RELEASE NUMBER: 131202-01
DATE POSTED: DECEMBER 2, 2013
95th Civil Affairs Turkey Bowl
by Jerry Green
95th CAB Public Affairs
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Dec. 2, 2013) - Football fans, whether their favorite team is the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears, the Pittsburg Steelers or any of the other teams that play in stadiums without domes, real fans, believe football is played outside-in any weather- rain or shine.
Vince Lombardi, former assistant coach at West Point, often said that winning is not everything, but wanting to win is. He also believed that the attitude of perseverance in anything was a factor in being successful.
If anything was evident, it was perseverance, for the six teams from the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), playing for their individual battalions, on Fort Bragg's Ritz-Epps playing field, with Mother Nature deciding the weather conditions.
It was suppose to be flag football, not tackle, but in the driving rains that plagued the playoff games, the slipping and sliding of the offensive and defensive players could not have been described as anything close to delicate or artfully structured play. Players splashed through the standing water often falling, sometimes stumbling or sliding into their respective end zones.
Not about to give in, the 92nd, with quarterback Mike Willingham at the helm, the helm being purely a nautical term in respect to the flooded playing area, guided his team, in the pouring rain, including several comeback attempts. It was not to be, as time ran out on the field.
Coming from behind, with just seconds to go and hindered by several replays, quarter backed by Patrick D. Spence, the 91st Civil Affairs Battalion claimed victory Wednesday at the 5th annual Turkey Bowl on the water-logged semi-tundra playing field.
More than 100 spectators stood in the turbid environment, some under umbrellas, others in hastily erected tents watching players struggle to hold on to the ball let alone run, pass or catch the slippery pigskin.
After the games ended, the Soldiers were released for the Thanksgiving holiday, with wishes of a safe and happy holiday with their family and friends from Deputy Brigade Commander, Lt. Col. Jason C. Slider.