In the culturally vapid’70s, Black Sabbath wrote a cheerful little ditty titled “
Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all,
Or if he moves will he fall?
Is he alive or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
Well just pass him there
Why should we even care?
The poignant lyrics remindedme of a uniquely American sport, football. The Ironman Football League wascreated by Chris Chudada of Pewaukee, in 1996. The league refers to itself asthe‘working man’s NFL.’
Has he lost his mind?Any young manwho puts his physical well being on the line without being compensatedfinancially has lost his mind to some degree. While I admire the effort, Icouldn’t do it. I prefer striking an innocent golf ball.
Can he see or is he blind? Well, yeah they can see, but vision is impaired.These guys play for the love of the game, but the long-term vision is slightlytainted. How do they explain the bruises, busted limbs, bloody faces without admittingto be members of Fight Club. However we all know the first rule of Fight Clubis you don’t talk about Fight Club.
Can he walk at all? After a particularly brutal game, no.
If he moves will he fall? Probably, if the players follow their blocking assignments..
Is he alive or dead? After a rib-shattering hit, put a mirror in front ofhis face and see if he’s breathing.
Has he thoughts within his head? Not many of consequence after his noodle is tossedaround like a proverbial prison salad.
Well, just pass him there. Ok.
Why should we even care? Because these guys are doing something we don’t havethe guts or talent to do. If that doesn’t garner your respect, go back to yourcrochet patterns.
The league was designed togive guys fresh out of high school or college the chance to play organizedcompetitive football. While I understand it’s a tough game, I respect theeffort of these guys willing to do this week in and week out. It’s like collegesports where they’re in it because they want to be, not because they’re paid todo it.
Luke Kujath plays lefttackle on the Wauwatosa Spartans and is a spokesman for the team. Kujath playedhigh school football at Northwestern Prep in
“You meet a lot of new guys,practice and play together.” Kujath says he’s played alongside and againstformer NFL players and other highly skilled athletes.
The Spartans are a new teamand Kujath says they are still working out new ideas and opportunities. “We’lltry to increase our visibility in the community, put on some youth footballclinics.” Kujath says the team plans to make visits to Children’s Hospital inan effort to lift the spirits of the patients. The Spartans played their firstgame last Saturday with about 200 fans in attendance, a good number of thosewere family and friends, Kujath explained.
Each of the players pays afee to help cover the cost of uniforms and other basic essentials. As most haveplayed at some level before, they have a lot of the helmets and p
“We definitely encourage ourguys to have health insurance,” Kujath says. “We play with professional guys.”It’s high-speed, full-contact, leave-it-on-the-field football. “You’redefinitely going to feel it on Sunday. We encourage guys to take it easy afterthe game and ice-up.” Kujath says the team tries to have a trainer on the fieldin case something goes wrong or seems out of whack.
“To be honest, we’ve hadsome fairly significant injuries. But that gives you something to talk about atthe bar. I sit at a desk all day, and I can’t wear short sleeves anymore withall the bruises.”
The league wants fans and potentialplayers to understand this is not your typical bar league. This is theequivalent of AAA baseball. Just like the Army, the IFL is always looking forprofessional and dedicated individuals to join, guns are optional. Forquestions about the IFL please contact the league office at (262) 544-6468 or(414) 281-7903.
