Alumni Football Game Features Rifle Bears and Palisade Bulldogs From the Past

It may not be football season yet, but the game of the year might just be the alumni football game between the Rifle Bears and the Palisade Bulldogs.

Alumni Football USA.com organizes between 200 and 300  games a year, and this Friday night, some of the best from Palisade past will take on some of the best from Rifle's past in a match up to be held at Bears Stadium in Rifle.(7:00pm)

Yes, they will wear pads and helmets, and yes, a lot of these guys probably have no business being back on the field at this point. But, I get it.  You love the game, you love to play, and the chance to strap on the pads one more time holds great appeal.

Aside from playing football in 7th and 8th grade for the Brush Crusaders, my only other football playing experience came from playing at the park on Sunday afternoons with the guys from church. The extent of my football playing nowadays is confined to perhaps a once-a-year catch and throw session with my brother-in-law.

I was never a speedy guy, but seemed to have pretty good hands. Part of me feels like I could go out there today and catch a few balls and hold my own. The rest of me says those thoughts need to be confined to some crazed fantasy inside my brain.

No, I won't be playing football anytime soon be it touch, tackle, or flag. The only football I will be playing will be fantasy football when the NFL season begins in few weeks. But, I do admire the guys that get out on to the field and play 10, 15, even 20 years after leaving high school.

Advance tickets for Friday night's match-up are available at Glenwood Springs and Rifle City Markets, the Rifle Pool, and Cowboy Joe's and Hyway Seed in Silt.