Wait Almost Over in Charlotte
Chuck DiLullo
Wednesday February 12, 2003
The Cobras’s fan fest that took place this past January drew a crowd of over 2,000 fans who took advantage of the opportunity to meet and greet players, coaches, cheerleaders as well as owner, Pete Loftin. Loftin was very pleased about the turnout, saying, “We`re very excited about the number of people that are becoming a part of the Cobras family here in Charlotte. What a wonderful way to start the season."
Head coach Mike Hold was also enthusiastic about the turn out. "This game is all about the player-fan relationship and days like today help build that," said Coach Hold.
The new coach is also painfully aware that the only way to keep fans is to win. “Nobody likes losers and I’m one of them,” said Coach Hold before heading to Buffalo. “ It is imperative that we come home on a winning note.”
The Cobras not only enter their first home game in Charlotte 0-2, but they also do so having posted anemic offensive numbers in losses to the Tampa Storm (60-20) in their opening game and to the Buffalo Destroyers (44-16) this past Sunday. The loss to the Storm was the second worst defeat in team history and the 36-point production in the opening two games was the worst offensive output in back-to-back games in franchise history with the 16 points against the Destroyers tying a team record low for points scored in a game. This offensive futility leaves the team with many unanswered questions that have to be addressed very quickly if they hope to make their Charlotte debut a successful and memorable one.
Things are not all doom and gloom for the Cobras. AFL veteran Robert Hall replaced an ineffective Stuart Patridge towards the end of the first quarter and threw a TD pass to Ben Bronson on his second play from scrimmage, finishing with 161 yards and two TD’s - the second one being to fellow new-comer Ty Law. Hall’s 159 total yards (he had -two rushing yards) almost equaled the output of the entire team in the opening loss to Tampa.
Hall brings an intangible to the team that very few players can offer - he is a multidimensional threat having been the first player in league history to have 1,000 passing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in his career. He ranks eighth on the AFL`s all-time career completion percentage list, having completed 62.6% of his career pass attempts. This type of leadership and offensive potential is just the shot in the arm that Coach Hold is looking for to engineer points, generate excitement, put people in the seats and, most importantly, win football games. The fans agree. On a poll taken on the Cobras web site, Robert Hall and Ty Law finished in a tie as the newcomers with the biggest impact.
The Detroit Fury come into Charlotte on a definite high having posted a come-from-behind victory versus the Georgia Force (38-31) at home. The win ended a frustrating 12 game losing streak for the team with QB Andy Kelly capping a furious 18-point comeback in the second half with a TD pass with only 46 seconds left. The Detroit defense proved stout in the fourth quarter, shutting out the Force allowing the team to post a much-needed W.
The Cobras understand the challenge ahead of them with the pressures of both hosting the team’s first game in Charlotte and trying to avoid an 0-3 start which would hamstring the team’s goal of reaching the postseason. Look for Robert Hall to challenge the Fury defense and for the Cobras’ offense to avoid the turnovers that killed them in the opener. Expect them to finish off their drives too, the inability of which was a key factor in their loss to Buffalo (the Cobras possessed the ball for close to 37 minutes but managed only 16 points). A raucous crowd of 8,000 is anticipated per Bo Hussey, the Cobras VP of Communications, and they should provide an essential charge for this team to regain their equilibrium and to approach the balance of the season with optimism and momentum.
Chuck DiLullo works for a manufacturer of process control instrumentation as a sales engineer. He has been a fan of professional, college and high school football since he could walk. Chuck is originally from Philadelphia and he became a huge Arena Football League fan while living in Buffalo. Chuck has lived in Charlotte since 2000 with his wife & three children.
