not played on a soccer field or in a high school stadium. What sets this game apart is that it will be played in an actual Arena Football League venue. That’s right, it’s a wall to wall flag football brawl.
For the most part, the game will be played by AFL rules. One receiver will be allowed forward motion, just like the big game. Linebackers are required to follow regular box rules. And, of course, there is free substitution.
Participants will be wearing, not regular flag belts, but rather Flag-A-Tag Sonic Boom flag belts, belts that let off an audible “boom” to signal that a play is dead. To make sure there are no disputes, real referees have been hired. Remember, it’s always bigger in Texas.
Steve Litaker, an Austin fan known to many simply as Diablo, along with Lance Weston, is one of the Austin organizers of the inaugural flag football game between Wranglers fans and their Desperados
counterparts.
“The two clubs have put together teams consisting of regular fans, both teams have some females and a couple of kids,” Litaker said. “We know there will be some bumps along the way since this is the first time, but we hope to improve fan relations, and, of course, the winner will have bragging rights for the whole year.”
It would be easy to envision the members of each club as serious rivals. And they are to an extent.
“These two fan clubs started attending each others tailgates last year and support each others teams as long as they aren’t playing each other,” said Mr. Litaker. “They both want to support and promote the AFL along with their teams and create an enjoyable fan experience around the league.”
Kris Carter, Vice President of the Desperados
Fan Club and one of the organizers of Dust Bowl I, added that the two groups have been talking about the possibility of this event for awhile.
“Steve Likater, Lance Weston and I have been discussing ways to get our two clubs networked and come closer together and enjoy arena football, Texas style,” Carter said.
“Some fans from both sides are upset the league will not put Dallas and Austin in the same Division, it really only makes sense if you look at it. Personally meeting just once a year has some major pluses in that it gives the game that much more passion and intensity. It also keeps any splits for the season, no ties in the series.”
The game will be played the morning before the real Dallas-Austin game at 11:00. Any fan holding a ticket for the big game can attend the flag football game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The game, which promises to be competitive in nature, is really just another way for the fans from each team to have a fun and exciting game day experience.
“We are hoping for it to be an annual event to help build the friendly rivalry between the two teams and fan clubs,” Litaker said. “We just want fans to have fun.”
Players and fans from both teams will meet at 10:00 a.m. in Parking Lot E on the West Side of the American Airlines Center. Everyone will then enter the stadium together.
After the game, the winning fan club will receive the first annual "Dust Bowl" Trophy to keep until next year’s meeting. The second trophy will be awarded later the evening after the Wranglers-Desperados
game.
Before the big game, “The Austin Fan Club Will be presented with an award for the 2006 ‘I-35 Cattle Drive,’ since the Wranglers won the meeting last February against the Desperados,” Carter pointed out.
The Fan Club of the victorious team “will receive the ‘I-35 Cattle Drive’ Trophy at the post-game tailgate party, named the ‘5th Quarter Party,’” he said.
No matter the outcome, the best part is sure to be the party in between the two games.
Everyone will have their own memory of that one big play. The story of how that guy flew over the wall will be told for years. The young girl that scored the game winning touchdown will be a hero for a day.
A fun game played by fun people. That’s what this is, nothing more.
Jason Cherry, a huge fan of the Southern Division, is in his first year writing for Arenafan.com. After a five year stint as an English and history teacher in Acworth, Georgia, the Cherry family relocated to San Antonio where Jason founded Aquatica Pool Management, Inc. Jason and his beautiful wife Mary have a wonderful son named Walker.
