Chicago Rush Toy with Fans` Emotions
Mary-Ann Williams
Tuesday March 11, 2003
And to be honest, this particular game hit harder than so many others because I didn’t expect them to win in the beginning. When the game started without QB Billy Dicken, DS Marvin Taylor, and FB/LB Jamie McGourty, I nearly left the arena. Why should I watch a slaughter when there are Oscar-nominated movies yet to be seen? Luckily… er, rather, unluckily, Kevmo sat beside me and wanted to stick it out. (Who am I to argue with the boss?)
So I settled low into my seat, a book on programming HTML close at hand, and I waited for a LONG 60 minutes to pass. It won’t be too bad, I thought. At least they have cookies in the press box. Of course, it got worse before it got better.
We learned that Chicago head coach Mike Hohensee had made a strange decision, starting a rookie QB against the defending Champion San Jose SaberCats. Instead of a shaky but tested Chad Salisbury, Hohensee put in AFL-virgin Brian Ah Yat. Nothing against the guy, but he’d never taken a snap in an arena before. Ever. So to put him up against the SaberCats’ defense was just plain mean -- to Ah Yat and to his teammates. And the tension showed.
The Rush looked and acted dazed and confused from the first kick-off. OS Antonio Chatman dropped his second kick-off return, giving DS Dameon Porter the return run… of four yards. Replacement kicker Nick Gatto, signed Friday for the one game, nailed the ball out of bounds on his first kick-off. And Ah Yat, the poor kid, could not get the ball out of his hand, eventually falling under OL/DL Sam Hernandez in the endzone for a safety. A minute and a half later, San Jose scored again, and the Rush faced a 16-0 score nine minutes into the game.
Maybe confused isn’t strong enough. Mystified? Bewildered? Befuddled? Regardless, I knew the night would end in extreme embarrassment of the likes of the Arizona Rattlers if it continued. I guess Chatman felt the same way, because he turned things around with a single kick-off return.
Just as I reached for my HTML book, Chatman grabbed the kick-off from the net and squirmed his way across the field for a 57-yard touchdown return. The book forgotten, I decided the game might not be such a dud after all. I mean, they still had Chatman, Porter, and WR/DB Cornelius Bonner on the field. Maybe, just maybe, they still had a chance. This was, as the saying goes, Arena Football, and anything could happen.
So they teased me into believing. I know, stupid of me. A single kickoff returned for a touchdown does not a comeback make. But the Rush have a way of doing that to a fan. They have this presence on the field, this… cockiness that makes you want to believe in them. So I did. Over and over again, I believed that they would take control of the game. And over and over again I was disappointed.
Despite Chatman’s TD, he had real problems holding onto the ball, waiting until four minutes into the second quarter to make a catch. Not what you expect from a team’s OS. Ah Yat made a habit of throwing a long bomb on every first down, something I noticed fairly quickly. It didn’t take long for the SaberCats to catch on, either, and DS Clevan Thomas took it to the bank with an interception that ended Ah Yat’s time on the field. With Hohensee calling every play from the sidelines, I’m not blaming Ah Yat for that mistake.
By the end of the second quarter, despite the crappy play and questionable coaching taking place, the Rush were in a position to get within striking distance. Down 36-20 after WR/LB Lindsey Fleshman out-juked Thomas and ran it in for the TD, there remained only 51 seconds on the clock. Their best chance to catch the SaberCats lay in an onside kick. Even if the SaberCats got the ball and scored, there would be enough time on the clock to for them to try one more time before the end of the half. Did they do it?
Nope. Straight kick and a hard-fought drive downfield ended on the San Jose 22-yard line and no score for anyone. Where’s my book?
The Rush came out strong and tough in the second half. San Jose QB Mark Grieb hit the turf twice before he got off a clear shot. The Chicago defense had found their way and was close to clinching the deal when Fleshman left the box too early. Automatic first down and a huge break in the momentum the Rush had so steadily built.
What the defense did, it undid with penalties. What the offense did… well… the offense didn’t do much. And through all of it, the fans and I watched and waited.
We were sure, absolutely positive, that at some point the Rush would break through. We saw WR/DB DeJuan Alfonzo end the third quarter with an interception. Way to go, Chicago! Eight points behind and the ball in our hands!
Then we watched San Jose WR/LB James Roe snag it back first play of the fourth quarter off a wasted halfback option pass by Chatman. Who the hell called that?? And more importantly, why? The Rush had finally taken control. They knew what they were doing. Why take a chance on a trick play calling for an OS to throw the ball across the field and down 20 yards? Especially when Chatman admitted that he hadn’t hit his man all week in practice!
Excuses were given for the 71-49 loss. “We had five starters gone tonight. What did you expect?” “We played the defending champions. We knew it would be a tough one.” I don’t buy it. I think the Rush could have done it. I think they could have won. But not with Hohensee making the calls.
They toyed with us… played with our emotions… kept us on the edge of our seats waiting… and waiting…
If the Rush want to keep their fans, they really only have one option: start playing smart from beginning to end. We won’t stick around just to be bitterly disappointed game after game.
It hurts too much.
Mary-Ann Williams lives in Chicagoland with her four children, Carter, Jackson, Jeremy, and Riley Jade. As a freelance writer, she`s written articles for the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Daily Herald. She also serves as editor of the AFL-side of Arenafan Online, and covers the Chicago Rush.
