Firefighters-Police Ready For Showdown

[MeanGreen61]

Firefighters, police ready for showdown

07:16 AM CST on Friday, November 4, 2005

By Donna Fielder / Staff Writer

It’s been 34 years since they deadlocked in what could be called the Hero Bowl, but Den­ton’s firefighters and crime fighters are ready to break the tie Saturday in a flag football game that promises to be a slobberknocker.

The Denton Police Depart­ment and the Denton Fire Department will vie for city flag football honors Saturday before the University of North Texas game against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The city winner will be announced during the college game.

The teams have been practicing for about a month, and both sides say they’re ready to win. Strategies appear to vary: The crime fighters have practiced diligently and speak of devising several plays. Firefighters have practiced a few times, but they are relying on their superior athletic ability to put them ahead, they say.

“The last time, in 1971, we played in full pads,” said Deputy Fire Chief Mark Klingele, who at 47 is one of the oldest firefighters playing. “There was a controversial ref call that gave the police another touchdown so the game would be a tie. We plan to remedy that. We had a tug of war about 10 years ago. We had no trouble winning that, and we plan for it to be no different Saturday.”

Their oldest player will be Tom Nations, at 58, Klingele said. Several firefighters in their early 20s are on the roster.

At 44, police Lt. Roger White is one of the oldest players on the crime fighters’ team.

“We hear they’ve been practicing quite a bit,” White said. “Of course we want to beat them. But we are playing a bunch of paramedics, and we don’t want to make them mad in case they have to pick us up.”

He’s not the oldest player for his team, he said. That honor goes to Detective Keith Smith, 56. The youngest will be Jason Snailer, who turned 21 in police academy last spring, White said.

Klingele is the only coach for the firefighters. They just plan to show up and have fun, he said.

“When we get several touchdowns ahead, that’s when I’ll go in for one play,” he said.

The crime fighters have several coaches. Sgt. Jeryl Golden is head coach, with officers Doug Boydston as offensive coach and Brian Horn as defensive coach. All were college football players.

Golden said he plans to rotate players freely.

“Flag football only vaguely resembles real football,” he said. “There’s not supposed to be any contact. That doesn’t mean people aren’t going to pull hamstrings or twist knees. Our goal is not to get anybody on to light duty.

“We’ve got some speed with the younger guys so we’ll at least hold our own,” Golden said.

Sgt. Scott Jenkins plays soccer and was a football star in younger days, but at 40, he’s still feeling the pain of football workouts.

“It sucks to get old. In our minds, we’re still in our 20s, but when we practice, our bodies tell us we’re really in our 40s,” he said.

Fire Capt. Mike Tucker said he hopes the flag football game is only the start of friendly games between the two departments that work closely together every day. He’d like to see a basketball game and a baseball game in coming months.

“Whatever they’re ready for, we’re ready for. I know who’s going to win,” Tucker said. “And it isn’t the police.”

Officer Jim Bryan is one of the organizers of the game. The rivalry has to be friendly, he said.

“We can’t be too mean to them. They have the keys to the ambulance, and they have to be willing to take care of us if we get hurt,” he said. “Not that we will get hurt, of course. It’s a flag football game, after all.”

Klingele said it’s all about having fun and building camaraderie. But he warns that he can talk trash on the field with the best of them, without ever uttering a curse word.

“I grew up playing football on the playgrounds of Chicago,” he said. “And in Chicago, on the football field, it’s all about ‘yo mama.’”

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com .

FLAG FOOTBALL GAME

What: firefighters vs. crime fighters flag football game

Where: UNT practice fields, behind the tailgate area at Fouts Field

When: 4 p.m. Saturday

Cost: free

[Mad Hatter]

What a great idea! They ought to be doing this every year from now on. I may take some time and go over to watch. Maybe we'll see some cops and firemen watch that game and stick around for ours? Just another way to reach out to the community. Way to go whoever set this up!

GMG!!!