Pride Bowl V, the flag football tournament that will be held June 22-23 on Chicago's North Side, is the largest ever and now also is an international extravaganza.
The tournament features 24 teams, up from 23 last year, playing in two divisionsand features the first team from Toronto.
"This event has gone from a small weekend tournament with 12 teams [participating] the first year to a real destination event weekend. The games are highly competitive and the weekend caps off with the annual [Chicago Pride] Parade," said event organizer Brian Kupersmit. "We never could have envisioned the tournament would be as successful as it is."
The tournament features 16 teams in the top-tiered A-Division, including three-time defending champion the Phoenix Hellraisers. The San Diego Bolts, the only other team to have ever won the tournament, will be back.
A darkhorse in A-Division appears to be Team Tequila, featuring players from across the United States, including New York, Texas, North Carolina and elsewhere. As testament of the team's geographical patchwork, cornerback Stephen Osada of Chicago is playing for Team Tequila.
"One of the cool aspects of Pride Bowl is, players have the ability to play for any team. Unlike the [annual] Gay Bowl, where players have to play for their hometown team, in Pride Bowl, they can play for any team. So, it's a great opportunity to play with friends or people who you don't normally play with," Kupersmit said.
"In the A-Division, there are about five elite teams, and then everyone else. But, the distance between the elite teams and everyone else is shrinking. Others are catching [those elite teams] in talent; the gap is closing."
Still, Kupersmit tagged the Hellraisers as this year's team-to-beat.
"There's no reason to believe they won't be competitive again. They've won it three years in a row, so you have to make them the favorite again this year," he said.
The Chicago Wreckers are Chicago's representative in the A-Division, led by captain Mike Anderson, safety Tyler Foerster, wide receiver Steve Brehm and quarterback Issa Rizkallah.
For the second year in a row, Pride Bowl features a B-Division. This year, it has eight teamsup from four last year.
Chicago has two B-Division teams. The Chicago Motley Crew is led by captain and quarterback Terry Howerton and co-captain Rich Aleong. Chicago Mary's Attic Assault features captain Marcus Han, safety Matt Gast, and receiver Andrew Burke.
Kupersmit said the tournament field had to be capped at 24 due to available playing fields. However, that total might expand to 32 next year with addition playing fields.
"The B-Division was a huge success last year, so we're thrilled it's doubled [in size] this year," Kupersmit said.