March Madness
Adam Markowitz
Thursday March 23, 2006
Bubbles Bursting
Before any brackets are filled out, we have the agonizing moments of finding out who’s in the tournament, and who’s going to the NIT. In these last few weeks, some teams played their way into the tournament, while others played themselves out of it. Regardless, "the bubble" isn’t the place you want to be sitting on when it comes time to figure out whether you’re dancing or not. The AFL is no different. In a league full of parody, we can probably only eliminate one team from the playoffs through eight weeks (1-7 Kansas City). On the same token though, we can probably only write in two teams (7-1 Dallas and 6-2 Colorado). Everyone else finds themselves squarely on the bubble and will be sitting on pins and needles down the stretch to see whether they will have their dancing shoes on in May.
The Blowouts and Upsets
Every good NCAA Tournament has those first round games where the class of the higher seed really shows. Our higher seeds have all had their share of blowouts this season. Ask our #16 seed, the Kansas City Brigade, who have already been on the short ends of three blowouts this year. Between last year’s #1 seed in the National bracket, the Georgia Force, this year’s #2 seed in the National bracket, the Austin Wranglers, and the #4 seed in the National Conference, the Philadelphia Soul, they’ve combined to beat up on our #16 seed by a 169-80 count. This year’s #1 overall seed, the Dallas Desperadoes, know all about the blowouts. In match-ups that look a lot like those that #1 seeds would face in the Sweet 16, Dallas has come up big, beating the #4 and #5 seeds Chicago, Tampa, and Orlando by an averaged over 23.67 ppg in the last three weeks.
But for every blowout, there’s an upset waiting to happen. Look at our #9 seed, the Los Angeles Avengers, scoring huge upsets over perennial high seed San Jose and the American Conference #1 seed, Colorado in back to back weeks. Then there’s our #13 seed, the Arizona Rattlers, who have pulled through just like the Bradley Braves have, defeating #4 seed Orlando and #5 seed Las Vegas in back to back weeks, the latter in dominating fashion. And was their a wilder week than week 7 in the AFL? Seven of the nine "underdogs" beat their favored opponents outright, including #11 seeded Utah beating #6 seeded Nashville by 29 points, and #7 New York beating #2 Austin by 3 in Austin.
The Comebacks and Buzzer Beaters
What NCAA Tournament doesn’t have the buzzer beaters and unlikely comeback stories in it? Just this year, Tennessee, UCLA, LSU, and Northwestern State have all beaten the buzzer to cap improbable victories. Ask the Georgia Force about games that come down to beating the buzzer this year, as their last second shots for the win have now come up short four times following this week’s failed two-point conversion attempt at the end of overtime in San Jose. Nashville and Chicago have treated us to two wild endings this year. Who can forget the Kats, down 35-13 with just a few seconds left in the first half, rallying to force overtime following a bizarre hook and ladder on the last play of regulation? Chicago’s converted two-point conversion in overtime was enough to give the Rush a one point victory in week three, but a failed two-point conversion this past week in Nashville cost the Rush the game by that same one point margin. Utah fans have been treated to some of the craziest football of the season. WR/DB Orshawante Bryant’s 12-yard TD catch as time expired earned Utah a 68-66 win at Los Angeles in week 5, but the craziest of them all was the 84-81 thriller won by QB Aaron Garcia and the Dragons over the Blaze in week 3. Both Garcia and Utah QB Joe Germaine passed for 10 TDs on the day in the highest scoring game of the season.
Cinderella Story
All of the little guys out there want to be the team that knocks off all of the big boys and have their shot at the Final Four. In the AFL, we have our own Cinderella Story, the Austin Wranglers, who have come out of absolutely nowhere to shock the biggest teams in the league. At 6-2, the Wranglers find themselves sitting comfortably on top of the Southern Division, with a one game lead on Tampa, and a two game lead on Georgia and Orlando. A bump in the road against New York two weeks ago didn’t keep the Wranglers down long, as they completely dismantled Kansas City this weekend. Up next for our sweethearts is a date with another perennial powerhouse, Orlando.
The Madness to Come
Few already have their dancing shoes packed in the AFL. Many more are sitting firmly on their bubble, knowing it can burst at any moment. Will Cinderella go all the way to Las Vegas, or will her carriage turn into a pumpkin in the clutch? Are #1 seeds primed for upsets, or will they make the run to the Arena Bowl like Colorado and Georgia did last year? While picking the team who will actually be hoisting the trophy in June will be difficult now, one thing is for certain in this league. Nothing is for certain. Let the madness begin…
Adam Markowitz is an accountant living in Orlando. Adam is an old school AFLer, having followed the AFL since 1991. He attended or covered well over 200 games, including 17 ArenaBowls. Adam worked for the Arena Football League for two years as a columnist and historian before retiring in 2017 when the 50-yard indoor war left the Sunshine State. Adam still muses about the AFL on ArenaFan from time to time, and you can follow him on Twitter @adammarkowitzea.
