One might think that it takes a mighty powerful catalyst to get chemistry students to react with a football. The Free Radicals, the aptly named intramural flag football team that is comprised of chemistry students, is out to show otherwise.
They are a part of the eight-man, five-team spring flag football league run by Campus Recreation. The spring league is different from the fall five-man league in that contact is allowed in the form of open-handed blocking, and the entire length of the football field is used.
Alex Rudine, a second year graduate student and team captain, is quick to point out that though the team has plenty of fun, it had yet to score going into Sunday’s first round playoff game against the Wanna Brees. Consequently, the Free Radicals are at the bottom of the league standings with a 0-4 record, though it did score a touchdown in the 21-6 loss.
As team member and senior Devin Thompson puts it, “You know that Hollywood movie where the chemistry department gets together and puts together a team…and they wind up winning the championship with 10 seconds left? This is the slightly less popular version where they get together and play exactly like a chemistry department is supposed to play. But they have a good time doing it at least.”
Rudine started the team this year and would like to keep competing when fall comes around. He got the idea to start the team from a friend of his in the chemistry department while Rudine himself was still an undergraduate at Portland State. “Things fell together [for the team] this year,” Rudine said.
Because the team is made up of students applying themselves to such a difficult and time-consuming major, flexibility within the game and practice schedule has had to develop. As an example, there was a biochemistry exam last Friday so Thursday’s practice was cancelled.
For Rudine, the biggest benefit of being involved with the team has been the relationships everyone has developed. “You know, I see all of these students in a working relationship or in chemistry talking about reactions and this and that. To be able to just go out and exercise and just gel as a team has been a lot of fun,” Rudine says.
Thompson’s favorite thing is the physical activity he gets from participating, which is exercise he might find hard to come by otherwise. “It’s been awhile since I played high school ball. It’s nice to get out there and throw a ball around and actually have enough people around to do it. It’s hard to get 20 people together to [play] out in the real world.”
With graduate students and undergraduates lining up shoulder to shoulder, a stronger sense of community has developed. Thompson says that through the team, he has learned about the various research fields of the graduate students and he has been able to talk to them about it. Their knowledge of chemistry gives them a common ground.
This past Sunday league playoffs began. The Free Radicals played the Wanna Brees, a team comprised of staff from the student rec center. ?