On Snowstorms, Flag Football, and Dedication

For the past month or so, my Saturday mornings have been spent playing flag football. Yes, you read that right. Flag Football. I joined a co-ed team in Princeton with some friends and former co-workers from The Restaurant. While I am pretty terrible at flag football, I'm starting to get a little better, at least on defense. And I'm having fun, which is what's important, right? Have I mentioned we're in 2nd place in the league? That doesn't hurt either.

If you're in the Northeast, you'll know that this Saturday Old Man Winter decided to grace us with his presence about 2 months early. I woke up Saturday morning to near freezing temperatures and frigid rain. I checked weather.com. The forecast was snow. I checked my email. The games were still on. The league moved our games to the turf fields (we play at one of the local prep schools) and we played as usual. Snow? Pah! We are co-ed club athletes. We laugh in the face of snow! On the drive to the fields, the thermometer in my car read 40 degrees, and it was raining. Hard. Halfway there, the rain turned to snow and it quickly began to accumulate.

Having been informed of the potential for freezing temperatures, I had gone on a little shopping spree earlier in the week. I picked up cleats, pants, underarmour shirts, and gloves. I was prepared. Or so I thought. Frankly, the gloves did nothing and what's more, interfered with my ability (or existing lack thereof) to catch the ball. There was already about an inch of snow on the field when I got there, and the snow was still coming down hard. I put on a second long-sleeve shirt and got ready to play. I think it's safe to say I've never been so cold in my life. And that's saying something. I went to college in Boston. My fingers were numb, my toes were numb. I couldn't tell if my pants were soaked or not, so I'm assuming my legs were numb too. When we weren't mid-play, we hopped from foot to foot, swung our arms, jogged in place. Anything to get warm. The snow was that heavy, wet snow, so we were soaked, snow and water in our eyes. For about ten minutes after the game, I sat in my car, worried my fingers had frostbite (they were swollen, red, burning, and still numb). Despite all that, I can honestly say I had a great time. There's something about sharing a comically ridiculous experience with friends that makes it all worth it. It was one of those once in a lifetime (hopefully) experiences that I'm sure I'll look back on fondly. Here's a little glimpse of the game so you can look back on it fondly too, from the warmth and comfort of your home.