Barnstormer Billy Provides Omen
Scott Reed
Monday July 24, 2000
After the opening kickoff, followed by an Iowa facemask penalty (see last week’s column), Arizona had things pretty much under control. After approximately the first two and a half minutes of the game, Arizona registered their first touchdown with a 16 yard pass from MVP Sherdrick Bonner to Randy Gatewood. Iowa then countered with a 34 yard field goal by Clay Rush. Was it really 34 yards? The head linesman placed the ball 1.5 yards further than the marked spot. It doesn’t get any prettier!
 Barnstormer Billy pumps up the crowd before every Iowa home game Image courtesy of T. Scott Cooper |
Two consecutive miscues by Iowa on kickoff returns turned the ball over to Arizona. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Iowa found themselves going to the hurry-up offense to get back into the game. A second failed onside kick looked to lock up the game for Arizona. However, the Barnstormer defense held and with 5.3 seconds left in the game the fate of the 2nd seed was in the hands of Iowa QB Aaron Garcia. His pass over the middle was not long enough for the ‘never-materialized backward laterals’ to be effective and the game ended 58-50.
 Garcia didn`t have one of his stellar nights against Arizona, but few QBs have. Image courtesy of T. Scott Cooper. |
So where does Iowa go from here? The defense still looks to be in good shape. The offense tends to live or die by the quarterback since they have little to no running game. Ready for more ‘no-brainer’ comments? OK, if Garcia stays healthy and takes a pill for this sudden INT-itus AND the defense plays consistent, Iowa has a FAIR shot at participating in the Arena Bowl.
If, by an outside chance, Iowa does host the Arena Bowl (a better chance than throwing that football through the CarX sponsored $10,000 gopher hole from 20 yards out) then we should ground Barnstormer Billy and have him join the shadow dancers during the pre-game show.
P.S. I hope the Iowa fans appreciate Garry Howe and his dedication to THIS team. After speaking with him just before the game during a psych-up moment outside the Barn I got the sense that his intensity gets magnified ten-fold when he hears the roar of the “Best Fans in Arena Football”. His eyes light up when talking about the fans, especially the part they played in last weeks win over Albany.
Scott Reed was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2002.
