Circus Atmosphere in San Jose
Tim Ball
Tuesday July 9, 2002
Whoa, whoa, hold on Tex. There’s still three and half quarters left in the game!
To say the San Jose crowd was up for this game, all you needed was to see the amount of vendors in the stands hawking their fat-laden fare to the rooted and frenzied SaberCats fans. No one was leaving his or her seats and the arena wasn’t about to throw away tons of junk food. I don’t know who cut and weaved more during this game: Barry Wagner, James Hundon, or the cotton candy seller in my section. None of the three disappointed the fans.
There was good reason for the atmosphere to be festive. It looked like Christmas for the thousands of people holding boxed Mark Grieb bobble head dolls and SaberCats and SaberKittens team posters. Along with all of the other trinkets they’d brought with them to be signed by the players and dancers post game, it looked more like a holiday then a football game.
Before and after this game there were literally thousands of people lined up to see the SaberCats. The arena personnel had to dim the lights after 11:00 pm to encourage remaining fans, players and dancers on the field to stop so they could begin their jobs and break down the field. If anyone thinks Arena Football isn’t important in the Bay Area, they should have seen the players and SaberKittens signing autographs on the way to their cars almost an hour after the lights were dimmed!
Oh yeah, the game
“But…” this is word that carries dread to fans when used to describe something that happened with their team and in the case of the Indiana faithful it happened on the first play of the game. Firebirds quarterback Raymond Philyaw threw his first pass to WR/DB Jay Jones to start the opening drive but it was intercepted by WR/DB Barry Wagner, on the San Jose 22-yard line.
Wagner also scored the game’s first touchdown on the ensuing SaberCats possession by capping off an impressive four-play scoring drive with a rushing touchdown from five yards out. The league’s best offense used that drive to establish an uphill climb for Indiana.
Philyaw answered back by hitting OS Eddie Brown for an 11-yard touchdown pass that smoothed over a rough drive that saw Philyaw throw three incomplete passes and four completions to go 45 yards in four minutes and even the score at seven all.
But (sorry Indiana), it only took SaberCats quarterback Mark Grieb four plays, and one minute and thirty seconds to connect with OS James Hundon for the go-ahead touchdown and a lead San Jose would never relinquish.
San Jose’s defense went to work on Indiana on the next Firebirds’ possession and stopped them from scoring again in the first quarter. After Indiana kicker Nelson Garner missed a field goal attempt, the SaberCats took over and gained a fourteen point lead 21-7 on another Wagner score but this time the game’s Ironman recipient caught a Grieb pass for the TD.
San Jose never gave Indiana a chance to get back in the game. “This is a good team and we knew they came in here to play hard,” said Barry Wagner. “You can’t let down until the game is over.” Wagner finished the game with three TD’s, (two rushing and one receiving) and an interception and as mentioned, the Ironman award.
New face same look.
“Hey, I thought Grieb was number 16.” The best compliment San Jose quarterback John Dutton could have received for his play in the second half didn’t come from the press, his teammates or the coaches, it came from that quote from some people sitting to my left! The SaberCats were not slowed in the slightest with the change of QBs.
Dutton played the second half and although threw an interception, he led the SaberCats to a 25-point advantage over the Firebirds (52-27), before Indiana scored another touchdown.
James Hundon and Mark Grieb have put up staggering figures for the SaberCats this season and it appears there will be no let down if Dutton is at the helm. The SaberCats came into camp with only two quarterbacks on the roster and obviously knew what they were doing.
Both quarterbacks Dutton and Grieb were responsible for three scoring drives each and proved that neither Wagner nor Hundon will know the difference as each of them had three touchdowns on the night. With most teams throwing in the towel when they lose a quarterback, San Jose has found two who can throw touchdowns and lead this team to victory with an effectiveness seldom seen on the same team at the same time.
Eternal truths in clichés
Comments from football players are frustratingly similar until you realize that they are involved in a quest that was begun by competitors from almost the beginning of time. Truth does not change -- only language does. Winning and losing share the same components everywhere. Here are just a sample of the comments that came back the same way as they probably did in Roman times…
“If we stay healthy, practice hard, make plays and stay focused we’ll do alright,” said head coach Darren Arbet.
“It’s one game at a time. We have a long way to go and we can’t let up now,” said defensive coach Michael Church.
“To have so many talented players around me makes it easier to be successful,” said Mark Grieb. “I just want to be a part of that success.”
“It’s important to contribute,” said Clevan Thomas. “I’m lucky to be on a team with such great players.”
“I want to make sure that if I make a mistake, I make up for it by making a good play that helps our team,” said Omar Smith.
In team sports the “I” is always plural. The strength of the SaberCats is the team concept that has brought them close to the championship game the last two years. Though the quotes from these players don’t take a philosophy degree to decipher or to dictate, the meanings are as deep as history itself… We can do something great if I help you and you help me…
P.S.
Oh by the way, my daughter Dakota (who’s almost six) needs Katie Towe and Maya Chavez to sign her SaberKittens poster to have all the dancers autographs. If we could get your help, well, you know the rest.
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
