Another exciting season of intramural flag football will wrap up in the coming weekends.
At registration time all the leagues, fraternity point, women’s, undergrad A, undergrad B, and co-ed, were swamped with entries for teams.
The Undergrad B League was forced to make room for 15 teams, all vying for precious field time. Using all possible resources, including the baseball diamond, the IM department was able to squeeze four games in for each team, spanning the weekends of September and early October.
Weekly rule changes, ominous skies, vague interpretations of play, and flared emotions were commonplace on the pastures of intramural glory. Early morning starting times after nights of inebriation were no deterrent for the thrill of catching a short screen, hitting a hole, guarding a flag and diving for the white line.
In the highly touted point league, the remaining elite includes Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Theta Xi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and Phi Delta Theta. Sigma Chi, a yearly contender in IM football, was banned from IM sports this year following last year’s tennis court incident. Looking at the film, I’d predict an SAE – Phi Delt match-up with a 2 point spread to Phi Delt’s.
Lesser known to most IM football fans is the Women’s Football League. Six teams were fielded, and just four remain: Red Dog ’02, Alpha Phi, PT04 Women, and the BB’s. Pi Beta Phi and PT 05 were knocked out in earlier action.
In the Undergrad A league the Mean Lien Machine, WURAA, The Man, and the Man Handlers remain in contention. The Manhandlers acted accordingly, punishing Snakeskin Boot 25-0 in quarterfinal action. Mean Lien Machine stormed through Steve Bartkus and his Shockers to draw the Man Handlers in the semis. WURAA’s victory over the Err Force Ones 21-0 has them pitted against the Man. The run-and-shoot offense will be the source of attack for both teams so “The Swami” projects a 23-22 Manhandler victory in the finals.
In the Undergrad B league, Asian Christian Fellowship stormed to their usual success, earning a bye in the first round of playoff action. The ACF once again had the best record this season, shaking off early rust against the colorfully named Oversize Mail Packages in week one. Title contenders include the high octane offense of LEV, AU, the World- Beaters, and The Meathead Soldiers. Other contenders are the Gamecocks, a perennial favorite, and the other team of innuendo, the Head Receivers. The odds in Vegas have the ACF at a 2:3 shot: a safe bet in a game dominated by offense, organization, and sound defensive structure.
The co-ed leagues have just begun playoff competition but the preliminary odds favor the one seed, the The Rath. Sigma Epsilon Chi, or SEX, wins the award for best name in the division.
Playoff action will resume this weekend after a well-deserved break for all remaining teams. The cool, crisp winds of autumn should make for some exciting contests, so those in Eliot Tower have no excuse for failing to look out the window to view the action.
All finals commence next week, with co-ed and women’s championships taking place during the week, and men’s league championships occurring over the weekend.