Article

Article that Lyle found. I talked to Mark and he said that he was sleeping when the football playing was going on, because he is working nights again. He is so excited to come home too!


A touch of home on Thanksgiving
MARK BRUNSWICK, Star Tribune

CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN

The line judge and the cheerleaders carried automatic weapons at this championship football game.

It wasn't covered by ESPN, and the Chinook helicopter occasionally hovering overhead wasn't there to provide aerial views. But for a few members of a Minnesota National Guard company operating supply convoys from this base, Thanksgiving Day touch football was a brief reminder of home and a respite from the small-arms fire and roadside bombs that make the roadways of Helmand Province one of Afghanistan's most hotly contested areas.

The football games, a round robin between companies in the battalion, were the first of their kind, designed as a morale booster. The games had no title, although given the surrounding moonscape terrain, the Dust Bowl might have been appropriate.

Spirits were high among the Guard 114th Transportation Co., based out of Duluth. The 114th is in the middle of a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan. Based out of this Marine base, its 180 soldiers run supply convoys to several bases in Helmand.

Even after a grueling mission that took several days, the Minnesotans conducted themselves well enough to climb to the championship game, after defeating the always feisty 811th HQ Division 3-2.

The victory was sparked by an acrobatic catch by Staff Sgt. Travis Bergland that took him back to his days as a flanker for the Albert Lea Tigers. Compared with the field back in Albert Lea, Bergland acknowledged, the Afghan terrain -- which included rocks of various sizes -- presented a special obstacle to running effective pass patterns.

Before the championship game against the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 68th, Specialist Shelby Lago of Federal Dam did her best to inspire her colleagues.

"We're good at ice fishing, we're good at drinking beer and it looks like we're getting good at football. Let's bring our 'A' game today. Wolfpack on three," she shouted.

Standing nearby, Specialist Marcheta Blumke of New Ulm thought about the significance of the game.

"We all love football. If this weren't happening, we'd just be in our tent watching movies," she said.

Advantage, mountaineers

But the Minnesotans were never able to contend in the final game, finding themselves heavily outmatched by a team that many thought sported some ringers, given its status as the head of the battalion. The first touchdown came off a long spiral pass that literally left the 114th in the dust.

"We came from Colorado," yelled one sergeant on the sidelines. "Altitude."

There were some excellent efforts. At 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, Sgt. Brian Haglund displayed a swim move on defense that often left his opponent outflanked. Haglund, from Coon Rapids, played semi-professional football.

"Any team sport I'm in for," Haglund said. "I'd rather be doing this than alone doing PT [physical training] any day."

After two 20-minute halves and a 10 minute halftime, the Minnesotans bowed to their superior opponents, 6-1. The end result: several skinned knees, a scraped hand or two and one bad ankle sprain. And then it was back to the reality of a holiday spent nearly 7,000 miles from home.

Despite the intensity of the newfound rivalry, no one talked about meeting again here next year for a rematch.

Mark Brunswick • 651-222-1636