No Way Jose; Gatewood Remains a Rattler
Brian Knapp
Wednesday October 27, 2004
“I’ve spent my whole career here and this deal pretty much solidifies that I’ll probably retire a Rattler now,” Gatewood said. “It’s been a great run, and I cant to sit down with my teammates so we can put everything behind us and get back to the championship next year.”
For the first time in his nine-year career, Gatewood seriously contemplated using free agency to move to another team. The plot thickened when word got out that Gatewood’s number one choice outside of Arizona was hated division rival San Jose.
Luckily for Rattler fans, Gatewood chose Arizona just as he did the last two times he was a free agent.
“This was one of those times where I’d say I was real close to leaving,” Gatewood said. “This was the first time in my career here as a Rattler where I really went out and tested the free agent market. I’ve been a free agent two other times in my career but I never seriously considered going anywhere else.”
There were many factors affecting Gatewood’s decision, so he did what anyone would do to clear their mind; he went on vacation.
“This past week I went on vacation which allowed me to really free my thoughts and it gave me a chance to sit back and really understand what’s at stake if I do leave (Arizona),” Gatewood said. “It gave me a chance to sit down with my wife one last time and for us to think about everything else that would come into affect had I left and ultimately our decision was to stay home.”
Gatewood, the 2003 Ironman of the year, was given a better deal financially from San Jose, which made it appear as though he would head to northern California. Some say that money isn’t everything and Gatewood obviously agrees, turning down the Sabercats offer.
“We turned down a little more money to stay home but that wasn’t out main objective in the end,” Gatewood said. “This was probably the most important decision I’ve made in a long time and I’m glad I’m staying home.”
Head coach Todd Shell can also breathe a little easier knowing that Gatewood will be locked down for the next three years. In his first year at the reigns, Shell will have veterans Sherdrick Bonner, Hunkie Cooper, Bo Kelly, Wendell Gaines, and now Gatewood to provide plenty of veteran leadership in Arizona.
“For me, coming in here as a new coach, the first thing we talked about was to sign our free agents and keep the nucleus of these players together with Randy at the top of that group,” Shell said.
Rattlers vice president and general manager Gene Nudo made it very clear that re-signing Gatewood was a must not only for the team but for the community as well.
“Randy came here as a relatively naïve kid out of UNLV and he’s grown into quite a young man,” Nudo said. He is a cornerstone of the community, he coaches youth football, he raises his family here, and we are so pleased to keep him as part of our organization.”
Brian Knapp was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2003 to 2005.
