If you have seen the 2018 movie Tag, you would probably know the story of a group of friends who played tag non-stop over the years! But how long have they been playing the game?
In real life, the Tag Brothers are a group of 10 men who have played the game of tag since the year 1990. They have been chasing each other around the United States for almost three decades. However, it is unclear if they still play today.
How Did The Tag Brothers Get Together?
When Russell Adams broke the story about ten childhood friends still playing tag for over two decades, the media was all over them. People were obsessed with their stories.
The tag brothers’ story touches people because it concerns men who found a creative way to maintain their high-school friendship. For a month out of every year, these men turn their energies to keeping in touch with one another — literally — and as a result, their high-school friendships are still going strong after some 30 years. One can’t help but admire them for that. Plus, they have a terrific amount of fun!
Dawn Eden Goldstein
Their story began in 1970. Father Sean Raftis met Mart Mengert in the first grade at the St. Francis of Assisi elementary school. They became friends instantly. The rest of the group go together by the time they reached high school.
We weren’t the smart guys; we weren’t the dumb guys. We were probably the refugees from all the other cliques who didn’t accept us, so we made up our own gang.
Brian Dennehy
While they occasionally played tag during those days, it wasn’t until 1990 did they decide to get together and restart their wild game of tag. (Source: National Catholic Register)
How Did the Game Go?
To make the whole game work around their schedules and lives, the group came up with a set of rules they called the Tag Participation Agreement. The lawyer of the group, Patrick Schultheis, wrote a quasi-contract for it.
You can only tag in February. There are no tag backs. And if you ask if I’m It and I am, I have to answer truthfully and reasonably promptly.
Father Sean Raftis
(Source: National Catholic Register)
Any Epic Tag Stories?
As all friendships go, there are epic stories of their game. When Schultheis’ father passed, many of the tag brothers came to the wake and patted him on the back as they received communion. Joe “Beef” Caferro patted him longer than the others and tagged Schultheis by saying, “You’re it.” Contrary to what you may think, Schultheis appreciated the humor and told his dad he would’ve felt the same way.
While watching his daughter’s school play, Mike Konesky was tagged. The tag brother who tagged him knew he would be stuck at the play and would have no time to get to someone else before midnight. And since it was the last day of February, he would be stuck being it until the following year. (Source: National Catholic Register)
Who Are The Tag Brothers?
While the 2018 film only showed five of the brothers, there are ten of them; Bill Akers, Patrick Schultheis, Sean Raftis, Mike Konesky, Brian Dennehy, and Joe Tombari Rick Bruya, Joey “Beef” Caferro, Chris Ammann, and Mark Mengert. (Source: History vs. Hollywood)