It’s been talked about throughout the Greek community for weeks. Some say it’s almost as exciting as Christmas day.
For the past 17 years, sorority sisters have been donning uniforms, putting on face paint and sharpening their football skills as they prepare to participate in SLUper Bowl, a powder puff flag football tournament hosted by the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
Much preparation went into SLUper Bowl, which took place last Saturday, Oct. 8. According to Vice President of Programming Michael Sneed, measures were taken long in advance to reserve the fields, work out logistics for transportation and ensure both players and coaches were well fed and well equipped.
The event supports SigEp’s philanthropy, the T.A.K.E. Foundation, which promotes women’s self-defense. The brothers of the fraternity take on roles as coaches, referees and event planners. However, the brunt of the work did not fall solely on the shoulders of SigEp.
“In terms of the girls, they usually start practicing rather early, usually right after recruitment’s over,” Sneed said. “They learn plays, learn routes, learn defenses and get all the technical side of how to play football.”
Freshman Zeta Tau Alpha Jessica Kittler felt her first SLUper Bowl experience helped her get to know her fellow sisters better.
“SLUper Bowl was…probably one of my favorite experiences at SLU so far,” Kittler said. “I am not a huge football person, but I was surprised that I got so into it. It was a great opportunity for sorority bonding.”
Saturday morning was met with many determined players and supportive coaches gathering to start the showdown. The final match pitted the Kappa Delta actives against the Delta Gamma actives. Ultimately, it was the KDs who claimed the title of 2011 SLUper Bowl champions.
Senior KD active and quarterback Devyn Moore attributed dedication, preparation and having fun to her team’s win. While this was her last SLUper Bowl appearance, Moore will always hold the event in high regards.
“I will remember the anticipation and excitement starting with the first practice in early September and growing each week until game day,” Moore said. “Over the four SLUper Bowls I’ve attended, the SigEps have done a great job making the day less rough by enforcing the rules and officiating fair games.”
If playing in the game did not appeal to the girls, they could also participate in cheering squads to root on their team.
Sneed attributed the positive camaraderie and competition to the success.
“I’ve never known people that just come in for a flag football game that they’ve been preparing for the whole semester…the competition is just really awesome,” Sneed said. “You hear it talked about around campus, like who’s playing who or people saying ‘We need our title back.’ It’s something that’s looked forward to year round.”
