Guys Play Complex Game of Tag— for 23 Years

Old school buddies stay in touch ... literally
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 2, 2013 3:36 PM CST
Friends Play Game of Tag for 23 Years
A man playing tag ... we think.   (Shutterstock)

Imagine hiding in the trunk of your friend's car as part of a game of tag—and doing it as an adult. That's exactly what Sean Raftis, a priest, did in the 1990s to tag his old school buddy Joe Tombari. When the trunk opened, Raftis jumped out and touched Tombari, whose startled wife fell back and tore a knee ligament. "I still feel bad about it," says Raftis. "But I got Joe." It's all part of a game that friends from Spokane, Washington, have been playing across America since the 1980s, the Wall Street Journal reports.

At a reunion, they decided to revive their old high-school game of tag as a way to stay in touch. Now they play each February, and whoever's "It" on March 1st has to stay that way all year. So these 40-somethings will be crossing state lines, hiding in bushes, and sneaking onto private properties in the wee hours, all to keep the game, and the friendships, alive. And Raftis knows it's pretty much his turn to be "It" again. "Once I step foot outside the rectory, all bets are off," he says. "I have to be a little more careful." (More game stories.)

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