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Blondes vs. Brunettes is a powderpuff football game played in cities across the United States. Proceeds from the event are donated to The Alzheimer's Association. Games have been held in more than 40 cities and have cumulatively raised more than $5 Million for the care, support and research efforts of the Association.
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History
The annual contests were started by Sara Allen Abbott whose father, Texas State Representative Joseph Hugh Allen, died of Alzheimer's disease in 2008. Looking for a way to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Association, Abbott organized a powder puff football game in tribute to her father, a lifelong football fan. Abbott, who was residing in Washington D.C. at the time, believed that too many charitable organizations were raising money through formal black tie events. Along with her sister, she thought a powder puff football game that leveraged popular culture's blonde vs. brunette rivalry would be more appealing to a younger set of donors. She thought the $20 ticket price would provide a low cost way for attendees to support a good cause.
In the fall of 2005, the first blonde vs. brunette powder puff football game was played at Hains Point in Washington D.C. and raised $10,000. Subsequently, the game searched for a more suitable home and moved around the Washington D.C area before settling in at George Washington University’s Mount Vernon Athletic Field in 2009. Since its inception, the game has received considerable publicity to include feature articles in the Washington Post and has raised over $500,000 in the Washington, D.C. alone.
By 2012, Blondes vs. Brunettes Powderpuff Football was being played in cities across the United States and each city has a slightly different approach to the game. "In Houston, it's very campy, and they goof off a lot," Abbott stated in an interview with The Non-Profit Times. "But in Washington, the rivalry is intense. If friends are on opposite teams, they usually don't talk the weekend of the games." Cities that host the game include: Albany, Amarillo, Akron, Atlanta, Austin, Bakersfield, CA, Baton Rouge, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Burlington, IA, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbia, SC, Columbus,Denver, Evansville, Houston, Hudson Valley (New Rochelle, NY), Indianapolis, Jackson, Kansas City, Lexington, Los Angeles Louisville, Lubbock, TX, Madison, WI, Minneapolis, New York, North Alabama (Decatur, AL), Phoenix, Plainview, TX, Raleigh, North Carolina, San Diego, Santa Barbara, CA, San Francisco. Tallahassee, FL, Washington, D.C. and Wichita, KS
Abbott has received national publicity and multiple awards for her efforts in raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Association. She plans to expand the event to more cities and eventually establish a "Blondes vs. Brunettes Super Bowl".
The game's increasing popularity in the Dallas-Fort Worth area resulted in the 2012 game moving to the Cotton Bowl to accommodate the larger crowds.
Rules on hair colour
Game rules do not require that hair colour be natural and it is common for many of the girls on the blonde team to have dyed hair.
An NBC Washington story cited participants changing their hair color in the weeks before the game and switching sides. Other media stories have highlighted intense workouts, team meetings that feature inspirational movies such as Remember the Titans, and participants practicing their trash-talking to include brunettes trying to think up ways to intimidate their blonde opponents.