The 20 Guys You See at Every Single Pickup Football Game

Every Friday at Messiah College where I attend, my friends and I play a pickup football game. Just 20 or so of us, a football, an empty field, and a couple of hours to kill. There's always a different group of people who play, depending on schedules and all. However, I have realized that no matter where and when you play, you will normally see the same types of people. These are some of the players you see at every pickup game.

The kid who just wants to throw long every play. I hate this kid. He's normally got a cannon arm, but he insists on throwing the ball long every single play. 4th and 1, he's throwing the ball 70 yards down field into triple coverage rather than hitting the wide-open kid five feet in front of him for a first down.

The big guy. You know this kid. He's 50 pounds heavier than anyone else on the field. He plays on the offensive and defensive line. He's the guy who will get the ball on every goal-line carry and drag six guys into the end zone for the score.

The injury kid. Every single game he gets hurt. Whether it's a sprained pinky finger, pulled muscle, or bruised forearm. It's never any injury you can visibly see, and everyone knows he's faking. He'll spend most of the game watching from the sidelines with a grimace on his face, trying to cope with the excruciating pain.

The tough guy. The opposite of the injury kid. He's the kid who plays the whole game, catches two touchdowns and gives it his all every down. Then afterwards you find out he has a broken wrist or separated shoulder. The next week, he's there again, his arm wrapped up in a sling, but he's not missing a game.

The pick-up running back. This kid never played football in high school, but he's an incredible athlete and could have been All-State if he had. He turns a five-yard screen pass into an 80-yard highlight reel touchdown, breaking five tackles on the way. He ends the game with six touchdowns and you do everything you can to make sure he's on your team the next week.

The talker. All he does is talk. The entire game. And not only does he annoy the other team, but his own team normally hates him because he can't back up his talk on the field. He'll lead both teams in dropped passes, but it's not his fault– it's the quarterback's. Or the offensive line's. Or the bright sun that got in his eyes.

The all-time QB. He insists on being quarterback for his team, sometimes for both teams. He's often not that bad of a passer, but he doesn't let anyone else have a chance at quarterback, and you know you could do better than him. So you suggest to him that he pitch to you and you throw a halfback pass, but he says no because he wants to throw every down. Often this kid won't play defense because he doesn't want to have to tackle anyone.

The high school starter. This kid played/plays in high school. He thinks he's hot stuff because he knows how to play the game better than anyone else. He spends most of the game telling you what you're doing wrong.

The kid who just wants to play. I love having this kid on my team. Think Rudy Ruettiger from Rudy. Any position you need, he'll play. He blocks, catches, runs, whatever helps the team. He's not afraid to tackle or take a big hit across the middle. He leaves the field with the dirtiest uniform there. And most of the time his team wins.

The player-coach. This kid is always yelling out who should cover who, where the pass will be going, and to watch the screen pass across the middle. He's normally right with his predictions but sometimes he gets on your nerves because he never makes any plays himself.

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