Sweet Victory for the Orlando Predators
John Klaers
Monday August 21, 2000
It has been said, perhaps too often for most football fans, that offense wins games and defense wins championships. Certainly head coaches
Jay Gruden and
Pat Sperduto believe this. Both coaches have built their successful teams on this principle. What happens now when two great defenses meet in the Championship game? It`s a bad day for offenses, is what happens. What you get is two safeties, numerous sacks, several turnovers, injured quarterbacks, time-consuming drives, and a low scoring game decided by a kick. Likely, it was the defense that was responsible for the Predator`s jumping way ahead in the first half, and again it was the defense that allowed the Kats to ring up 23 unanswered points in the second.
In the end, it came down to a play that`s more frequently seen in the NFL than in the AFL. A kicker putting up a clutch 3 points with no time on the clock to win the game. I don`t think David Cool has kicked a more critical kick. As I watched from the stands last Sunday, I was reminded of a clutch kick missed by Charlie Baumann against the Rattlers in Orlando and for a brief moment I felt nauseous. But David Cool, who I felt should have been the Ironman of the game last week for stopping Hunkie Cooper twice on kickoffs and saving 12 points, lived up to his last name and Cool-ly split the uprights.
How Sweet it is for Connell Maynor
Image courtesy of Mike Wright |
How sweet it is. Especially for Connell Maynor who has rings already but finally gets one as a starting QB, and for Stevie Thomas who gets his 5th ring and can now leave the game on top, should he decide to do so. Sweet also for Frederick Ray and Rodney Brown who just 5 short months ago were completely out of football and then suddenly decided to give the game one more try at an open tryout camp. Especially sweet for David Cool who gets to be the hero for the entire off-season. And finally, sweet for the Predator fans who`ve been to two previous Arena Championship games in Orlando only to see the visitors drive away with the trophy.
Was this sweeter than `98? Well we did win it at home this time, however the `98 win was against the Storm and QB Jay Gruden who sent us packing back to Orlando in the `95 title game. It`s hard to say. It`s sweet any way you look at it.
I saw
Perry Moss at the game, also Jorge Cimmadevilla, Rusty Russell, and Herkie Walls; all ex-Predators and all a part of its storied history. It was great to see those guys. I`m sure they wish it had been them out there that day, but I know that they`re proud of the new Predators and what they`ve done.
How sweet it is!
John Klaers was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
The opinions expressed in the article above are only those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or official stance of ArenaFan Online or its staff, or the Arena Football League, or any AFL or af2 teams.
