Playing Football On Super Bowl Sunday

Most of us celebrate Super Bowl Sunday by going to a party, drinking beer, eating junk food and watching the game on TV.

Not Roger Martinez. Roger, a Dallas-based area manager for Wausau Paper/Bay West, Harrodsburg, Ky., actually plays football that day in Texas Stadium, which was, until recently, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

The tradition started nine years ago when a friend challenged Roger to a flag football game. For non-sports enthusiasts, flag football is similar to regular American football, except that instead of tackling, defensive players grab a flag from the ball carrier’s belt.

“My friend, his brothers and their friends formed one team. My customers and I formed the other team,” explains Roger.

The first year didn’t go exactly as planned.

“I got T-shirts for each team, but no one could see them because it was so cold and we were all bundled up. The field was soaked and there were puddles everywhere. That year, a lot of the guys didn’t even know the rules for flag football,” says Roger.

Each year, the same two, 8-member teams play. Roger buys replica jerseys of the teams actually playing in the Super Bowl for both teams. Instead of regulation 15-minute quarters, they last 10 minutes, but there still is a halftime. Also, the field is 80-yards long rather than 100-yards. No contact and no tackling is allowed, and two uniformed referees from the United States Flag Football Association officiate the game.

“No one has ever gotten mad at a game, but occasionally we have injuries and players who have had to be carried off the field,” says Roger.

There’s a trophy for the winning team and a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. The tradition is that the losing team provides the burgers, fajitas and hot dogs and cooks for the other team and all of the spectators in a tailgate party after the game. It’s a good tradition for Roger because his team has won eight of the nine games played.

For the first few years, the game was played in local parks. But thanks to Roger’s connection — he occasionally plays golf with Emmitt Smith, former running back for the Dallas Cowboys and the National Football League’s all-time leading rusher — he was able to move the game to Texas Stadium, a venue with a 65,675-seat capacity.

“Emmitt knew we had this game going on, and he gave me a contact at Texas Stadium,” he says.

Playing at Texas Stadium also has helped attract outside interest in the game.

“The first year, there were no spectators,” says Roger. “The second year, the wives of the players attended the game. The third year, the kids of the players attended, too. Once we moved to Texas Stadium, we typically had around 300 people watching.”

The Cowboys played their last game in Texas Stadium in December, 2008, but this won’t stop Roger’s Super Bowl Sunday flag football game.

“Playing in Texas Stadium made the game really exciting. I want to continue doing this game for as many years as possible,” says Roger. “After this year, I’m going to see if we can use the Cotton Bowl.”

Gretchen Roufs, an 18-year janitorial supply industry veteran, owns a marketing and public relations company in San Antonio. To suggest someone you think should be featured in “Freetime,” contact her at Gretchen@GretchenRoufs.com.