Friends play cross-country game of tag for 23 years

Who says a few grown men can't enjoy some childish fun?

Certainly not the subjects of a Wall Street Journal story this week, who say they've partaken in an ongoing game of tag for 23 years. Nine friends, including a chief marketing officer, a lawyer and a priest have spent the month of February each year chasing each other around the country and hiding from the unlucky player who happens to be 'It.'

Back when they all went to high school in Spokane, Washington, the friends would play tag during their breaks, according to the story. When they grew up and some of them moved away, they came up with an idea to adapt the game to the lives of men in their 30s — and now 40s.

And so they hopped on planes to stage sneak attacks at each other's houses and they tightened front door security at their workplaces. There's no security breach quite like a man running into the office and yelling, 'You're It!'

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One of the friends, Joe Tombari, told the Journal about getting a knock on the door in the mid-1990s. His friend led him and his wife out to the car on the pretense of seeing a new purchase. Once they got there, the player who was 'It' jumped out of the trunk and tagged Tombari.

His wife fell over in shock and tore a ligament.

In another instance, player Mike Konesky snuck into his friend Brian's house in the middle of the night to tag him, according to the story. No one called the police on this break and enter. Instead, when Konesky flicked on the bedroom lights, his partner yelled "Run, Brian!"

There's no fooling around with this competition, either. Each player has signed a "Tag Participation Agreement," outlining the rules, including no tagging the player who just tagged you.

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Reaction on Twitter shared delight at these gents' fun-loving natures.