The Big Game: Blondes vs. Brunettes promises hair-raising adventures

Most of the girls I hang around with on a daily basis are born and bred athletes. They’ve watched football, played in co-ed leagues, participated in some sort of collegiate sport – it’s ingrained in their everyday nature.

I’ve had to remind myself each week at practice for this weekend's big Blondes vs. Brunettes game that not all girls have this same athletic or sports-minded mentality. Many of my teammates have never touched a football, much less tried to snag a pick 6 from one of the fastest route-runners in all of Houston (whose name starts with Elizabeth and ends with Rhoden).

So I decided to stop yelling "play back like Asante Samuel and watch the QB’s eyes" and instead opted for the bouquet parallel.

"Pretend it’s a bouquet!" I screamed from the sidelines.

Half the girls are familiar with Samuel as the DB for the Philadelphia Eagles and the other half relate to the played out-chick flick scenes fighting and diving for the coveted bouquet. Either way by the end of practice everyone knows to go to the ball (or bouquet) instead of waiting for it to land in their arms.

On Saturday our seven weeks of practice will finally be played out on the field. Skip Lee Field to be exact. This season marks the sixth straight year more than a hundred seemingly professional women of all hair colors come together clad in cleats and jerseys for the annual Powderpuff football game supporting The Alzheimer's Association.

Blondes and brunettes who might have been friends off the field will stash their friendship in the locker-room. Players are sworn enemies come game day, and rightly so. The Brunettes lead the series 3-2 and after being shut out last year, the Blondes are out for blood. Or hair.

After all, I wonder, if blood is thicker than water, what's thicker than hair color?

The only thing pretty on game day will be the teams in their matching jerseys and ubiquitous knee-high American Apparel socks that boys everywhere dream about. Girls will come donned in a moderate amount of makeup (if any), hair pulled up (and matching their team of choice as the rules clearly state). But once the whistle blows, the smiles fade away and it’s game on. Bragging rights for the winning hair color are at stake.

But it’s important to note what goes on off the field: Tons of fundraising, friendships (both old and new) and heartfelt stories about why girls are playing for such a memorable cause. In just six years, the Houston BVB team has raised over $500,000 for The Alzheimer’s Association. It’s become almost as big a victory, if not more, for which team raises the most money – Blondes or Brunettes?

Writing a sport’s column titled The Blonde Side, one would reasonably think I would be lending my defensive skills to Team Blonde – but when does logic and reason make sense? As I mentioned in my piece last year, I’m playing on Team Brunette in celebration of my beautiful grandma Edna who we lost a few years ago to Alzheimer’s.

For this game I dye my hair (temporarily with spray paint) brown, because the rules of the game are that you HAVE to have the hair color of your team. As the story goes, a few years ago, the Blondes recruited a few brunettes for their team. They were awesome players who kind of tore up the game and embarrassed the other team, so a few people (i.e. coaches) pitched a fit and the rules were changed. Now hair color has to match.

About 15 "blondes" on Team Brunette will meet at Skip Lee Field a couple of hours before the game for the "hair spray painting ceremony" so that our hair color does in fact match. Luckily for those of us who spend bundles on our hair color, the spray washes out right away, so come afterparty time at Blanco's, we'll be rocking lighter locks again!

No matter the hair color, the vision of every blonde and brunette playing and volunteering is simple: A world without Alzheimer's disease.

BVB takes place in eight cities (Columbus, Buffalo, Chicago, DC, Kansas City, Austin, Dallas and Houston) and is spreading to eight others. So consider this your lucky day Houstonians. Get your tickets for Saturday now — and if you’re a fan of this article, be sure to purchase under TEAM BRUNETTE so we can beat the blondes on and off the field!

Can’t make the game, but want to donate? Click here.

Sixth Annual Blondes vs. Brunettes Powder Puff Football Game, Saturday Noon

Skip Lee Field, St. John's School, 2501 Claremont Lane

$20 suggested donation