Rush Players Confident -- Even the Kicker
Kevin Sheller
Monday May 19, 2003
Thanks to an overtime thriller, a new season begins.
With the swing of Keith Gispert’s leg, the Rush simultaneously earned their third playoff entry in as many seasons of existence while beating the Firebirds from Indiana to earn only their second division victory.
This was not how the season was supposed to end. A year earlier, the Rush earned the number three overall seed in the playoffs before losing in the semi-finals. At the beginning of the 2003 campaign, the Rush had bold expectations that were shared coast-to-coast by experts and the rest of the AFL. When they stumbled through the 16-game regular season with injuries and critical losses, team goals and expectations were adjusted to the measily task earning a trip to the post-season.
 Mike Hohensee Image courtesy of Michael Wright |
After a slow start to the season, the Rush flashed brilliance during the second-half, only to struggle to secure a playoff birth. As the weeks ticked by, and that playoff seed wasn’t secured, the players started to get a bit nervous.
“We were kind of uptight and scared,” said OS Antonio Chatman. “When you think you aren’t going to make it to the playoffs, everybody kind of gets tight and nervous and don’t really play up to their capabilities.”
Perhaps that’s why Gispert had such a difficult outing. After missing two extra points and two field goals, the rookie wondered if he’d get a chance to redeem himself.
“Bob McMillen came up to me and told me that I was going to hit an important kick to win this game,” said Gispert. “As fate would have it, that’s what happened.”
Hohensee is notorious for releasing kickers after a single bad outing. Facing a tie at the end of regulation, due in part to his multiple misses, the pressure on Gispert was even more intense. But this time, the rookie kicker got the support he needed from his intolerant coach when Indiana tried to ice the rookie in overtime.
“When they called timeout, I brought him over,” said Hohensee. “I told him he’s the best kicker we’ve ever had here in three years. Now go stick it up their you-know-what... their helmet.”
“That made me relax,” said Gispert. “I knew I was going to put it through, and lucky enough, we’re going to the playoffs.”
The players and coaches are looking forward to it.
“We have a great opportunity next week,” said Hohensee. “And what I’ve seen the last couple of months, I think our team is going to be ready.”
“[The team is] very confident,” said Chatman. “We know we are going to be a team to be [reckoned] with in the playoffs.”
“We’re 0-0. We’re undefeated,” said OL/DL John Moyer. “We are going to play this game just like we wanted to start the season this year. We got everybody healthy. Everybody’s going to be at the game.”
“The season starts over now,” said DS Marvin Taylor. “Four more games. The right teams are in the playoffs. We fought back. We deserve to be there.”
They made it, and the new season begins next week.
Horse Manure and the Referees
During a critical third down play in the fourth quarter, OL/DL James Baron made a slick move that opened up a lane to Indiana’s quarterback Raymond Philyaw, who was scouring the field from a helpless position inside his own end zone. All Baron had to do was take a few steps to earn a safety. Instead, he was grabbed from behind by the lineman he’d just shaken. No Sack. No Safety. First down, Indiana.
Baron was outraged. He screamed at the officials continuously until the referee finally threw a flag: Unsportsmanlike conduct on Baron.
“I just wanted the ref to know about it,” said Baron. “I just told him it was a horse [manure] call. It was a horse [poop] call. You can’t miss it. That could have cost us the game. We wouldn’t be in the playoffs.”
WR/DB Dameon Porter made an attempt to calm Baron down, and the two started to get into a shoving match on the field.
“I was under control, but I guess Dameon thought he had to get me under control. I was fine. But I wasn’t going to let the ref get out of here without knowing that he blew that call. That’s all it was.
“After I let him know about it, which is what I wanted to do – bring it to his attention – I had to gather myself, and we wound up getting a stop on that drive anyway."
Kevin Sheller ia founder of Arenafan Online and was the principal owner until 2004. Kevin graduated from the University of Akron with a degree in technical writing, and has been a member of the Arena Football Internet community since 1993. He has worked as a professional web programmer and is also the executive producer for a computer/video game company. The most recent Xbox title to his credit is called Hunter: The Reckoning.
