Biggest Prize Depends on Many Things
Tim Ball
Saturday August 17, 2002
The best teams just do what needs to be done better than the teams that don’t make it. And the best players always have the best support.
“It comes down to what we all do all year.” SaberCats starting quarterback John Dutton said. “Linemen control the flow of the game. Turnovers, mistakes and possessions, it comes down to the basics. We know Arizona and they know us. The team that executes, wins.”
“We have to take it to them from the start.” Arizona quarterback Sherdrick Bonner said. “There won’t be many surprises. This is going to be a good game because you have the two best teams going for the championship and that’s the way it should be. There’s not a lot we don’t know about San Jose and they know us well also.”
Invisible heroics
What the two main characters Dutton and Bonner echo is what so many people seem to neglect. Games are won by all of the things nobody takes notice of or will ever remember.
That last second field goal was brought to fruition by an entire game of excellence or a lapse in attention that allows for those last second dramatics. The diving catch for the winning touchdown was brought to that moment by an offense that stayed the course and made that block.
The Arena Football League’s Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Clevan Thomas, brings the point home with a humbleness that has endeared him to fans and even to his rivals. “It’s great to get recognized and be given awards, but how can I make the plays if my teammates aren’t doing a good job? The fans have stuck with me even when I don’t have a great game and I really appreciate that so much.” Thomas said. ”The fact is this is football. It comes down to the team that plays the best that day. Arizona didn’t get here because of luck. They were only down a couple of points when they made that catch off the nets against Carolina and San Jose isn’t here because of luck either.”
They know something else.
Arena Football is taking hold in America. The reason? Support, plain and simple. As more and more people experience the game and join with the fans that have never left, the impact, because of their closeness to the action, is a main factor in the success of arena games.
“Momentum can swing because of the crowd being into the game.” Said SaberCats OL/DL Darren Kenny. “Emotions play a lot in football. Our fans should know that they are important to us. We have been motivated by them time and time again.”
“Our fans never let us down.” Bonner said. “We feel we’re never out of a game with them on our side.”
The Snake Pit vs. The Cats’ Lair is just as big as SaberCats (13-1) vs. the Rattlers (11-3). The ArenaBowl is just as much a battle of supporters as a game between teams.
While the players know that what they do all game long is what eventually decides the outcome, what organizations do is just as important. Support means just that. The Grand Rapids Rampage rose to become a champion for the same reason that this year’s champion will be crowned: For the fans. Without them there is no team.
ArenaBowl XVI is as much for the people who have kept Arena Football alive for the past sixteen years as it is for the magnificent athletes that compete in this “other” football league.
As Arena Football finds its place not as a threat but as a timely compliment to the outdoor version, Arena Football fans have been as honored as much as the Arena League players themselves.
As the Arena League goes “nationwide” in 2003 this ArenaBowl may be the most important of all.
The little things done over the last sixteen years (like players enduring hardships, to the fans who’ve stuck with it) have been the important things for Arena Football.
The greatest player to play the game of Arena football to date is Barry Wagner: “I work hard to be the best. You know why? Because of the support all those years. I don’t quit because this league never quits; the fans have kept it alive.”
ArenaBowl XVI is Sunday August 18th 2002 in San Jose California 12:00 PST.
This one is for the entire history of the sport!
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.
