It’s not everyday that people can live out their dream to compete on the same field as some of the greatest athletes of all time.
As part of the week leading up to the Bay Area’s own Super Bowl 50, the Wounded Warriors Amputee Football Team (WWAFT) took on a selection of NFL alumni for a flag football game at College Heights Stadium at the College of San Mateo on Saturday, Feb. 6.
Despite the multitude of NFL legends present, most of whom had some form of a connection to war veterans, much attention was also drawn toward the WWAFT. Led by quarterback and ESPN personality Kenny Mayne, Arizona Cardinals linebacker coach Jen Welter and rapper Snoop Dogg, the WWAFT handily defeated the NFL Alumni, 49-25, to improve their undefeated record to 14-0.
Says Mayne, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for one, “It’s just fun. Everybody is here for the point of doing it, to show these men and women that they can do normal things, and go back to regular life.”
The WWAFT put the first points on the board, with a seven-yard pass from Mayne to Snoop Dogg, who ran to ball through the endzone and finished with a “dab.”
Despite leaving the game after the first half to go enjoy the other Super Bowl festivities, Snoop Dogg left a profound impression on the WWAFT, and played an immense role in filling up the over-capacitated stadium.
Says Mayne on Snoop Dogg’s impact, “Snoop coming out helps out. [He] brings a lot of energy to [the game].”
From then on, the game was in the hands of the Wounded Warriors. Between ending the first half with a touchdown pass and putting seven more on the board courtesy of former Army sergeant Michael Smith, who lives with only one arm after losing the other in a hit-and-run accident, the WWAFT were clearly in the driver’s seat from then on.
The main goal of the game was to raise money for the WWAFT, Disabled Veterans Programs in the Bay Area, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.Among the sponsors were athletes such as 49ers Daniel Kilgore and DiAndre Campbell.
Says Campbell on the importance of the game, “It’s the most important aspect. I feel, of being an NFL player, is being able to give back, and utilize that platform that we’ve been given to make a difference … It’s important for us to encourage and inspire other people”.
Planning for the game went as far back as October, and since then, has been a wild ride to ensure that everything be in order.
Says Rick Odioso, who proposed College Heights Stadium as the host for the game, “There’s been a lot of moving parts that have had to all fall into place, and so far, they’ve done a great job of it.”
At the conclusion of the game, the WWAFT players were bombarded with thousands of fans, who all wanted autographs and pictures. For in those 30-plus minutes, America’s “true” heroes had their moments of feeling like celebrities.
