Current:Home > InvestJoy in Mud Bowl: Football tournament celebrates 50 years of messy fun -Blueprint Money Mastery
Joy in Mud Bowl: Football tournament celebrates 50 years of messy fun
View
Date:2025-04-18 03:10:57
CONWAY, N.H. (AP) — College football players aspire to play in bowls games. Professional players dream of playing in the Super Bowl.
A bunch of amateurs in New Hampshire just want to get muddy.
On Sunday, a three-day sloppy, muddy mess wrapped up for the Mud Bowl, which is celebrating its 50th year of football featuring players trudging though knee-deep muck while trying to reach the end zone.
For these athletes, playing in mud brings out their inner child.
“You’re playing football in the mud, so you’ve got to have a smile on your face,” said Jason Veno, the 50-year-old quarterback of the North Country Mud Crocs, who described mud as an equalizer. “It’s just a different game in the mud. It doesn’t matter how good you are on grass. That doesn’t matter in the mud.”
The annual event takes place at Hog Coliseum, located in the heart of North Conway. It kicked off Friday night with revelry and music, followed by a Tournament of Mud Parade on Saturday. All told, a dozen teams with men and women competed in the tournament in hopes of emerging as the soiled victor.
Ryan Martin said he’s been playing mud ball for almost 20 years and said it’s a good excuse to meet up with old friends he’s grown up with.
“You get to a point where you’re just like, I’m not going pro on anything I might as well feel like I’m still competing day in and day out,” he said.
He also acknowledged that the sport has some lingering effects — mostly with mud infiltrating every nook and cranny of his body.
“It gets in the eyes. You get cracks in your feet. And you get mud in your toenails for weeks,” he said. “You get it in your ears too. You’ll be cleaning out your ears for a long while …you’ll be blowing your nose and you’ll get some dirt and you’re like, oh, I didn’t know I still had that there.”
Mahala Smith is also sold on the camaraderie of the event.
She said she fell in love with football early in life and has been playing the sport since first grade and ultimately joined a women’s team for tackle football in 2018 and played that for a few years before she was invited to play in the mud.
She said the weekend was a treat.
“It’s like a little mini vacation and everyone’s all friendly,” she said. “People hang out at the hotels and restaurants, people camp, we all have fires and stuff, just like a nice group event.”
Even though it’s fun, the teams are serious about winning. And the two-hand touch football can get chippy on the field of play, but it’s all fun once the games are over. Many of the players were star high school or college athletes, and there have been a smattering of retired pros over the years, Veno said.
The theme was “50 Years, The Best of Five Decades.” Over the years, the event has raised more than $1 million for charity, officials said.
veryGood! (389)
Related
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Governor's temporary ban on carrying guns in public meets resistance
- Escaped murderer slips out of search area, changes appearance and tries to contact former co-workers
- Explosion at Archer Daniels Midland facility in Illinois injures employees
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- Explosion at Archer Daniels Midland facility in Illinois injures employees
- Delta Air Lines employees work up a sweat at boot camp, learning how to deice planes
- No. 10 Texas had nothing to fear from big, bad Alabama in breakthrough victory
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Nightengale's Notebook: Christian Walker emerging from shadows to lead Diamondbacks
Ranking
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Vatican ordered investigation into Catholic clerics linked to abuse, Swiss Bishops’ Conference says
- A boat capsizing in north-central Nigeria killed at least 24 people. Dozens of others are missing
- Medical debt nearly pushed this family into homelessness. Millions more are at risk
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- Tennis phenom Coco Gauff wins U.S. Open at age 19
- South Korean media: North Korean train presumably carrying leader Kim Jong Un departed for Russia
- Bruce Arena quits as coach of New England Revolution citing 'difficult' investigation
Recommendation
Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
Tennis star Rosemary Casals, who fought for equal pay for women, reflects on progress made
Watch the precious, emotional moment this mama chimp and her baby are finally reunited
Pee-wee Herman Actor Paul Reubens' Cause of Death Revealed
Travis Hunter, the 2
Governor's temporary ban on carrying guns in public meets resistance
Ukraine: Americans back most U.S. steps for Ukraine as Republicans grow more split, CBS News poll finds
Pee-wee Herman Actor Paul Reubens' Cause of Death Revealed