In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to let all of you in on a little tradition that holds a very near and dear place in my heart. If you’re from Connecticut, your Thanksgiving day often consists of a high school football game, copious amounts of Turkey, a slice of pumpkin pie and an extremely long nap, but if you’re from the small town of Wallingford, your tradition is probably a bit different…and it ain’t pretty.
My small hometown is home of the first and longest running powder puff football games in the nation. Since 1972, the senior girls from Sheehan High School and Lyman Hall High School have spent the night before Thanksgiving stealing each-others flags and making touch downs in hopes of taking home the Samaha Bowl win. The senior boys aren’t left out either! They have the opportunity to become cheerleaders and they put on one hell of a halftime show each and every year.
If you ask a girl from Wallingford to choose between her prom or her powder puff, the answer will always be her powder puff. Guaranteed. It’s hard to describe the significance of the event to anyone who lives outside of the town because they didn’t spend their entire lives watching and planning for their game. Once it’s your turn to play, it’s like you made it. Your senior year is done. It’s honestly an overwhelming, indescribable feeling. I’m getting chills just thinking about it.
All of this may sound dramatic and I may have graduated, but you better believe that you’ll find me and many others who left their marks on that field in the stands on Wednesday night, our faces bright red and our voices gone from cheering on the girls representing where we came from. I graduated from Lyman Hall. I was #94 on the field. I played left tackle and left guard and a highlight of the game?… I took down three Sheehan girls at once.
So with that being said, I wanted to extend a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!
What are some of your traditions? Share with us on twitter @hcquinnipiac