6TH ANNUAL WORLD CUP OF FLAG FOOTBALL EXTRAVAGANZA
FEB 24-27TH-2005
MIAMI, FL
 

World Cup Open Stories

The Open Invitational event this year attracted the highest numbers in our youth section with close to 100 kids participating over the designated three days. The youth teams travelled from Vegas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York and Mexico to compete for honours yet get to see some international action, maybe for them in the near future. The categories consisted of ages between 12-16 years old and we didn’t expect so much talent to be on display in both the 5man no-contact and 8man semi contact. The biggest upset in the youth was Mo Steel losing in the 16 and under 5man division to rivals Gold while the most explosive game in the youth division saw Mo Steel Youth defeat the Raiders from Las Vegas in a close encounter in our 8man contact. The first time a team from Philadelphia participated in our U-14 youth division beating the Mexican’s ISPAC in another close game. In summary the teams showed immense talent and were a joy to watch with their different ways of playing the game and showcasing their flag football styles. It was quite nice to see so many young kids playing the game with so much passion, on the other hand having a great time, they are definitely a big bonus to the World Cup as most adults enjoyed watching them play but mainly as they are the future of the event. 

8man semi-contact

In the adults division the 8man was quite competitive with Alliance, NH combining with the Swarm, San Diego to form a strong team, we also had the Dream Team, Colorado, C&S Construction, Bulls both from NY, St Croix and finalist House of Blues. England competed in the lower 8man divisions against the likes of Bowl Hogs, 21 Medics and Raptors. In the A division the Bulls from NY a favourite for the title were upset in the quarter-final by C&S construction a rival NY team in a pretty explosive game. House of Blues scrapped through some one score wins to progress to the finals meeting the favourites Alliance. Although putting up a fight Alliance proved to be too strong for House of Blues losing 14-0 in a one-sided game. The 8man silver division was between new boys 21 Medics out of Colorado against old boys Bowl Hogs that have already had a taste of World Cup action in the Bahamas. The game was quite interesting with both teams defense’s dominating early until the 21 Medics WR’s started making bigger plays. The 21 Medics offense outscored the Bowl Hogs 34 to 6 to win the silver division in a game we all knew who the winner was going to be but don’t take anything away from the Bowl Hogs who deservedly reach the finals playing good football.

7man no contact

The 7man men’s final was a spectacle, there is only one way to describe this encounter. Picture the fastest, hip moving, jinking and skilful players with two exceptional quarterbacks doing their thing. Its difficult to explain really but the game was full of excitement, end to end stuff all the way through the game. The best game I have witnessed since 2001, it would take all day to summarise so this will have to do. We hope to see such competitive games settled in good mannerism with so much at stake.

The women’s division turned out to be one of the biggest in the open invitational where we were graced with Fluer de lys, Oreo, NUPA, Barry University, Panama and five strong teams from Mexico. The female flag football sector is gradually becoming bigger and better, they are now introducing their own flair and style to the game and it looks professional. Last year USA women did so well in winning the World Cup, this year they reach the final again only to lose in overtime to Mexico. They are starting to offer just as much as the men, Scooby sure proved that in the World Cup finals with some amazing, athletic receptions, the Venezuelans were once seen as a lower class team now they have become a threat. In the 7on7 women’s final Fluer de lys another big name in flag football came across a USA combined team formed mainly from the national team with the inclusion of some other good ball players. Now Butch has been working with his group (Fluer de lys) for a few years meaning they have jelled together and really play as a team with a solid understanding of each other. After last years success Fluer de lys were the favourites to win but they didn’t, instead losing in a competitive bout against Oreo that had much more depth in experience. The key to the game is playing strong D, and making it count on offense when needed and that’s what Oreo did, final score was 30 – 12.

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send an email with player name and email to-Staff@FlagMag.com