By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor
Weck’s World
You’re on, Danny. Just let me grab Terrell Owens’ Sharpie and give you my signature of approval on this one- six-on-six intramural tackle football is sure to be a big smash.
The possible addition of this fast-paced sport commonly found in smaller Texas high schools has been creating quite a buzz around campus, and with good reason. The game will gain certain popularity in both players’ and fans’ eyes.
Not that flag football isn’t popular itself, of course, but with the absence of contact the sport turns in to what Holt wants: ultimate Frisbee.
Six-man tackle, however, brings players the best of both worlds: the same intense speed of a flag game with the privilege of laying out the ballcarrier rather than flailing at his waist for a pair of ribbons.
This will be an especially good change for former high school football players. Many times those guys have trouble adjusting to the differences in flag play, and will instead be able to make a smooth transition into the sport. Also, they will be able to enjoy the same game they’ve played all their lives without the stresses of two-a-day practices involved.
Tackle football will do away with some of the ridiculous rules that flag mandated.
For starters, blocking will actually be what it is: pushing the defender out of the way, rather than just keeping a body between him and the ballcarrier.
Secondly, the ball carrier would be allowed to jump in the air, dive and spin, exciting maneuvers he could not previously do in flag football.
And lastly, a dropped ball or flag would not constitute a loss of down. Nothing is more frustrating than the quarterback dropping back and throwing for a touchdown, only to realize that his flag had accidentally fallen to the ground and the ball was dead.
Come fall of 2003, students will flock to the games, eager to see more football played in its purest form.
And what of all those leftover flags? Turn ’em into pom-pons. After all, it isn’t true football if it doesn’t include cheerleaders.
