If you’re planning to attend this year’s Kansas
Shrine Bowl in Manhattan on Saturday, July 30th, you might
want to include an early arrival at KSU Stadium in your plans.
This year’s
Shrine Bowl pregame show will include much of the color
and pageantry of previous Shrine Bowl games, but with an
added football twist: a full-tackle exhibition scrimmage
by members of the Kansas City Storm, a woman’s football
team from Kansas City, Missouri. The Storm completed its
inaugural season in late June with a respectable 4-5-1 record
in the Independent Women’s Football League (IWFL).
The IWFL was founded in 2000 to give women who want to play
tackle football the opportunity to compete in a positive,
safe, and fun environment. The IWFL has 31 teams in North
America.
The Storm play a
10-game schedule, with most of the games played at local
high school stadiums. One home game this season was played
in conjunction with a Kansas City Wizards game at Arrowhead
Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Storm’s
scrimmage will kickoff this year’s Shrine Bowl pregame
festivities at 6 PM, an hour before the Shrine Bowl game
itself. After the scrimmage, Storm players will be available
in a tent near the south end zone to meet fans and sign
autographs.
“We’re
excited and proud to be part of the Kansas Shrine Bowl,”
says Nancy Wernes, owner of the Storm. “We hope we
can help make the event a success.”
The Storm scrimmage will only the beginning of a series
of pregame events. Before kickoff, the 200-plus members
of the All State Masonic Marching Band, under the direction
of KSU Director of Bands Frank Tracz, will perform. The
band is an annual gathering of many of the state’s
best high school musicians. They’ll gather in Manhattan
several days before the Shrine Bowl to rehearse for appearances
at the Shrine Bowl banquet on Friday, July 29th, the Shrine
Bowl Parade on game day, and during the pregame show and
at halftime at the game itself.
And
that’s not all. For the 9th consecutive year, four
skydivers from Skydive Kansas of Osage City, Kansas, will
entertain the pre-game crowd by bringing the game ball and
an American flag into KSU Stadium. The skydivers are scheduled
to make their appearance just before kickoff.
Members
of the Kansas National Guard will make up a color guard
before the game, and there will be a flyover of at least
one military aircraft from the Air Force ROTC.
Executive
Director of the Kansas Shrine Bowl, Dave Mize, says the
events before the game help set the stage for the state’s
premier all-star event. “The divers, the band, the
color guard, the flyover, and this year, women’s football,
all give our fans something extra to enjoy. We’re
excited about providing these additional attractive pregame
features for our fans.”
For
fans who enjoy tailgating as part of their football experience,
the parking lot to KSU Stadium will open at 3 PM on game
day. Gates to the stadium itself will open at 5 PM.
The
Kansas Shrine Bowl has been called the “Kansas Super
Bowl of Hope.” Proceeds from the game support the
Shriner’s Hospitals for Children, a network of 22
hospitals that provide expert, no-cost orthopedic and burn
care to children under 18.
Reserved
chairback tickets are $20.00 in advance, $22.00 on game
night. Adult general admission tickets are $9.00 in advance,
$10.00 on game night. Student tickets are $5.00 in advance,
$6.00 on game night. Advance tickets can be purchased through
the Shrine Bowl office by calling 1-800-530-5524. |
