CONWAY, N.H. (AP) 鈥� College football players aspire to play in bowls games. Professional players dream of playing in the Super Bowl.
A bunch of amateurs in New Hampshire just want to get muddy.
On Sunday, a three-day sloppy, muddy mess wrapped up for the Mud Bowl, which is celebrating its 50th year of football featuring players trudging though knee-deep muck while trying to reach the end zone.
For these athletes, playing in mud brings out their inner child.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e playing football in the mud, so you've got to have a smile on your face,鈥� said Jason Veno, the 50-year-old quarterback of the North Country Mud Crocs, who described mud as an equalizer. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a different game in the mud. It doesn鈥檛 matter how good you are on grass. That doesn鈥檛 matter in the mud.鈥�
The annual event takes place at Hog Coliseum, located in the heart of North Conway. It kicked off Friday night with revelry and music, followed by a Tournament of Mud Parade on Saturday. All told, a dozen teams with men and women competed in the tournament in hopes of emerging as the soiled victor.
Ryan Martin said he鈥檚 been playing mud ball for almost 20 years and said it鈥檚 a good excuse to meet up with old friends he鈥檚 grown up with.
鈥淵ou get to a point where you鈥檙e just like, I鈥檓 not going pro on anything I might as well feel like I鈥檓 still competing day in and day out,鈥� he said.
He also acknowledged that the sport has some lingering effects 鈥� mostly with mud infiltrating every nook and cranny of his body.
鈥淚t gets in the eyes. You get cracks in your feet. And you get mud in your toenails for weeks,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou get it in your ears too. You鈥檒l be cleaning out your ears for a long while 鈥ou鈥檒l be blowing your nose and you鈥檒l get some dirt and you鈥檙e like, oh, I didn鈥檛 know I still had that there.鈥�
Mahala Smith is also sold on the camaraderie of the event.
She said she fell in love with football early in life and has been playing the sport since first grade and ultimately joined a women鈥檚 team for tackle football in 2018 and played that for a few years before she was invited to play in the mud.
She said the weekend was a treat.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a little mini vacation and everyone鈥檚 all friendly,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople hang out at the hotels and restaurants, people camp, we all have fires and stuff, just like a nice group event.鈥�
Even though it's fun, the teams are serious about winning. And the two-hand touch football can get chippy on the field of play, but it's all fun once the games are over. Many of the players were star high school or college athletes, and there have been a smattering of retired pros over the years, Veno said.
The theme was 鈥�50 Years, The Best of Five Decades.鈥� Over the years, the event has raised more than $1 million for charity, officials said.
Robert F. Bukaty, The Associated Press
