Chicago Rushes into the AFL
Mary-Ann Williams
Thursday October 26, 2000
“We felt that this signified what the city of Chicago is all about…it’s speed; it’s strength; it’s power; it’s Arena Football,” owner Alan Levin said. “From Rush Street in downtown Chicago, to the NFL’s all-time leading rusher Walter Payton, to the image of one of our wide receivers rushing down the field into the end zone, the name says it all.”
The team logo was designed by SFX, who signed on for the formidable task of helping the Chicago Rush make their presence known in the Chicago market. The logo is a beveled version of the word Rush in navy blue, pushing a band of gray and silver, a supposed representation of defensive linemen. Given that the name has little objective clarification, it’s impossible to guess what SFX will choose as the team’s mascot, though that is to be announced later this year.
The Rush also presented their pick for the franchise’s first coach, Michael Hohensee, a former AFL quarterback and most recently coach of the New England Sea Wolves, and star player Derek Stingley of the Albany Firebirds. Hohensee’s announcement as coach was made last month. Though his record is unremarkable at 44-44, he managed to bring the lackluster Sea Wolves into their first playoff berth last year, losing in the first round after the significant losses of quarterback Chad Salisbury and WR/DB Damien Harrell during the season. Hohensee’s three years with the Albany Firebirds (1994-1996) marks his best tenure as head coach, bringing that franchise to a 27-11 regular season record and a 3-3 post-season record.
Defensive Specialist Derek Stingley, son of former NFL wide receiver Darryl Stingley, was given status as the man other free agents will follow to Chicago for the 2001 season. A nominee for the 1999 AFL Defensive Player of the Year award while playing for the Albany Firebirds, and Chicago native, Stingley was lauded by both Levin and Hohensee as a great player and upstanding guy.
Coach Hohensee said, “My first priority was to go out and find a player that had some of the same characteristics as some of the great athletes that have been successful here in Chicago. And the three characteristics that kept popping up…number one, they were flat out the best players, best at what they did. Number two, they were fierce competitors. And number three, and probably the most important thing, the quality of man that they were. And I think the Rush have found that player [in Derek Stingley].”
With the XFL premiering in Chicago next season, playing from February to April, and the AFL playing from April through to the start of the NFL season, Chicago has become a year-round football city.
When asked if he thought it might be too much, Levin said, “I don’t think there can be too much football.”
Only time, and ticket sales, will tell.
Mary-Ann Williams lives in Chicagoland with her four children, Carter, Jackson, Jeremy, and Riley Jade. As a freelance writer, she`s written articles for the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Daily Herald. She also serves as editor of the AFL-side of Arenafan Online, and covers the Chicago Rush.
