Blowing a whistle, former Gator defensive end Thaddeus Bullard bellowed today at the interference surrounding hundreds of youth football hopefuls.
"Parents, off the field! I need my grass!" he yelled to the moms and dads with cameras, coolers and lawn chairs.
Roughly 350 youths ages 10 and 11 tried out today at the YMCA field near Gaither High School for 30 slots on the local team to play in Snoop Bowl VII.
Held the day before the Super Bowl, Snoop Bowl is a charity event that pits a Los Angeles youth football team coached by rapper Snoop Dogg against a team from the Super Bowl host city. Snoop's team won 33-14 last year.
The Jan. 31 game at Gaither benefits charities such as the Children's Cancer Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay and the Mike Alstott Family Foundation. Tickets are $15 to $40.
But the competition isn't completely friendly.
"Make no mistake about it: we want to win. At the end of the day, I'm trying to beat Snoop to sleep," Bullard, an organizer, said to chuckles from the crowd.
Former Buccaneer Mike Alstott is the team's official coach. He was astonished by the large turnout. "We expected 150 to 200 kids," he said.
Bullard and Pop Warner and Pee Wee coaches helped run the youths through drills to judge their skills. They were to call the youths chosen by tonight.
Jonathan Shaw, 11, of the Pop Warner Carrollwood Hurricanes, said it felt strange to be on the same field as the former pros. Teammate Cole Peterson, 11, told him not to be nervous.
"Just play football like usual," Peterson said. "It doesn't matter if there's multimillion-dollar people around."
Kelvin McKinney, 11, of the Lakewood Jr. Spartans in St. Petersburg, missed a catch but shrugged it off. He hadn't done anything special to prepare, he said.
"Just wake up and thank God that I'm here," he said.
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