Flag football resumes after weather delays

While the majority of football fans around the country were tuning in to the Colts-Vikings Monday Night Football matchup, senior Todd Bunton and the rest of Da Bears were getting ready for their quarterfinal game of the intramural flag football playoffs. \nThe success of Da Bears is among the many interesting storylines surrounding the flag football tournament.\nDa Bears are not your average flag football team. Whereas most teams are groups of friends, floor mates or fraternity brothers, Da Bears were entirely made up of free agents just hoping to get onto a team. Not only did they come together as a team, they also performed well, going undefeated during the regular season and advancing to the quarterfinals before falling in overtime 26-25.\n"It was a tough loss, but I am so proud of my team because we definitely surpassed our expectations," Bunton said. "At first we were all just some guys who wanted to play some football, but it turned out that we had a great team. It's just too bad it's over now because it was a lot of fun. The guys were all great."\nTwo other big stories surrounding the playoffs is the possibility of back-to-back championships from Acacia and, most importantly, the weather.\nAfter about a month delay because of inclement weather, the intramural flag football championships will be held Nov. 21 at the John Mellencamp Pavilion. The championships will cap off another successful intramural flag football season. The championships were scheduled for Oct. 24, but rain, rain and more rain caused numerous delays in the early rounds of the playoffs.\n"We have had a fairly successful season," said David Hairston, graduate assistant for flag football at RecSports. "Participants and our employees at RecSports have been really helpful during the delays. These things happen when you have outdoor sports."\nAlthough the championships have been pushed back a month, the players and fans have a lot to which to look forward. The participants will get to play on a top-notch Astroturf field with no worries about the outside weather. \nThe festivities will begin at noon with an intramural All-Star game followed by championship matches in all the different flag football divisions. Other events planned by RecSports are a field goal contest, video coverage of the games and a canned food drive to help local charities. A canned item or non-perishable good is required for entry to watch the championships.\n"We just want to get people to come out to the games and watch some good football," Hairston said.\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Engel at ccengel@indiana.edu.