Tigers and Rattlers Take Over Blue Wahoos Stadium
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Question: What do Seattle Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin and Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris all have in common?
Answer: They're both from Pensacola, and they both played in the Pensacola Soul Bowl, a day-long food and football festival that focuses on sportsmanship, teamwork, and unity.
This year, two of Pensacola's inner-city youth football programs take to the field again to show their stuff in hopes of winning three of the five "bragging rights" games between the SYSA Tigers and the A&G Rattlers. The program with the most wins takes home the coveted Soul Bowl trophy.
Playing for the fourth year in a row at the Blue Wahoos stadium at the Community Maritime Park, the Soul Bowl sees thousands of parents, friends and family supporting football and cheerleading squads from Brent, Ensley, as well as the A&G and SYSA programs. Young athletes from five to 14 years old compete on this professional field like they have in neighborhood parks for over 25 years of this annual meeting.
Lumon May, a volunteer football coach and founder of the Southern Youth Sports Association, says the event is a celebration of the two programs, their football teams, and most importantly a call for unity and nonviolence.
"For over 25 years, this event has brought these two neighborhood programs together to compete, but we also celebrate our community as a whole," said May. "We try to use sports as a tool to keep these young people out of trouble, and off the streets, but also as a way to learn discipline, teamwork, and respect for others."
May said the SYSA program not only provides sports activities, but also mentoring, tutoring, and in some cases, referrals to other social services that families of young players may need.
This year, as in past years, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Quint & Rishy Studer are sponsoring the event. They are joined by the Levin Papantonio law firm who also sponsored the event in 2014. Other sponsors include Gulf Power, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan Sacred Heart Hospital, McDonalds, Baptist Hospital Cardiology, Cox Communications, John Peacock, Jim and Shirley Cronley, Baskerville-Donovan, City of Pensacola Police, City of Pensacola Oarks and Recreation, Community Maritime Park Associates, Clark Partington Hart law firm, Jones Sodas, Hiles McLeod Insurance, and the Appleyard Agency.
Saturday's games begin at 8:00 a.m. at Blue Wahoos Stadium, with gates opening at 7:00 a.m.. Tickets at the door are $8, with children under 5 admitted free. Pre-sale tickets are available for $6 until Friday afternoon.
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