Wareham Tigers flag football teams ‘happy to be back’ for Super Bowl

Jun 26, 2021

As summer festivities begin in earnest, the Gatemen aren’t the only athletes returning to Spillane Field to play for the first time since 2019. On Saturday, June 26, the Wareham Tigers Athletic Association’s flag football teams took to Spillane Field for their second annual Flag Football Super Bowl. 

Last year’s Super Bowl event — and the entire flag football season — was canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic, Wareham Tigers President Jared Chadwick explained. 

“We’re very happy to be back, finally,” he said. “I got the chills when I walked through the gates today.”

The 2021 Super Bowl event and the upcoming All-Star game on July 7 mark the end of the Tigers’ second full flag football season, Chadwick said. 

“We’re going full-board tonight,” he said just before the Super Bowl games began. “We’ve got concessions open — we have everything set and ready.”

The Super Bowl featured three games for the different age brackets. Kids ages 5-6 on the Cardinals and Packers teams faced off starting just after 6 p.m. The Packers emerged victorious from that game. 

Next, the Cowboys and 49ers — teams made up of athletes ages 7-9 — went head to head at 7 p.m. In that age bracket, the 49ers were the Super Bowl champions. 

After that, kids ages 10-13 on the Bills and Cowboys teams faced off starting at 8 p.m. The Cowboys beat out the Bills for the title of Super Bowl champions in that age group. 

The teams that played in the Super Bowl advanced through the playoffs earlier this month. 

For the fourth and final game of the night, players from a variety of teams took on the flag football coaches.

Damon Solomon, the Tigers’ flag football coordinator, said the season and the Super Bowl event was the result of a lot of hard work and organizing — work he took on himself with the help of “a bunch of volunteers.”

“At the beginning of the season, there were a lot of covid struggles,” he said. “We had to wear masks when playing, [we were limited to] one spectator per athlete, that kind of stuff.”

But despite the restrictions, Solomon said the season still had an impressive turnout. This season the Tigers had 20 teams, made up of 150 athletes ages 5 to 18. 

One of the Tigers’ biggest needs is volunteers, Solomon said, praising those who’ve helped out. He also spoke highly of the coaches — especially the first-year coaches who stepped up to help out without any experience with the sport. 

“Without coaches we’re nothing,” Solomon said. “I have tremendous respect for the coaches that come out and help.”

Chadwick said the Tigers expected a crowd of 150-200 people over the course of the night, and the price of admission — $5 for adults, $3 for anyone under 12 — went toward covering the costs of using Spillane Field.

“We’re very happy to be back here,” he said. “We’re just happy to be back to normalcy. It’s been a crazy year.”

The spring flag football season might be over, but there won’t be much downtime for the Tigers. The tackle football and sideline cheer seasons begin on July 7. There will also be flag football this fall, Solomon said. 

For more details about the Tigers’ upcoming seasons and how to register, visit: www.warehamtigers.org.