‘Souper Bowl’ tournament helps food bank
Allentown center hosts Lehigh Valley Bridge Association competition
Jon Clemens is no Tom Brady.
The Upper Saucon Township man is a few decades older than the New England Patriots quarterback, isn’t quite as famous and lacks the untold millions of dollars and cheering fans.
But on Sunday, Clemens was nonetheless part of a team that dreamed of a championship.
For Brady, the game was football, the venue was the Super Bowl and the goal was a chance to hoist another Lombardi Trophy.
For Clemens, it was the card game of bridge, where he competed at the “Souper Bowl,” a charity event held at the Lehigh Valley Active Life center on Elm Street in Allentown.
The prize wasn’t as prestigious: free entry into the next tournament, plus the chance to win bridge masterpoints, a rating system that gives bragging rights to successful players.
But while the 80-year-old Clemens said there was “no” chance he’d emerge the victor in a game with its own surprising share of steely competitors, his playing partner was unruffled.
“He’s not optimistic enough,” said Linda Davis of Macungie. “Miracles still happen.”
And it was all for a good cause.
The event, which has been held for more than 10 years, benefited Second Harvest Food Bank in East Allen Township. Players donated cans of soup — hence Souper Bowl — and other nonperishable food, along with money.
“We’re always looking for a charity kind of thing to connect it with,” said Jim Kenny, the president of the Lehigh Valley Bridge Association, which seeks to promote interest in the card game.
Last year, the donations generated 91 pounds of food and $315, said Lois Fuini, a board member who helped organize the tournament.
Fuini said the event recognizes that while Super Bowl parties have become feasts full of gastronomic delights, there are some who are left out.
“We have all these fabulous snacks and we watch the game and we enjoy it,” Fuini said. “We just wanted to give back and we chose food.”
Football is a young athlete’s terrain; physical, punishing and violent. Bridge draws an older, more staid crowd, a game that can be played even as the body fails, as long as the mind lasts.
But to the uninitiated, bridge can be just as complicated as an NFL rule book. With partners, players bid on how many tricks their team can take, then try to exceed that promise — or thwart it — when play begins.
There are similarities between bridge and football, Fuini said.
They both teach strategy, teamwork and the need to think ahead, Fuini said. They also value hard work and good sportsmanship, she said.
On Sunday, 40 players competed, sitting four to a card table, their partners across from them. Players placed down bid cards, played their hands, then kibitzed afterward on ways to do better.
Don’t be fooled by the quiet; the competition was fierce.
“Some people are not just cutthroat, they’re nasty,” Davis joked.