The Curse of Bobby Sippio
Adam J Locascio
Wednesday March 21, 2007
The Storm were playing well back then. Just past the mid-point of the season, they held a 6-4 record. They had won four of their last 6 games and were getting ready to take their top-ranked offense to San Jose to take on the SaberCats.
But a little something funny happened on the way to San Jose. The Storm shockingly placed Bobby Sippio, the biggest free agent acquisition of the off-season, on waivers and he was promptly snatched up by then-second-to-worst team in the league Chicago Rush (4-6).
If you talk to Storm Head Coach Tim Marcum and to Sippio himself, you will get two different answers (surprise, surprise) regarding what led to his release. Considering there are only two people who know the answer to the question, those considerably different versions of the same story are all anyone has to go on.
But both sides of the story had one common thread: there were questions about how the Storm offense was running. Sippio had issues with the play-calling in road losses to the Philadelphia Soul and the Georgia Force. Coach Marcum said, "When you’re the number one offense in the league and we have to change our plays…there’s something wrong with that statement. I feel like this was the best decision for the team. It’s about this team concept."
Sippio is picked up by the Rush who subsequently go 3-3 down the stretch to squeak into the playoffs at 7-9. The Rush win three road playoff games to earn a trip to Las Vegas to face the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl XX where they claimed their first ArenaBowl title.
It was vindication for Bobby Sippio. Despite only playing in six regular season games for the Rush, he led the Rush with 17 touchdown receptions. He was the leading receiver in the ArenaBowl with ten catches for 110 yards and three touchdowns in front of a national television audience.
For the Storm, things took a decidedly different turn.
The Storm, who were firmly in playoff picture after a victory over the Utah Blaze in Week 10 went into a downward spiral that left them out of the playoffs for the first time in their franchise’s history. They closed the season by going 1-5 in their last 6 games with their lone win coming over the expansion Kansas City Brigade. Since the trade, the Storm have fallen to 1-9 in their past 10 games.
During those 10 games, the Storm have yet to eclipse the 60-point mark. During that span, they’ve only reached the 50-point mark three times. They were held under 30 once (Week 1 2007, versus Orlando) and under 20 once (Week 13 at Orlando).
Somewhere in Chicago, Bobby Sippio is laughing.
Remind you of another curse? It’s so obvious a Bambino could figure it out.
For those of you who have just come to our country, there was a similar situation in Boston when in 1920, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold some scrub pitcher named George Herman “Babe” Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000, (plus a loan collateralized by Fenway Park) to finance his girlfriend’s Broadway play. It was the richest cash transaction for an athlete at the time.
Since the trade, the Yankees who had never won a World Series Championship before acquiring Ruth won 26 world championships. The Red Sox did find vindication as they did eventually break the Curse of the Bambino.
It took 84 years, but they did break it eventually.
But how do you explain what has happened to the Storm, a team with a .690 winning percentage (through Week 10 of 2006), a record five ArenaBowl championships, and a Hall of Fame coach who practically invented the game? How does a team fall so far so quickly after the loss of just one player? Oh sure, the Storm have lost plenty of individual players over the past 10 games, but cutting kicker Bill Gramatica can only help.
The Red Sox had five World Series titles when they sold Ruth to New York in 1920 – more than any other team. The Storm have five ArenaBowl titles – more than any other team.
Sippio wears number 3. Ruth wore number 3.
New York made life hell for the Red Sox since 1920. The Storm play New York (the Dragons) on Friday night.
When did the 2007 season turn into an episode of “The Twilight Zone?”
Someone in Tampa better call an exorcist. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Curse of Bobby Sippio.
Adam J. Locascio is a financial advisor in the Tampa Bay area and a Board Member of the Tampa Bay Storm Surge Fan Club. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix and is a six-year season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Storm.
