Gazette - Hike It And Spike It!

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2013THE GRIDIRON GAZETTE WORLD’S LARGEST FLAG FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT7MoneyContinued from Page 3experience. It’s a different tempoand the small things matter. Roswellrookie QB Mike Adams will have hishands full getting in sync with thehot air and fast pace of the Show Methe Money Division, but I am notcounting them out of a possiblechampionship should they figure itout in time.Dream TeamVeteran QB Chuck Lozano andGregg Velasco lead the charge intoRoswell fresh off a couple of tournamentwins in California. The limitedlooks at 4-on-4 tournamentsthroughout the year will make it difficultto compete at the highest level.However, it wouldn’t be a shock tosee them in the top four on Sundaydue to the heavy load of experienceLozano brings with him. These guyscan figure out a way to get it done,which is why I never count themout. Finishing first is a long shotunless they get some big breaks.Tucson Turf StigersAfter taking a year off and notplaying much 4-on-4, Toby Bourquetbrings his veterans mixed withsome new guys back into Roswell torelive some of the glory days. Due tothe downturn in elite 4-on-4 in Arizona,the Stigers have been playinga lot of 7-on-7, which may hurt theirchances for a realistic run at themoney. However, I can’t count outBourquet, he has been on the bigstage plenty of times and alwaysseems to pull the rabbits out. Topnotchreceivers on this Tucson teamwill also make the games very interestingto watch. These guys could bedangerous.OutKastA tough group of flag-footballjunkies looking to break out andmake a name for themselves in a bigtournament. Most of the guys on theteam have multiple championshipsunder their belts, including winningthe last big elite tournament in Dallas.They can play with almost anyonesince all of them know the art offlag football. However, the science of4-on-4 still remains just beyondtheir reach. Look for them to showup thinking they can grab it, though.They shouldn’t have any trouble withthe Hounds, but they will surelyhave their hands full against ChildPlease and then Goose Crew. Theydo have the stamina to play plenty ofgames in the consolation bracket,though. I wouldn’t be surprised onebit to see them in the top eight whenthings are all said and done.Could make some noiseVikingsThe Vikings are led by veteran QBBo Green and are looking to pick upthe pieces from last year. With a tonof experience at the 4-man game,these guys have probably figuredout a way to fix last year’s disaster.Expect them to come at you fullspeed and make some noise. BeatingGoose Crew after a talentedAustin Sparq team is no small taskand, due to lack of tournament winsover the last year, I have themslightly behind on the second game.You never know, though, Green hasshocked us plenty of times before. Ifeveryone is healthy, expect a show.SwaggerSwagger is bringing their corefour back to Roswell and picking uptwo new guys. The lack of time inbig tournaments together as a groupmay hurt these guys, but you cannever count them out. If the veteranscan get the young ballers onboard before it’s too late, these guysmay surprise some people.HIKE IT & SPIKE IT FACTS AND FIGURES• This year marks the 18th year of the Hike It & Spike It Charity FlagFootball Tournament, hosted by the Roswell Chamber ofCommerce.• The Hike It & Spike It Charity Flag Football Tournament is the worldʼslargest 4-on-4 flag football tournament and also features theworldʼs largest payout. It is the largest event in the city of Roswelland it is the second largest event in the state of New Mexico.• In 2012, 3,603 players, including 826 females, from 18 differentstates and ranging in ages from 5 to 55 participated in the Hike It &Spike It Charity Flag Football Tournament.• The 2012 estimated total attendance for the Hike It & Spike ItCharity Flag Football Tournament was 40,000.• In 2012, the Hike It & Spike It Charity Flag Football Tournamentdonated a combined $10,000 to the United Way of Chaves County,the New Mexico Youth ChalleNGe Academy and The First Tee ofthe Pecos Valley.• In 2012, more than 500 volunteers donated their time to assist withthe Hike It & Spike It Charity Flag Football Tournament.Dallas SquadA couple of big-game veterans,some great athletes and a few newbiesmake up this crossword-puzzleteam. How they will do is anybody’sguess since they have one of themost interesting Dallas mixes topartake in the mass exodus west outof North Texas this week.Austin SparqA lack of experience in Roswellwill hurt this great group of athletes.They all can ball, but doing ittogether in Roswell may be morethan they can handle. Top Texasveteran QB Maurice Studymire isn’tscared one bit, though; he has beenin more than his share of moneytournaments in Texas. This teamcould break into the top eight. Idon’t give them much of a chanceagainst Goose Crew, but, if they canget by the Vikings just before that,they will already be deep into theconsolation bracket where they aresure to win some games, endingright around eighth-10th.VooDooJerry “JW” Miller leads anotherAmarillo team back to Roswell forhis yearly pilgrimage. They nevermake it very far, but he is alwaystough to beat. Look for a healthyBobby Parrish to make some greatplays on offense this year in whatappears to be one of the best teamsJW’s had in a while.El Paso Young GunzA very talented team from El Pasoand recent league champions. Lastyear, I reported that they could surprisesomeone if some things wenttheir way and that the lack of goodlocal competition in El Paso over theyear keeps this team down. Theynever have a chance to play anyoneto get ready for this tournament.Don’t sleep on them, though; theyare always tough to play.HoundsVery fast group of guys fromENMU. They pulled off an amazingupset last year against the Vikings.Being a new team is very hard inRoswell, but these guys are steppingup to the challenge. Being new mayget you a couple big wins, but it willsurely keep you out of the money,which is why I don’t have the Houndsin the top 10, especially since theyface a tough OutKast team at 8:30a.m., Saturday morning.Da Coca Cola BulliesThese guys have a long history ofmixing it up in the backfield to giverushers nightmares. QuarterbackLarry Bullock is fast and shifty, andhas plenty of help around him to getthe job done. Always a top-10 team,the Bullies didn’t play last year, soI’m not sure how ready they will befor 2013. Word on the street is thatthey have done pretty well in someCalifornia tournaments, so theycould be ready to go.Would take an alien invasionDream KillersAverage age, 20. They could bevery athletic, but face an unrealisticchance of making much noise due tolack of experience. Dream Killers, ifyou are reading this, let this be yourfuel to show all the old men how toplay flag football!YikesAnother bunch of tough 4-on-4and 8-on-8 guys. They say they areready for Roswell and are looking forwardto seeing how they match up onthe big stage. After blowing throughtheir El Paso league and winning abig tournament in Las Cruces, theYikes guys found some trouble in thechampionship game against the ElPaso Young Gunz in the El Pasoleague championship. Look for themto be humbled coming into the tournament,but ready to prove something.Lack of experience will keepthem out of the top eight, though.Amarillo GatorsShammal Perkins, ShammalPerkins, Shammal Perkins. Did I sayShammal Perkins? Good thing theyaren’t judging the games by who canjump the highest, because theGators would win. That is all. Actually,I need to say that these guyshave some studs on their team, buta lack of playing time together willkeep them out of the money.Sons of The KingThese guys will be one of the mostphysical teams in the tournamentand could make some noise. No,seriously, they are loud. They couldbe more of a headache than Blackouthopes for at lunch time. A lackof Roswell experience on offense willmake it tough for them to get veryfar. Oh, and the fact that they faceone of the top-four teams early inthe tournament doesn’t help either.If you add up paychecks for playingfootball in pads, these guys maywin. However, regular football is differentthan flag, so they will have atough time in Roswell.CTSThese guys love to dominate the8-man game in Colorado and will beheading to Roswell to see if they canmake the transition to 4-man beforethe time runs out. Meeting a middleof-the-roadDallas Squad team maygive them a chance to figure it out. Ifthey make it to the Elite Eight, theyshould be very happy.RockersAnother 8-man team out of Coloradothat is looking to get out oftown for the weekend for some flagfootball fun. I don’t expect muchfrom them, but they could sneak upon someone if you’re not looking.Pat Yanda has been here before.Not included in the predictionsDirty SouthI will be playing with a mix of topDallas area players. They are alllooking forward to the tournamentand we wish everyone a safe journeyto Roswell.ECONOMIC IMPACT IN 2012Courtesy of the Roswell Chamber of CommerceTeams............................................................................................551Total players...............................................................................3,603Family/friends with teams (1:1 ratio)..........................................3,603Players/family/friends (PFF).......................................................7,206Spent by in-town PFF ($70/day) ..........................................$252,210Out-of-town PFF ($128/day).............................................$461,184Total spent by PFF in one day .............................................$713,394PFF during weekend......................................................$1,426,788Estimated crowd size (less PFF) .............................................32,794Spectator spending ($30/day)..............................................$983,820During weekend.............................................................$1,967,640Direct impact .....................................................................$3,394,468Indirect impact (3.7 multiplier).........................................$12,559,383PLAYER DEMOGRAPHICS FOR 2012Total players: 3,603 (Male players, 2,777; Female players, 826).Players from Roswell: 1,446.Players by state: Arizona, 109; California, 29; Colorado, 36; Florida,13; Hawaii, 2; Louisiana, 1; Michigan, 2; Minnesota, 9; Nebraska, 1;New Mexico (excluding Roswell), 1,522; Nevada, 4; Ohio, 9;Oklahoma, 2; Pennsylvania, 6; Texas, 412.Players by age group: 4-6, 18; 7-8, 103; 9-10, 185; 11-12, 325; 13-15, 608; 16-18, 576; 19-21, 494; 22-25, 470; 26-29, 325; 30-39, 397;40-49, 79; 50-plus, 16; Unknown, 7.