Flagging down fun, football

Flag football, well established in other parts of the country, takes shape at a park near downtown.

By LINDA GIBSON

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 8, 2001

TAMPA -- On Wednesday nights, up to 20 women gather at Julian Lane Riverfront Park to shed their daytime identities as office workers, managers or business owners.

Dressed in shorts, T-shirts and athletic shoes, they become blockers, quarterbacks and running backs for the Brew Crew, a flag football team for women.

This is a kinder, gentler football. There's no tackling, no bodies piling on top of a fumble. Players try to strip the ball carrier of a plastic flag attached to a belt with Velcro.

The biggest injury sustained so far was a broken finger. That was on Tampa's other women's flag football team, the Perfect Storm.

Flag football is well established in other parts of the country, even in other parts of Florida. Key West hosts an annual tournament in February that drew 64 teams from around the world this year.

But it's just getting started here.

To help it along, Tampa players are organizing a tournament in October at the Police Athletic League field at Rome and Sligh avenues.

If you are 18 or older, you're eligible. And welcome.

"If you think you can't play, you're wrong," said Cammie Cunningham, 34. "No matter your ability or skill level, we can always find you a spot on the team."

Cunningham, for example, can't catch or throw, she said. So she blocks.

Many of the players had no experience with football. Most had played some other sport, such as softball, volleyball, field hockey or rugby. Those who showed up for a recent practice came in all shapes and sizes.

Bottles of water, Gatorade and the team's play book littered the bleachers while the players, ranging from 24 to 40 years old, warmed up with calisthenics, laps and drills.

Players then split into offense and defense to work on plays until coach Terry Smith decided they were ready to don the flags and scrimmage.

After practice, they typically retire to their favorite bar for a little more camaraderie.

It takes eight women to form a team, said Traci Brownlee, a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy who helped start flag football here and is one of the tournament organizers.

Women without a team can be grouped into a division from which teams are formed, she said.

"We'll put together a team for you, so everybody gets a chance to play," she said. "We want everybody to be in on it."

So far, teams from Quebec, Washington, Jacksonville and Miami are expected at the tournament Oct. 6 and 7, Brownlee said.

Brownlee and other players would like to organize a league that would affiliate with the International Flag Football Advisory Committee.

In the meantime, they intend to have fun. This is recreation, not competition, as demonstrated by plans for the tournament.

Opening ceremonies take place the Friday night before the tournament at the Paradise bar at Fletcher and Nebraska avenues.

Interested?

For information about joining a team or playing in the tournament, e-mail Cammie Cunningham at tampaphone1@aol.com or call 908-3471.

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