My involvement with this league started at the very beginning, with a discussion of the league concept in a cluttered on-campus office. I could tell that the vision Chris had for the league was big, far larger than I could've even imagined for flag football. Western PA already had its fair share of flag leagues but this concept was one-of-a-kind. He envisioned a competitive 4 on 4 league with a full staff to referee and track stats. Such an idea had never been attempted, at least in Pittsburgh, which is exactly why I knew the league would be successful.

The beginning was tough, as are the goings of most start up organizations. We printed hundreds of flyers and handouts, placed ads online and in Pitt's newspaper and pitched the idea to student groups. We sent hundreds of e-mails and followed up with dozens of leads. No matter what we did, we simply weren't getting the results we'd hoped for. We decided to take a chance and run the league with the teams we had.

All 4 of them.

Week #1 was intense, far more so than I'd anticipated. Players fought hard with an enthusiasm I never expected. I want to thank the members of those first 4 teams for playing with such intensity that day. The successful showing from Week #1 was the catalyst needed to grow the league, and it gave us a successful story to tell when we re-opened registration the following week.

By week #2 the number of teams had more than doubled and with each successive week the league has become more competitive and entertaining to watch. You can tell there are guys who come to play and guys who come to win. The winners get better every week.