RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- Ramstein Air Base and U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder’s sports directors held their first joint intramural flag football game at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Nov. 28, 2022.
The final score of the game was 24-6, with USAG Baumholder taking the win.
“I knew coming into it there would be a lot of energy from both sides,” said Russell Schmidt, 786th Force Support Squadron sports director. “Plain and simple, we’ve got very passionate people.”
The Ramstein and Baumholder sports directors organized the event to bring people from different bases together. They plan on holding more events like this in the future to involve a variety of intramural sports and bases within the Kaiserslautern Military Community.
Schmidt thought it would be a tough battle for the Ramstein team, as the team had not played together throughout the season. The team was created through coaches of the multiple intramural flag football teams on base submitting their top players names for consideration.
The team from USAG Baumholder had the advantage of playing the entirety of the season together. Schmidt said their communication and actions were more instinctive as they had more time to practice plays and get to know each other.
Gregg Maxwell, USAG Baumholder’s sports director, said this was a game for bragging rights.
“I think more service members will be interested in being a part of this event,” said Maxwell. “It will show that we can compete against each other and work together.”
Both sports directors have high hopes for this coming year and the expansion of opportunities for intramural sports in the KMC.
Players from both teams shared what a good experience the event was. Ramstein team member U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Josh Daigle, 37th Airlift Squadron loadmaster, mentioned the game was not just about the sport.
“We’re doing a lot more than football,” said Daigle. “We are learning from each other, becoming friends, and learning what each other do on a daily basis.”
Daigle has played intramural sports at each base he has been assigned to, but has never experienced something like this outside of work.
“I work with the Army a lot,” said Daigle. “They need us, we need them. When we compete, it’s kind of like siblings. Unfortunately, they pulled out the win but I am happy for them.”
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Justin Jordan, team captain of the USAG Baumholder team, said the team was able to capitalize on their advantage of playing the season together to bring home the inaugural victory.
“The thing I take away from this game is being able to play with friends, and basically family,” said Jordan. “We have all been playing together for a long time. Coming and playing together is just good to do.”
Jordan was voted MVP and is proud of the team for taking the championship and said he reflects fondly on this season.