Powder Puff Football

Well, for the first time in my life I was a cheerleader at a football game. Luckily, the resources were not in place to dress me in drag with a wig and a skirt. Instead, my uniform consisted of Adidas running pants, a Florida State t-shirt, a Florida State baseball cap turned around backwards on my head, and a stripe of garnet and gold face paint on each cheek.

On Wednesday of this past week, the women of the law school paired off against each other in a powder puff flag football game on the green just outside the law school rotunda. The teams were the Florida State Seminoles versus the University of Florida Gators. Most of the girls playing the game went to those respective schools for their undergraduate years (there are actually far more students from the University of Florida enrolled at the law school than from any other institution). However, it was a "pledge your allegiance" game, so others, like me, also participated. The coach for the Gators played football for Stanford, and the star quarterback for the 'Noles went to a small Baptist school in Arkansas.

I was surprised at how smoothly everything went. The Seminoles won the game, 25-0. A few girls complained about jammed fingers, but only one received a more serious injury with a busted nose.

What was most impressive was the spirit people showed. Each team had matching uniforms. At the beginning of the game, a student dressed as a Seminole rode out on a stick horse and threw a toy spear into the ground while the Florida State fight song played on speakers. A former president of the university came out and watched the game, sitting in a chair on a porch in a suit and bow-tie. Another professor wore a Florida Gators hat but a t-shirt that read "Charlie Ward for Heisman Trophy."

At the two minute warning before the end of the game, the coaches for Florida State lit up cigars, and when the final whistle sounded, the winning girls got sprayed with the usual championship celebratory beverage.

"The LitiGators," an organization in the law school for students who went to the University of Florida, organized the event with some help from the Student Bar Association. Afterwards, they served food and drinks.

During the game, the cheerleading coach tried to talk me into doing some basket tosses with the others, but I told her that I was not signing a waiver and my feet were not leaving the ground. I can see the headlines now: "Law Student Breaks Neck at Powder Puff Football Game." But I think I did a good job of cheering, anyway. I knew almost all of the players by name, and shouted my encouragement.

After it was over, I sat down with some of my friends on the steps of the law school rotunda. The sun was going down, and I saw a flock of birds off in the distance land on top of the executive building where the Governor of Florida works. The weather felt warm, and I made note that I was wearing a short sleeve t-shirt on November 19th.

"This weather is fantastic, " I said. "Imagine, what if we were in law school in Minnesota right now."

One of my friends replied, "Yes, I know. I am going to live my whole life in Florida."

We sat there for a few minutes more, enjoying being outside and watching the sun reflect off of the glass on the tall buildings of downtown Tallahassee.

It was a fun time with a good crowd, and hopefully the event will continue in future years.

Universal Health Care Now,

Nathan Marshburn