Sea Wolves’ Sub May Have Finally Sailed
Padraic Meehan
Friday August 25, 2000
For the second time in four years rumors have flourished of the fate of a Cablevision team. In 1998 it was the
New York CityHawks, who moved to Hartford to become the New England Sea Wolves and now, the Sea Wolves are in danger of relocating. Only this time, there are talks of a possible sale of the team. Speculations of where the team will play next season are heating up, as are the tempers of fans. This season the Sea Wolves averaged 6,128 people per game, ranking them 14th in a 17 team Arena Football League. Many, however, thought this could be overshadowed by their on-field performance. Then during a home game against Buffalo, QB Chad Salisbury and Offensive Specialist Damian Harrell, the combo that many thought would take them to the Arena Bowl, both succumbed to injury. The team managed to finish 8-6 and earn the New England area’s first playoff berth in AFL history, but attendance remained weak and the Sea Wolves lost to Oklahoma in Hartford.
Damian Harrell before he was injured at midseason
Image courtesy of Dave Williams |
For too long Cablevision has contributed to arguments that the AFL is a second-tier league. They seem to have worried more about promoting the New York Liberty, Optimum Online, and the Hartford Wolfpack than their most unique investment. I defy you to find any Sea Wolves logos larger than your PC outside the Hartford Civic Center, but there is plenty of room for pictures and advertisements of the 1999-2000 Calder Cup Champion Hartford Wolfpack. The Wolfpack is a great entertainment package, and you can all be proud to bring you families there, but they are the Rangers’ farm team! How many AHL players would rather stay in the AHL than move on to the NHL? Now, how many AFL players would rather stay here than go to the NFL? Quite a few AFL players, like George LaFrance, Barry Wagner, and Ron Carpenter who have even gotten calls from NFL teams but didn’t leave. As the AFL competes with the WNBA to become America’s 5th largest sport, Madison Square Garden pushes us aside to make room for, you guessed it! The WNBA.
The two parties that will suffer from this potential move are the fans and the players. Traditionally when a team moves, a few players who are on the bubble might fall out on the way there. The team should stay exactly the way it is. These are not the 3-11 CityHawks we saw 2 years ago; these are the 8-6 Sea Wolves (despite three major injuries.)
New York has sat back and watched as Cablevision created a monopoly of indoor New York sports and beyond. They own the NBA’s New York Knicks, NHL’s Rangers, WNBA’s Liberty, AFL’s New England Sea Wolves, AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack, Radio City Music Hall, Rye Playland, Nobody Beats the Wiz (An Electronics store,) Optimum Online (a new Internet service provider,) and who can forget their roots as a Cable service provider. This January, they tried to take it outside by nearly being awarded the New York Jets, but Johnson & Johnson heir Robert “Woody” Johnson mercifully took over the team. Thankfully, Computer Associates owners Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar bought the now rejuvenated team and have not ruled out one day purchasing NBA, WNBA, and even Arena Football teams after Nassau Coliseum is fully renovated.
The name that comes up most frequently when you hear about the team being sold is New England Patriots owner, Bob Kraft and how he will take the team father east, to Boston in the event he buys the team. In the beginning of the season, Commissioner Baker revealed that Kraft was interested and intrigued by the league. Although I try to remain unbiased in my articles, I must admit that I bleed green like any other New York Jets fan, and I just want to say that a purchase of the Sea Wolves by Bob Kraft is the best thing that could happen to them.
Padraic Meehan 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.
