Bi-Sexual Chocolate certainly isn’t the new kid on the block.
Many members of this season’s flag-football Co-Recreational championship team have known each other for more than a decade, and some have been playing sports with one another for just as long.
“Even though most of us are old, we all stay in pretty good shape,” Mark Sertterh said. “We are still competitive but get along just fine. We just have to make sure one of us is out to watch our son.”
With experience and knowledge on its side, Bi-Sexual Chocolate cruised through the flag-football season relatively unchallenged by younger squads. Although some team members admit playing a youthful lineup can tire them out a little faster, that doesn’t prevent Bi-Sexual Chocolate from dominating.
“I think most of the younger teams think they are going to be more athletic and more effective than a bunch of old-timers,” Sertterh said. “But that obviously isn’t always the case.”
Another thing that wasn’t always the case is the team’s name.
Originally dubbed Sexual Chocolate, the name of Randy Watson’s band in Coming to America, the team played in the men’s Open League. After joining the Co-Rec League and adding a few women, the squad decided to adjust the name to Bi-Sexual Chocolate.
Even though some of the team has changed, the results have not.
“Same result, but different championship T-shirt design,” Sam Jones said. “I enjoy wearing intramural championship T-shirts.”
Jones is one of the three team members who are UI students, all of whom attend the College of Law. The rest of the squad is either a university employee, married, or both.
With that kind of disparity, many team members have to take turns attending to their children on the sidelines.
“I think we are the only team that has to get numerous babysitters if a game starts after 7 at night,” Reed McManigal said.
Mike Widen, the associate director of Recreational Services and an official for women’s college basketball and high-school football, said he doesn’t think about age during the games.
“Plus,” he said, “I’m sure the strollers that our team brings to the game are pretty intimidating.”
But it doesn’t matter whether a team member is chasing down a child or running after a ball carrier, the squad manages to win.
And while taking home the Co-Rec crown was surely a highlight, there were certainly other parts of the season the squad enjoyed.
“One great moment was Amy [Dagge’s] first touchdown of the year,” Monica Mims said. “She was so excited, and when they went to check her flags, which they do by pulling them off, they found that they were tied on. Well, we got a penalty, and Amy was kicked out of the game. Her response was, ‘Well, they stay on so much better when they are tied.’ ”