Mud Bowl
By Mac Bowen
November 30, 2007
Once a year gladiators young and old meet on the sloppy turf of the Bell School field for the Mud Bowl, the hardest fought game of flag football known to man.
We play the Saturday after Thanksgiving. All alumni of the Greeley football program, participants run the gamut from rookies fresh off the Quakers squad to 40 year-old weekend warriors.
Teams are grouped roughly by age, with the youngest teams having to play a qualifying game to prove their talent against the seasoned veterans. Tim Sullivan is the host and leader of the affair, with the pre- and post-game congregation taking place at his Quaker Hill Tavern.
Although everyone is very much focused on football and proving that we’ve still got the moves, it is also about community, friendship, and togetherness, as much a part of our Thanksgiving tradition as the turkey is. Competition is fierce but the atmosphere is jovial, with families and spectators cheering us on, and this year I am proud to say we had no major injuries.
The game has been running for 40 years, thanks in large part to Pete Zimmerman and Burke St. John, and although I can’t wait to take a shot at the “old men’s” title next year, right now this reporter is so sore he can barely move.
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