VooDoo Regain Their Home Mojo, Turn Back Georgia
Robert Carver
Monday May 17, 2004
On what should have been the last play of regulation, Murray threw the ball for the end zone. For a brief moment, it looked like this was going to be the backbreaking touchdown that crushed the VooDoo as time expired. Suddenly, a flash of VooDoo purple cut in front of the Georgia receiver to claim the ball for New Orleans. The Graveyard crowd of 15,935 erupted in a deafening roar over the sudden turn of events. DS Calvin Coleman was that man in purple as he personally grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat to seal the win for New Orleans. This victory set a record for an expansion franchise as the VooDoo earned their 10th win of the year and clinched a playoff berth.
No one was more relieved over the VooDoo victory than QB John Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald could have packed it in one week after being benched for his lackluster performance against the Predators. Instead, he hung in there despite the pressure brought by the Force defense and had only one interception in this game. He wisely threw passes into the stands or took the sack this week rather than trying to force the ball into coverage. After the game, Fitzgerald was surrounded by teammates, VooDoo personnel and a swarm of New Orleans fans, all there to congratulate him on his gritty performance.
“We tried to mess around the last couple of weeks and delay the inevitable, but it is a great feeling to get that burden off our shoulders,” said Fitzgerald. “Now we’ve got to go in there and get the home field advantage for a couple of games and then we’ll go from there.”
Part of the improvement in Fitzgerald’s play came because he was able to minimize the external distractions and he took comfort in knowing that he didn’t have to win the game himself.
“[It was] just calming down along with composure and confidence, not letting outside factors take me out of my game,” said Fitzgerald about this week’s improvement. “I’m a 29-year-old professional quarterback and not an 18-year-old high school kid. I can’t let outside factors affect the way I play, I was worried too much about other things. I came out tonight and just relaxed, the team really rallied around me and picked me up during the week and really made me feel confident. Mike (Neu) did a great job during the week making me feel comfortable. You look around and we actually played like a family from start to finish. When Schmitz missed a couple of kicks we rallied back behind him and he made some big-time kicks in the end for us. We’re a family and we played like that tonight. That’s the story of our season so far; the defense has carried us and defense wins championships and that’s what we are building on.”
With the win, Fitzgerald earned the distinction of being the first Arena Football League quarterback to help lead his team to 10 wins in a season.
“I’m the point man and I’ll get credit when we win and the blame when we lose, but there are seven other guys on the field with me at all times and we have a heck of an offense and a heck of a defense and a really good kicker,” said Fitzgerald. “From day one we have really come together and jelled, and that is a testament to the coaches and the higher ups with the team they have put together.”
The win secure a playoff spot for the VooDoo, but the next step is to ensure at least one home playoff game.
“Now we know we’re in,” said Fitzgerald. “We want to go ahead and bring it back here.I mean 15,000 strong here really helps us out. You look right there at the very end; not to say that it was the crowd noise that made [Murray] throw that interception, it didn’t hurt by any means because they were extremely loud in this place and this place was rockin’, so we’re going to hopefully bring one back here.”
If Fitzgerald was the most relieved, then VooDoo head coach Mike Neu was certainly the most ecstatic. At the point Coleman made the game saving interception, Neu’s face lit up like a Fourth of July fireworks celebration. Shaking more hands than a presidential candidate, Neu received congratulations as he made his way around a throng of players, reporters, VooDoo administrative staff members, rabid fans and family.
Achieving their 10th victory and to make the playoffs was the first high-water mark for this new franchise and Neu was obviously reveling in the moment. In the midst of the celebration, coach Neu made his way over to share the experience with VooDoo owner Tom Benson. Looking like two men who just won the lottery, Benson and Neu posed for pictures as they shared accolades for the accomplishments of this team. Those observing the scene were waiting for elated Benson to break out in his trademark “Benson Boogie,” but alas, it did not happen.
“In this league, as you well know, these games always come down to the end,” said Neu. “We got the opportunity to get the ball back, down 40-37. We took it the length of the field and had a big throw on fourth down to Aaron [Bailey] and Dan [Curran] took it in from there by some great blocking from our guys up front. Then defensively, those guys up front have been the backbone of our team all year long and they did a great job on that last drive of creating one more turnover again. In this league sometimes adversity helps you and hopefully that’s what’s happened for us. The last two weeks we had some adversity, hopefully that will help us in the long run and carry some momentum into the playoffs.”
“I thought he certainly was more relaxed and he made some key throws,” said Neu of Fitzgerald’s play. “Obviously, you always strive for perfection, but I thought John battled back, especially when his back is against the wall and he made some key throws—some key conversions on fourth down. There is no bigger throw, all year long, than the one he made on the last fourth down to convert into a first down and that led to the score there.”
Even with the 10 wins, Neu isn’t necessarily satisfied, as the goal is still a championship, even if New Orleans is an expansion team.
“Anytime you are fortunate to line up, play and coach, you want to win a championship, and that’s our goal,” said Neu. “Yes, we are an expansion team and we’re not supposed to be doing this, but don’t tell our guys that in the locker room. We don’t know any better other than to line up every week and give it 110% and we expect to win week in and week out.”
The usual suspects, Fitzgerald, Bailey, Curran, DS Monty Montgomery and Coleman, made their typical impact upon the game. This is not a surprise considering these are the stars for the VooDoo. Still, this is what makes the AFL such a fun league to follow, with lesser known players from college programs outside the major 1-A division schools getting a chance to show their talent.
For the VooDoo on Saturday night, the unknown player in the spotlight was OS Jacques Rumph. Rumph, an AFL rookie, started the year on the practice squad and just recently worked his way onto the playing field. While his three catches for 17 yards may not sound impressive, it was his surprising play defensive specialist that caught attention. Rumph had to come in on defense when DS Chris Pointer was ejected for an altercation with 2:02 remaining in the third quarter. Rumph played aggressively and even wound up getting a sack against Murray. He didn’t get burned on his coverage and he displayed no fear in his special teams play. Not a bad night for a player out of Division II Carson-Newman College, which is located in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
“It feels real good,” said Rumph. “I just want to thank the coaches for giving me the opportunity to play. Last year, I played OS and not any defense at all. This year, I had to adjust to playing defense and it has really worked out for me. We may be an expansion team, but we have a lot of experience on this team so we’re going out here and doing what we are capable of doing and that is winning games.”
For fans attending VooDoo games at the Graveyard, the VooDoo Dolls are a well-known entity. Before the game, during player introductions and TV timeouts and between quarters and at halftime, the VooDoo Dolls are constantly on the field, keeping the fans entertained as well as into the game. After the game, the VooDoo Dolls are on the field signing autographs and posing for pictures. Despite this being a job for them, they get excited like the rest of us when the team does well and they know the crowd will be much more responsive to them when the VooDoo win.
“I’ve cheered for some other teams that have had some pretty big crowds, but this by far is the loudest,” said VooDoo Doll Carmen. “The New Orleans fans have been great in coming out and supporting a brand new team. Expansion teams always have a rough start, but this has been unbelievable and it has been a lot of fun. I can’t imagine not being here.”
As the fans finally left the Graveyard, Neu left the field with his wife and mother. You could clearly see what this achievement meant to him, but anyone who follows VooDoo football knows that anything short of the AFL Championship would be a disappointment to the leader of this team.
New Orleans fans will have one more opportunity to see the VooDoo in action before the start of the playoffs and the next two games will determine the seeding for postseason play. Next week, New Orleans travels to face the Tampa Bay Storm before returning to close out the season at home against the Austin Wranglers. The VooDoo will fight hard to have as many playoff games as possible in the Graveyard where they are now 6-1.
Robert Carver is a historian residing in New Orleans. He is married and has recently returned to the Big Easy. He loves the NFL and is a die-hard Saints fan. Robert also follows the SEC closely, cheering on his home state Tennessee Volunteers. He has also had the opportunity to attend the af2's Tennessee Valley Vipers games while living in Huntsville. Robert feels that New Orleans will embrace the wide-open energy of the AFL experience.
