The Fargo Force, along with the Hometown Heroes Committee, has revealed the first-ever Police vs Fire Battle of the Badges Hockey Game scheduled for Sunday, December 8.
The Fargo Force, along with the Hometown Heroes Committee, has revealed the first-ever Police vs Fire Battle of the Badges Hockey Game scheduled for Sunday, December 8.
The charity hockey game will showcase local law enforcement officers and firefighters from several departments, including those from Fargo, Moorhead, and West Fargo.
Brendan Farley, a billet parent for the Fargo Force and a member of the Fargo Fire Department, has been the driving force behind organizing the event. Having grown up attending a similar event in Chicago, Farley was surprised to find that there wasn't anything like it already established in Fargo.
He proposed the idea within his fire department and then shared it with the Fargo Force. With assistance from his brother, who created a YouTube video featuring locker room clips and footage of players mic'd up during one of the Chicago Police vs. Fire charity hockey games, the idea received a positive response.
"They loved it," Farley said of the Force's reaction to the idea. "Being part of the inaugural game and seeing it from the beginning, they were all on board as soon as I proposed it."
Farley states that he was introduced to the Hometown Heroes Committee, and everything fell into place from there. In addition to the three fire departments in Fargo, Farley mentions that eight law enforcement agencies will also be represented.
As for how competitive the game might be?
"Well, we're not going to be NHL caliber," Farley laughed. "But I would say a good fraction of the guys played some kind of college hockey or junior hockey. The Fargo market is saturated with such good hockey players, and we expect it to be pretty fast-paced and competitive for a bunch of older first responders."
The teams will compete in specially designed jerseys that will be auctioned online, with all proceeds being donated to the Hometown Heroes Fund.
Team Police will wear a predominantly black jersey featuring white and blue stripes. The jersey will have white letters and numbers outlined in blue. On the front, there will be a logo consisting of an American flag with a single blue line, symbolizing support for all law enforcement personnel.
Team Fire will wear red and white jerseys featuring black and red stripes, with black letters and numbers outlined in red. The design also includes a fire department logo with axes on the other side.
The format of the game is set up so that the two teams will play three 15-minute periods with 15-minute intermissions. Farley says the goal is to make this an annual event.
