There’s less than a minute left on the clock before halftime, the game is tied at 16.
I’m sprinting across the field toward the corner of the end zone, defenders following close behind me…
I turn around and see the ball flying through the air, heading in my direction. My eyes widen and I turn on the jets, making every possible effort to get to the ball in time to make the catch.
As the ball passes over my left shoulder I stick my hands out to make the catch…
But I miscalculated the flight and the ball bounces off my left hand and rolls into the end zone, incomplete. The clock keeps running…
17, 16, 15…
Our whole team sprints back to the line to try to get one more play in before times runs out.
But there’s a penalty marker on the field… As the referee announces the violation the clock ticks down to 0, preventing us from getting one more play in before halftime.
Our team is outraged. But the referees decided that they are going to put 10 seconds back on the clock and allow us to run one more play before halftime, because the clock should have stopped while the penalty was announced.
So our team hurries back on to the field, we call the same play. Once again I find myself racing across the field toward the corner of the end zone. And once again I see the ball coming my way. I’m staring expectantly as my chance at redemption hurdles towards me.
This time, the ball flies just inches above the defenders fingertips and lands perfectly in my arms.
Touchdown!
This was the scene at our intramural football game yesterday. Our team went on to win the game by one touchdown, which means the play I just described made the difference between winning and losing. It’s not very often you get the chance to redeem yourself in such spectacular fashion in the world of sports, but that’s exactly what happened to me yesterday and I was grateful for it. Instead of everyone remembering that time I dropped the ball in the end zone on the last play of the half, now everyone remembers my touchdown to put us ahead.
Being a sports enthusiast and competition addict, intramural sports are one of my favorite activities to take part in on campus. They are the perfect outlets for me because I get to have fun with my friends doing what I love most: competing athletically. I’ve participated in pretty much every intramural sports offered here at LMU… soccer, volleyball, ultimate Frisbee — you name it, I’ve played it. But flag football is by far my favorite. It is far more intense than any of the other intramural sports in my opinion. And I’m all about intensity. I feed off the high-strung emotions and competitive energy of the game.
So many people I talk to say how much they miss playing the sports that brought them so much joy and excitement in high school. In my experience, Intramurals are a perfect way to rejuvenate that joy and excitement without burdening students with the major time commitments that come with varsity and club sports. For sports fanatics like myself who love playing sports as much as (if not more than) watching them, intramural are a saving grace for our athletic spirit and I’m grateful I get to participate in them.