Snapple Bowl: Banquet inspires the teams
by WoodbridgeFootball.com / MyCentralJersey.com / NJ.com on 07/20/16
EDISON - It was a like a pep rally showed up to the prom.
Football players wore fashionable ties and shiny earrings, slicked hair with blue-greenish dress shirts. Cheerleaders sported high heels and spiffy dresses and took pictures in the lobby. Wednesday, the annual banquet before the Snapple Bowl at the Pines Manor had an elegant feel, “Congratulations” balloons included.
By the end, the players were ready to shed their dress pants to throw elbows in the trenches and smash into one another over the middle. The Snapple Bowl has always been more than an all-star football game between recently graduated seniors from Middlesex County and Union County. From its inception in 1994, the game has raised a total of $545,000 to the Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside and the Lakeview School, a program of the Edison-based New Jersey Institute for Disabilities.
The lead-up to Thursday's 7 p.m. game at Woodbridge High School included an opening press conference, practices, a spirit night after the final practice and visits from both teams to mingle with patients from both programs. Organizers hope this year the game will beat the record of $50,000 for one game.
“It’s an event,” said Marcus Borden, the former longtime football coach at East Brunswick and the game’s founder. “There are a lot of events that involve around it. ... The reality is, we have pride in both counties who want to win the game. But when you walk off the field, you also know that the real winners are the kids”
Wednesday at the banquet, Venus Majeski, who is the institute’s director of development and community relations, addressed the audience, which included many of the team members’ mothers and fathers. She said the parents should be proud of their children for visiting the patients of both care facilities on Monday.
“They brought the gifts of themselves,” she said. “And they truly are our heroes. They brought goodness; they brought funny stories; they brought a little bit of mischief. But most of all, they brought their friendship. … I think you should all be very, very proud of them. You made a difference in a big way. This is just not about a game, it’s about a community. It’s not just about Middlesex and Union, it’s about the future. It really is that big. And now you know what this is all about.”
Her voice soon cracked.
“On behalf of those children who cannot speak and mothers who love them, I thank you,” she went on. “I thank each and every one of you for your beauty and for your grace, and for the gifts that you have shared with us. Go out, yes, have a wonderful game, and Middlesex County, what do you know, you’re bringing home that victory tomorrow night.”
Cheers, whistles and “whoo-whoos” erupted from the Middlesex side. The other side responded with chants of, “Union! Union! Union!”
The next speaker, Sara MacDuff from Children’s Specialized Hospital, also thanked everyone and said: “I just want to say to you guys, you’re truly an inspiration to them because your determination, your drive, your willingness to put in the hard work—it shows them that anything that they dream of really, truly is possible if they put their mind to it. Whether it’s learning to say their first word, learning to take that first step, whatever it might be for them, and you guys really do inspire them.”
She then brought a message from an outgoing patient that won the hearts of the football players and cheerleaders on Monday’s visit. MacDuff noted: “I’m sure you’ll all remember our little mayor on the long term care unit, Joffre. He had a special message for you guys. He said he’s ready for a Union win. So let’s go Union!”
Of course, both sides let out noise.
The cheerleaders from each team were announced and received roses by the front stage. Next up, the players got their game jerseys.
It was on.
From a football standpoint, the series was even until recently. Middlesex has won nine of the past 10 meetings, including a 33-13 win in 2015. Middlesex holds a 14-8 edge since the first meeting in 1994. When it comes to state champions from last fall, however, Union County had more with Cranford (North 2 Group III) and Westfield (North 2 Group V) both winning sectional crowns. Additionally, Brearley reached the North II Group I final before losing 34-12 to Hoboken. In Middlesex County, South Brunswick beat Old Bridge to win the Central Group V title.
There may not be a natural rivalry between Middlesex and Union football. There aren’t many nonconference regular-season games, as the Middlesex teams typically play against Shore Conference opponents. But through the years, the game has taken on meaning from a football standpoint.
“I think what it really comes down to is that there’s a lot of pride in Union County football,” said Cranford High School head coach Erik Rosenmeier, who is the Union team’s defensive coordinator. “I think every school wants to be the best in their county. But when that’s all over, it’s about showing that you play the best football around, because the opponents that we play against are here together on the field. So if we feel that we play good football, then we have to prove it as a group and measure ourselves up against another county. And I think that’s where the rivalry comes in. It’s pride in our own. Pride in Union. And I think that that’s what we want to prove.”
