The Show Stoppaz members aren’t ready to defend their women’s league flag-football title until they’re hyped up by one member of their team.
Founding the team as a sophomore along with friends Anna Schmitz and Kendall Gifford, UI senior Erin Tuken has assumed the role of motivator while also keeping things light.
“Last year, whenever we would start a game, I would just say really silly or stupid things,” Tuken said. “I just incorporate little things into our game. I guess it just makes everyone laugh.”
Teammate Amy Carlson agreed Tuken is always the one talking in the pregame huddle.
“Erin is always the person on the team who is there to get people pumped up,” said Carlson, also one of Tuken’s three roommates.
Off of the field, Tuken is also known for her motivation in other places. She is a morale captain for Dance Marathon and is a double major in microbiology and child life. She said she has no idea which field she will go into after graduating next winter.
But despite a busy schedule, Tuken is often at home with her roommates, who acknowledged she keeps the group upbeat all of the time with her antics.
“She always knows how to lighten the mood. You never feel uncomfortable around Erin,” Schmitz said. “She’s not afraid to say anything or do anything.”
Tuken owes this to her interest in “the simple things” in life. She admitted she and Carlson share a “fetish for Disney movies.”
The two discovered their similar passion when Tuken played songs from the movie Mulan After Carlson identified the song unprompted, the two continued to play Disney songs for five hours.
When it comes to athletics, Tuken has tried seemingly everything during the past eight years. She swam throughout high school and also participated in volleyball, track, and tennis.
Tuken said she enjoyed playing tennis the most, mainly because she signed up to be with her friends for one year.
She has one prominent memory from her junior year of high school where she may have been out of character.
During her school’s annual powderpuff football game, Tuken said, she was continually tackled by one of the senior girls on the other team. After a while, she confronted her defender and soon a fight broke out.
Following a five-minute scrap, the girl suffered a bloody nose, which Tuken became known for.
As an collegiate intramural sports athlete, she has played everything from co-rec basketball to softball with her Show Stoppaz teammates.
But flag football is the favorite sport for Tuken, who has not yet had a fight during her collegiate career.
She said co-rec football is a great way to stay in touch with guys she may not have normally seen. Plus, both her women’s and co-rec teams are enjoyable.
“It’s just a way for everyone to get together and have fun,” said Tuken. “Because flag football wasn’t a sport in high school, people don’t really take it that competitively.”