The "Long Thaw" & The History of Flag Football

There is this little-known story that I have heard about firestone park. It goes way back, and the origin story is just word of mouth. Although there is an incredible message and several older folks who believe the story to be true, there is no documentation of the story. I always love to tell it because after covering firestone park tournaments for nearly 25 years, I realized that stats, awards, and coverage are a great way to expose the greatness of our youth. I also realized that there are just certain athletes and certain individuals whose name only appears on the rosters, no jaw-dropping stats, no individual awards, sometimes they are not even on championship teams. But these same athletes and individuals, let's call them nameless ones, without the stats without awards these folks, never have their greatness exposed. And yet these players and these individuals make all the sacrifices, put in all the work, and achieve greatness in silence. It is these types of people and stories that I love to talk about the most.

The heroes and individuals of this firestone park story are still unnamed, undocumented, but the effects of the hard work can be felt to this day.

The story is quite simple, at firestone park there are large beautiful fields, nice courts, bleachers, seating, and playgrounds. Near the south of the park, there is a beautiful pond that is quite big, beautiful, and warm. A very very very long time ago before the fields were mowed and painted, before the courts were clean and organized, and before anyone thought of calling this land a park, there was a pond and massive amounts of open space. The pond and open space were utilized by the community for a plethora of activities one of the most important being fishing. It was always helpful for the community to use the pond as a food source when the harvest was bad or other food-related emergencies.

The story goes that the community used the pond as a backup food source for a few years. Different fish, frogs, and other less tasty protein served the community right. Anyone could fish and get food from the pond for free and without permission, the only unspoken rule was to only come when you were in need. And then the famous "long thaw" came. The community was surprised when the pond froze and was not prepared for what happened next. Some called it a curse while others just hoped that the pond would thaw. It took an unprecedented amount of time for this pond to thaw. The worst news came after the "long thaw". The day the pond thawed and the community saw all the dead fish, frogs, and other food floating in the pond, was a sad day. For most in the community, it was the worst day they could ever imagine, "what would happen when hard times hit, where would the community go for food?" that question made most members of the community panic.

But that same question made one person, act! That is right our hero, our unnamed individual, knew the exact answer to the question "what would happen when hard times hit, where would the community go for food?" our hero knew that they would go to the pond because our hero was determined to fix up the community pond, restock it and be sure that this type of thing never happened again. Our hero did all three of those things, at least that is how the story is told. It is also said that this new system was a breakthrough and rapidly accelerated the process of humans protecting ponds and lakes from winter deaths. His pond system kept and with upgrades keeps the water clean, warm, and inhabitable for all wildlife. Not to mention it looks beautiful and adds to the majestic vibe at Firestone Park.

Now you may think, cool story, and we get that the flag football championship is held at Firestone Park, but what does an old story about a "long thaw" have to do with Flag football.

The truth is, it's just a quick story about the history of Firestone Park. Sometimes we think history is boring or all about dates and times but sometimes history can be just a story.

That is how I will approach explaining the game of Flag football and the history of the game. I can not tell you all the exact dates and all the exact names, but I can share with you the stories that we believe led to the creation of flag football.

I don't know how true the "long thaw" story is but, what I do know is I am grateful for the creation of the clean, warm, and beautiful pond that glistens and adds to the magic of Firestone Park.

As you read a bit about the history of Flag football, its rules, and its creation, please also remember to be grateful for the game that was created and enjoy the stories that we have heard and that we believe helped create the game we are here to watch today.

TBC...

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