It’s a rainy day in Lowell, located about 21 miles southeast of Eugene. The skies are grey and it's a bit windy for a May afternoon. Not ideal conditions for some of the fans that are starting to arrive at the field of Lowell High School. For some fans, and most players, conditions couldn’t be any better for a good old fashioned mud bowl.
This isn’t the local neighborhood boys getting together for a friendly game of touch or flag football; this is hard-hitting, full contact eleven man football.
The Springfield Buzzards have taken the field in the last home game of the regular season. The range of age in the players varies from late teens to early forties. Their experience is as varied, some have little experience while others have played for Division I and II collegiate teams.
Kevin Pardy, 38, an insurance producer from Eugene, is not just one of those players, he also happens to be co-owner of the Buzzards. Pardy, like a lot of these guys, grew up playing football, “Pretty much since the time I could walk.” His first experience with organized football in pads came in 1978 with the Lakeville Athletic Association in Minn. He recalls Fran Tarkenton, quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, used to come to the games and get mauled by the kids. Being a Chicago Bears fan, Pardy would have been more impressed to see his idol Walter “Sweetness” Payton, but he was in Minn., after all.
While going to high school in Madison, S.D., Pardy had always wanted to play middle linebacker but his team was deep at that position and his junior year he found himself as third string. When his coach offered him the starting tight end position it seemed like a no brainer. By the end of his senior year he was named to the All-State team at the tight end position.
With dreams of playing in college and no scholarship offers, Pardy tried out for the University of South Dakota football team in Vermillion. Pardy was getting no playing time and was fifth string tight end his freshmen year. He got a crucial break after the first and second stringers were hurt, and finally got "his day in the sun." He defied the odds and made the team as a walk on and gained a scholarship. Earning a spot on the team also earned him his very own number, 81, which he still proudly wears today. “I was 85 all through high school, but after I earned my spot, 81 became my identity on the field.”
This isn’t the local neighborhood boys getting together for a friendly game of touch or flag football; this is hard-hitting, full contact eleven man football.
The Springfield Buzzards have taken the field in the last home game of the regular season. The range of age in the players varies from late teens to early forties. Their experience is as varied, some have little experience while others have played for Division I and II collegiate teams.
Kevin Pardy, 38, an insurance producer from Eugene, is not just one of those players, he also happens to be co-owner of the Buzzards. Pardy, like a lot of these guys, grew up playing football, “Pretty much since the time I could walk.” His first experience with organized football in pads came in 1978 with the Lakeville Athletic Association in Minn. He recalls Fran Tarkenton, quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, used to come to the games and get mauled by the kids. Being a Chicago Bears fan, Pardy would have been more impressed to see his idol Walter “Sweetness” Payton, but he was in Minn., after all.
While going to high school in Madison, S.D., Pardy had always wanted to play middle linebacker but his team was deep at that position and his junior year he found himself as third string. When his coach offered him the starting tight end position it seemed like a no brainer. By the end of his senior year he was named to the All-State team at the tight end position.
With dreams of playing in college and no scholarship offers, Pardy tried out for the University of South Dakota football team in Vermillion. Pardy was getting no playing time and was fifth string tight end his freshmen year. He got a crucial break after the first and second stringers were hurt, and finally got "his day in the sun." He defied the odds and made the team as a walk on and gained a scholarship. Earning a spot on the team also earned him his very own number, 81, which he still proudly wears today. “I was 85 all through high school, but after I earned my spot, 81 became my identity on the field.”
Q. What positions do you play now?
Pardy: "Mostly defensive end and linemen now, but I fill in where needed, guard, D tackle, O line, I even played tight end last week."
Q. What's your favorite position to play?
Pardy: "Defensive end, I like chasing the quarterback around. I still like tight end, I just can't run with the ball anymore."
Q. How did you decide on Buzzards as a mascot?
Pardy: "I hate extreme sport names like the Edge or Storm, and we didn't want some thug-like name. You see plenty of buzzards as your driving down I-5, it just seemed appropriate that we're from Springtucky."
After being unsatisfied with the organization he was playing for, Pardy with former teammate Wyatt Ledbetter decided to start their own team in '06 and joined the NNFL a nine man league. In 2008 they joined the Oregon Football League which is the oldest and most reputable eleven man league in the state.
"I want to be the best organization in the league, I want to improve the league and create a winning environment."
Pardy would also like to see the Buzzards become a non-profit organization in the next few years so he can give back to the community by helping kids to pursue extra curricular activities. "I think it's a crime for a kid not to play due to lack of money." Whether it's Pop Warner, volleyball or band, Pardy believes that every kid should have a chance to pursue their dreams. His idea is to set up scholarships and contracts, "they'll have to earn."
The last regular season game is scheduled for May 9, in Vancouver, B.C., against the Vancouver Vipers. The playoffs are scheduled to begin May 16, and will be played as the highest seeds home field. With a win in Vancouver and a few losses from other teams, the Buzzards could be on their way to the playoffs and possibly even home field advantage.
Pardy who will turn 39 this month still thinks he's got a few more good years left. "There are those quiet moments when you're stretching out with the team and you think, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."
Kevin Pardy takes a brief rest on the sideline.
Wow, after searching for Kevin Pardy for years, I finally came across this recent blog!
ReplyDeleteI went to the same High School with him in Madison South Dakota and over the years, I've been trying to reconnect with old friends from the past and he's one of them.
If there's any way I can get reconnected with him pls let me know.
I would like to mention 2 words to him to see if he will remember who I am:
Pardgeek & Bunjingeek
Hopefully he has a good memory...if so, pls contact me at
arayishb@yahoo.com