Thirty men, thirty days, one flag football competition…
What happens when you challenge thirty men to learn how to play flag football in thirty days and then have them compete in a tournament? Well, you reach a high level of motivation, camaraderie and several hours of watching YouTube tutorials to make it happen!
One morning, Jason Serin, manager of the Lab Equipment Maintenance (LEM) team gathered his crew of thirty men, then assigned a number “one” or “two” to each person, creating two teams. The two teams were told they had 30 days to learn how to play flag football, a tackle-free version of American football. None of them played the sport previously or even knew the rules or strategy of the game. After several hours of watching YouTube clips, exchanging strategies, learning their strengths and weaknesses they were getting ready for the challenge. Edgardo Lulu, maintenance technician, says it was a great challenge to learn the game in such short time, but everyone in the LEM team put in effort and worked together.
The teams competed for three consecutive games to practice their new skills, in anticipation of the big game. On February 1, The Giants and the Annihilators played against each other. The game was intense, fun, full of energy. Referee Moath Binyousef did a great job calling the fouls and the touchdowns. When the second half was over, the Giants won 36-24 and raised the trophy high in the air. As Jason Serin put it after the game: “the idea was to bring the team together, work as a team, and I believe we achieved that mission. This was great!”