Members of the Manhattan University flag football team.
OWEN MCWALTERS / THE QUADRANGLE
By Owen McWalters, Contributor
The Manhattan University flag football team, which was formed just last year, looks to build upon its foundation and take considerable steps forward in year two.
Last year, the Manhattan University flag football team played a total of six games. The Jaspers played two games at Gaelic Park against their New York City rivals, NYU, in which they won one and lost the other. The team also traveled to Maryland to play in a tournament, but unfortunately lost to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the playoffs.
The team will be playing NYU again this season. Rivalry games like those against the NYU Violets spark a clear excitement for the Jaspers flag football team. Max Gonzales, now a second year player for the team, spoke on NYU and how he looks forward to games against them.
“NYU is obviously one of our rivals, but also a cross town brother of ours,” Gonzales said. “They are here in New York, and we show great respect to them and their organization. We absolutely loved getting the opportunity for them to come visit us and play us a couple times last year. Record wise, we split our decisions. It’s awesome that we have that brotherhood here in the city, and we look forward to playing them again this year, probably a of couple times.”
This year, the Jaspers are not only looking to improve on their record from last year, they’re also looking to practice more often and play more games as well. Anthony Passafiume remarked on the team’s work ethic and how often they hope to work this year.
“We practice twice a week,” Passafiume said. “We practice on Monday and Wednesdays, 8-10. We would like to get a film room day at least every other week. That’s usually an in-classroom activity, as you could see from being out here.”
The team looks to capitalize on their practice time in order to be more successful during their games this year. Now in their second year, they will have more games to participate in against schools across the area. Passafiume said how he is excited for the upcoming year for the team.
“We’re definitely looking to have more games than we did last year,” Passafiume said. “So I’m excited to get this team, get the camaraderie going. We have more guys than we did last year as well, and so far so good. You know, we’re organized, we’re competitive, and I can’t wait to see what the season holds for us.”
On top of looking to improve their record and looking to practice more often and play more games, the Manhattan University flag football team is looking to hold fundraisers, grow their brand, and get their name out there as well. Brendan Matos, another player on the team, shared some thoughts on how to grow the team’s finances.
“We’ve done a really good job of maximizing our potential on social media,” Matos said. “We’re trying to come up with more creative ways. A lot of people now know that we had a football team back in the 60s, going into the 80s. We’re looking to donations from the alumni, get them out and see if they can support. We’re looking to hold fundraisers throughout the fall, whether it be on the quad or on our own terms. We’re really looking to do a whole bunch of new things.”