For love of the game
BUTLER TWP — What do a landscaper, firefighter, bricklayer, car rental manager, county worker, nurse's aide, state policeman, security guard, prison guard, waiter and accountant have in common?
They play football for the Butler County Bears.
A semipro team in operation since 2010, the Bears played in the Gridiron Football Alliance championship game last year and are contending for a division title in the Heartland Football League this season.
“A lot of guys are willing to invest the time and effort — and pain, at times — into playing the game they love,” team owner, general manager and coach Kirk Bergbigler said.
“These guys are involved in different worlds now, but everyone on this field shares a very strong passion for football.”
Staying the courseBergbigler can identify with that. While his football playing career ended early, his passion for the game never left him.A 1993 Butler graduate, Bergbigler was an outside linebacker in high school who went on to Tiffin (Ohio) University. After a redshirt freshman year, a back injury forced him to call it quits.“I never stopped wanting to be involved in football,” Bergbigler said. “If I couldn't play, I figured I'd coach.”He spent two years as an assistant coach with the Western Pa. Warhawks, a semipro team in Pittsburgh. In December 2009, two people approached him with interest in forming a Butler County team.“They asked me to put some time in recruiting players because I had done that before,” Bergbigler said. “I had 30 guys working out during indoor conditioning when the other guys decided not to pursue the project any longer.“I was too involved at that point and I felt like I had to see it through.”The Bears wound up with 26 players that first season, finishing 2-6 in the U.S. Football Association. Only four players from that team — Randall Palakovich, Don McCoy, Chad Krumpe and Bill McCaslin — are still with the team.But 26 players from the 2011 squad returned for the 2012 campaign. There are 46 players on this year's team.“Things happen. Family or job commitments, injuries ... But guys started to realize we were serious about building a championship team,” Bergbigler said.
Palakovich, a 2004 Aliquippa graduate who went on to play at Thiel College, has been playing organized football for 10 consecutive years since his sophomore year in high school.He works as a branch manager of a company in Pittsburgh during the day but still gets to 6 p.m. practice on time at Father Marinaro Park in Butler.“The guys I work with are great about letting me out on practice days,” Palakovich said. “I think they respect the fact I'm still doing this.“You definitely get beaten up physically. Every year, I say it's my last. Then I come back. I can't give it up.“I love being part of a team. I respect the commitment it takes for all of us to be out here. Nobody's getting paid to be here,” Palakovich added.McCaslin, 29, is a 2000 Butler graduate who pitched in high school and for the Butler County Community College baseball team. He played football in high school as well.“But I was always under-sized back then,” he said. “I competed, but never quite got to the level of play I wanted to. I didn't feel like there was a level playing field for me.”McCaslin has since matured physically. An environmental engineer today, that level playing field finally arrived.“There was no chip on my shoulder, but I knew I could do it,” McCaslin said. “My father played semi-pro ball for the Pittsburgh Colts. I knew I could still play.“I've been active my entire life. I know I'm in better (physical) shape now because I'm playing football. I'm exercising, lifting weights, staying in condition ... I wouldn't be doing that stuff otherwise.”McCoy, 37, is a Butler city firefighter who admits that when it comes to playing football, “I can't let go.”His season was recently ended by torn biceps that required surgery and he's getting married in November.“I guess this may finally be it for me, but you never know,” McCoy said. “If I am done playing, I'll come back and help coach.”Prior to his injury, McCoy took his conditioning seriously. He lifted weights four days a week and did a cardio workout three days a week in addition to the Bears' two days of practice each week.“You're as old as you feel,” he said. “As you get older, you just have to work harder at it, that's all. The big thing is recovering from the soreness that comes with playing.“By the time I heal up from one game, it's time to play another.”
Quarterback Bob Manno, at age 39, is the oldest player on the Bears roster.Now a state trooper, he played football at Slippery Rock High School and for Slippery Rock University from 1991-93.“I played in an alumni game in 2010 and really enjoyed putting on the pads again,” Manno said. “One of the linemen on our alumni team, T.J. Summers, played for the Bears and told me about it.“It's pretty demanding physically, but I love it. I'm able to work my schedule around football. Everyone I work with is very supportive and cooperative with this.”Manno has three children“who enjoy seeing dad out there.”Nonetheless, he feels the pain.“The soreness that went away after a day or two of a game in high school and college, I can still feel two weeks later now,” Manno admitted.“Hey, it's all worth it. We're a big family when we get together. There's something about the camaraderie of a football team. It's unique.”
Alex Brown is 30 years old and weighs 426 pounds.He's in his second season with the Bears “because I enjoy playing.”“Sure, it's a way of getting back in shape, also,” he said. “But I miss the physical contact and I had time to kill. That's why I'm here.”Jeremy Wilson, 32, a two-way lineman, says he'll keep playing “as long as my body holds out.”Wilson said the competitiveness and camaraderie are the greatest things about football.“But it does feel like a kids' game,” he said. “The shin splints don't seem to go away anymore and it takes me two days after a game before I start walking normally again. It's all worth it for me.”Linebacker Justin Switzer, 23, played at Karns City before going to Clarion University.“But school wasn't for me,” he said of college.Football is.Switzer works for a glass company, gets off between 4 and 6 p.m. and drives straight to practice.“I wouldn't miss it,” he said of practice. “That's all part of the bonding experience of a football team.”Erik Fuhrer, a 2003 Karns City graduate, is in his second year as the Bears' starting quarterback.“Once I played in that (2010) alumni game against Moniteau, I was hooked all over again,” Fuhrer said. “As long as I'm healthy, I'll keep playing.“This isn't what a lot of people think it is. All of us are serious about football. We care about the game and we set out to win every game.“We're not the most athletic or skilled team in this league ... far from it. But we stress fundamentals and we play as a team. And every week, we have something to prove, to ourselves and too each other.“That's the beauty of this game. The fire never dies,” Fuhrer added.
