A Win That Would Make Hunkie Proud
Patrick Daly
Wednesday May 11, 2005
On a night that centered around honoring WR/LB Hunkie Cooper, who may no longer be on the roster but will always be a Rattler, the team’s play on the field took as much of the spotlight as the Rattlers earned their most impressive victory of the season, their first over a team with a winning record.
"We talked to him before the game and that’s what he said. ‘Nothing else matters. Tonight, just go out and have fun.’ We wanted to do it for him," said Gatewood. "Tonight, I think we were able to do that. It feels good to finally show the fans what we’re capable of doing. Chicago is a great team and we were able to dominate them tonight. We’re proud of that and hopefully we can do it the next two weeks."
Chicago WR/LB Etu Molden acknowledged the Rattlers’ impressive play, which kept the Rush at arm’s length the entire night after forcing a fumble on Chicago’s first kickoff return of the night.
"The train just kept rolling and it rolled right over us tonight," said Molden. "They played better than us in every aspect of the game. You’ve got to give them credit, they came out and played hard."
Gatewood himself played a big role in the win, which helped earn him the night’s Ironman award, although it may not be a story told completely through the stats sheet. After spending the past five weeks at the wide receiver/linebacker spot, Rattlers head coach Todd Shell moved him back outside to get him and WR/LB Tom Pace on the field at the same time. Back in a familiar position, Gatewood responded.
"He’s got a knack for making plays," said Shell about Gatewood. "He’s a playmaker out there and that’s where he’s going to be from now on."
Shell also singled out Amey, who took on a greater workload on both sides of the ball after lineman Jerry Sharp went down with a knee injury in the second quarter. Grinding it out on either side of the ball for even limited periods of time can be grueling, but to log the amount of time Amey did is certainly a Herculean effort.
"About Vince Amey I can’t say enough," said Shell. "Jerry Sharp went down and Vince Amey played almost the whole second quarter and pretty much the whole second half. To do that on the line of scrimmage, for a big guy, that’s quite a deal. I don’t think I’ve ever been more than proud of a player than I was of Vince tonight."
This is also one of those games you look at and wonder why it took so long to put the pieces together. It’s no surprise that this team has talent, but everyone learns at their own pace, and sometimes it just takes a little time to come together.
"It’s one of those things that happens," said Gatewood. "Any time you bring in a new coach, new offense, new everything, it takes a while to gel. It’s unfortunate that we haven’t put it together the way we were capable of doing it this year. It takes time. I imagine next year, after a year in the system, a year of being around everything, I think we’ll be a much better team. It’s just sad that this year we didn’t play like we did tonight all year round."
The Rattlers did benefit from having nothing to lose, which allows them to gamble a bit more, such as the onsides kick to open the second half. After maintaining a two-possession lead going into halftime, the Rattlers rolled the dice on the opening action of the second half and came away with a winner.
"Coming out of the second half we really wanted to get started quick, but that pop-up really killed us," said Molden. "It put a damper on things."
With the playoffs out of reach and nothing to lose, the Rattlers are a dangerous opponent for their final two games, both against division rivals in San Jose and Las Vegas that still have hopes for the postseason. In addition to playing the potential spoiler, the Rattlers are playing for themselves.
"We’ve just got to continue to build," said Gatewood. "Hopefully, next week we can go out and execute, play a complete game like we did tonight, and do it for the next two weeks.
"We’re out of the playoffs, but we’ve got to go out and be a man, and pride will make you play hard like we did tonight."
Always a Rattler
Although Rattlers WR/LB Hunkie Cooper (notice that the word ‘former’ has been omitted) didn’t join the team until it’s second season, Cooper will always be remembered as the team’s first great player, and, as he said himself, he will always be an Arizona Rattler.
In his honor, Cooper’s jersey number of 14 became the first number retired by the franchise and it now hangs from the rafters in the southwest corner of the only arena the Rattlers have ever called home. Watching the video montage during the halftime ceremony brought back a number of memories, but it also made me realize again that nothing can last forever, so enjoy what you have in the here and now.
Also during the emotional halftime ceremony, Cooper gave thanks to his family, friends, former teammates and coaches, which included former Arizona Rattlers head coach Danny White, who was on hand for the event. While the two knocked heads from time to time, there was always a respect between the two that you rarely see.
Show me the cards
I picked up my first box of Upper Deck’s 2005 Arena Football League trading cards and have to say I’m impressed with the quality of the product, which wasn’t a real surprise. I was able to put together a complete set of the common cards (numbered 1-90) and found a number a special insert, but the biggest surprise to me was the omission of Rattlers WR/DB Randy Gatewood.
It doesn’t make any sense to me to leave off one of the major pieces of the Rattlers’ success, especially since he’s only a year and a half removed from his Ironman of the Year award in 2003 and he’s still a significant part of the team. I know it’s hard to pick the players that will be represented, but Gatewood should have been a no-brainer.
It looks like Rattlers WR/LB Tom Pace and Georgia Force OS Troy Bergeron were given spots that, based on the checklist, were reserved for two Austin Wranglers. I also have to wonder at the inclusion of Philadelphia Soul WR/DB Joseph Todd and Louisville Fire (af2) WR/DB Takuya Furutani. I can see missing some of the more recent breakouts, like Force WR/LB Derek Lee or Los Angeles Avengers OS Tony Locke, but I didn’t see either Todd or Furutani making a major contribution this season. I guess there’s always 2006.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
