Football: All about the love

Four years ago, a group of football fans met at the Grey Cup in Edmonton, Alberta and started a vision for a different kind of game. The next year, the same group of guys met at the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba and played the first ever Snow Bowl. In a hard-fought match, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars 14-0. The next season in Vancouver, the East All-Stars crushed the West Champions 40-15. Last season in Calgary, the East took the Snow Bowl with a 23-15 victory.

On November 24 at Rutherford Park in Montreal, the site of this season's Grey Cup championship game, the fourth annual Snow Bowl will take place. So far, 38 participants have signed up, myself included. How did I come across the web site? I was basically surfing the web, researching the CFL a bit for a future article when I came across the site. And as soon as I saw that the game was open to anyone who wanted to play, I said to myself, "Sign up!"

I conducted an e-mail interview with Jim Wolf, one of the founding fathers of the annual event.

"The Snow Bowl came into being because people who visited the discussion board at www.total-cfl.com wanted a way to meet each other in person," says Wolf. "Talking to people on the Internet is one thing; seeing them in person became very important because of the friendships that have been formed over the years on the board."

During the meeting in 1997, a suggestion was made by one of the members of the inaugural Meet and Greet in Edmonton to play a football game. "People were all for it!" says Wolf.

The Snow Bowl trophy is a very unique design with a miniature Grey Cup on the base of the trophy. "For extra fun, we cannibalized several used trophies to create the Snow Bowl trophy," Wolf says of the hardware.

The rules of the game are very simple: seven players to a side on the field at all times, three down, one hand touch football, and players can play on any side they choose. Above all, anyone who is a fan of the game can play the game. "It doesn't matter the nationality, gender, type of job, or amount of football experience; this is strictly for fun!" adds Wolf.

The nationality of players has broadened over the years. Players on the rosters are mainly Canadian, but South Africans and Koreans have also played over the years. It doesn't just stop at nationalities; the handicapped are invited to play as well. Wolf talked about a sixteen-year old participant who is also hearing impaired. "He did well because he had a good arm and could run well," Wolf reminisces. The basic requirement is that if you have a pulse, you can play.

The original purpose of the event, Wolf says, was to have a little get-together for the guys at total-cfl.com. But Wolf also says the event gives Grey Cup visitors something to do on Saturday afternoon before Sunday's game, but doesn't conflict with the evening events that are big attractions.

The goals of the game are to have fun, play football, and promote sportsmanship and friendship. The game has also been used as a means of raising money for charity.

"In 1999, players donated money to Every Play Counts, which is a charity created by Calgary Stampeders slotback Vince Danielsen to help kids with cancer get out to football games," says Wolf. "This year, we hope to raise money for the Canadian Football Fan Association's 2002 Tickets for Kids campaign. The money will be used to help kids who wouldn't normally get out to a CFL game and see one."

The support for the CFFA is so popular among the players that they donated a Sportsman of the Game trophy for the best player. The CFL is also getting into the action; three teams (most notably, the Saskatchewan Roughriders) and the league itself are among several sponsors of the event. But Wolf's main goal is for everyone to have fun.

"Personally, my goal is to make sure the players have as much fun as possible."

On the lighter side, I asked Wolf to pick out one of the best plays of the three games. "I've seen some nice interceptions (returned) for touchdowns," said Wolf. "It's hard to pick one play as the 'best' because most of the time, we're too busy having fun!"

I also asked him what one of the funniest moments of the Snow Bowl during the years was, and Wolf gave me two. "The first that comes to mind was at the first SB in Winnipeg. The Eastern QB threw a pass that went through four sets of hands before being caught for an interception!"

The second funny moment came during the post-game ceremony when the Eastern All-Stars routed the West in 1999. "I had glued the miniature Grey Cup on the trophy base. I tested it several times and it was on solid. I guess the humidity in Vancouver loosened the glue, because the miniature Grey Cup fell off immediately after one of the Eastern players kissed it!" Wolf remembers. "We have it firmly bolted now."

Americans have participated in the Snow Bowl the past three seasons, and when asked if there was any chance if one would win the Sportsman of the Game, he said absolutely. "One American player has been on EVERY winning Snow Bowl team!" says Wolf. "We're desperately trying to get him back and play for the West since we haven't won the Snow Bowl since he left to join the East in 1999."

Looks like the odds of me being on the winning team are pretty good.

For more information, please visit the Snow Bowl's website.