2003 Turkey Bowl

Thanksgiving is traditionally a Football Holiday in these United States. We take it for granted that we will watch our favorite teams on the tube, feast on a big bird, and take a ball out to the local field to test out our reflexes. However, for golden Southern California the past few years have celebrated this tradition with a twist. We like to try new things out here, so after the US Footy Nationals we start looking forward to the Turkey Bowl an all-comers game of Australian Rules Football usually held in the Orange County area on the weekend before Thanksgiving.

This year's Turkey Bowl broke all previous records, with people driving in from as far away as Barstow and San Diego. With perfect, sunny skies and the temperature hovering at seventy, more than fifty players took the field in turns over three games. We also had a record number of new players playing their first game of Footy. The competition was relaxed, no injuries on the day, and everyone enjoyed the play, food, and conversation.

Standing out this year was a contingent from Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert. The Mojave Greens, named after a deadly desert snake, is a new team that plans to play with the CAFL in 2004. Also, making a good showing were eleven female players from the Los Angeles area, who used the Turkey Bowl as a practice day. All this bodes well for the 2004 California Australian Football League.

More pictures available at www.calfooty.com

- CAFL Secretary
(305)